Conspiracy of ignorance: It can be safely argued that the biggest threat to life on this planet is ignorance.
While Sunstein, Vermeule and I may agree on the problem we clearly do not agree on the cure. I believe the only way to bring understanding is through dialogue, education and transparency.
As you can see by their paper, the typical "command, control and deceive" appears to be their recipe for success...
Sunstein's article, published in the Journal of Political Philosophy, states that "our primary claim is that conspiracy theories typically stem not from irrationality or mental illness of any kind but from a 'crippled epistemology,' in the form of a sharply limited number of (relevant) informational sources." Thus, people who believe in conspiracy theories have a limited number of sources of information that they trust. - That is a good point
Where Sunstein "goes down the rabbit hole" in the article, is where he argues it would not work to simply refute the conspiracy theories in public... the very sources that conspiracy theorists believe would have to be infiltrated - I am not sure conspiring to change a group from within is a good theory :(
Harvard Law School Abstract: Many millions of people hold conspiracy theories; they believe that powerful people have worked together in order to withhold the truth about some important practice or some terrible event...Those who subscribe to conspiracy theories may create serious risks, including risks of violence, and the existence of such theories raises significant challenges for policy and law. The first challenge is to understand the mechanisms by which conspiracy theories prosper; the second challenge is to understand how such theories might be undermined. Such theories typically spread as a result of identifiable cognitive blunders, operating in conjunction with informational and reputational influences. A distinctive feature of conspiracy theories is their self-sealing quality. Conspiracy theorists are not likely to be persuaded by an attempt to dispel their theories; they may even characterize that very attempt as further proof of the conspiracy. Because those who hold conspiracy theories typically suffer from a crippled epistemology, in accordance with which it is rational to hold such theories, the best response consists in cognitive infiltration of extremist groups. Various policy dilemmas, such as the question whether it is better for government to rebut conspiracy theories or to ignore them, are explored in this light.
Please continue reading Conspiracy Theories by Cass Sunstein, Adrian Vermeule at: