I have often wondered why people peddle misinformation and conspiracy theories. We tend to think its because those who do actually believe them. Certainly their audience does. But there is another reason. Misinformation and conspiracy theories are good business. Skilled purveyors can make a ton of money.
Consider the trial of Alex Jones who is on trial in a civil suit. Jones who repeatedly claimed the Sandy Hook school shooting on his Infowars website was a hoax and the grieving parents were actors, has already lost one suit. He may well lose a second soon.
Why? Because he admitted under oath the shooting was not a hoax. He perpetuated the myth that it was for profit.
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/03/1115414563/alex-jones-sandy-hook-case
Just how lucrative is misinformation? Plenty.
“The attorney also showed the court an email from an Infowars business officer informing Jones that the company had earned $800,000 gross in selling its products in a single day, which would amount to nearly $300 million in a year. Jones said that was the company's best day in sales.”
But Jones is hardly alone. Conspiracy theories has been around about as long as I can remember. I vividly recall the JFK assassination. Conspiracy theories popped up immediately. When Marilyn Monroe died, the same thing happened.
But with social media, it became possible to sell misinformation and conspiracy theories online. Now its almost impossible to tell what is fact and what is a conspiracy theory.
COVID has probably generated more misinformation and conspiracy theories than anything before it. You’ve heard them. COVID is a hoax, a government plot, the vaccine contains microchips etc.
I knew conspiracy theories and misinformation were a good business. I just didn’t know how good. Now I do.