Conspiracy (n) - an evil, unlawful, treacherous, or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons; plot.
Or, at least, that's the dictionary definition of conspiracy. The meaning, however, has changed somewhat as the Internet fast becomes every information-seeker's hunting ground.
Now it might be defined as a plot to confuse the masses, to sow anarchy among otherwise intelligent beings, and to use the world's biggest mass media as a means to spread rumour and false news. A bit like the way the Stalin government used the press in Russia's dark days, except faster.
Google has over 51 million hits for conspiracy. And some make for interesting reading. Some are just laughable.
Trust me, I'm a doctor
There is not a bank of little LEDs somewhere with tags like 'Rivonia FNB, Mutual Mews' that light up and emit a warning.
Nicola Mawson, senior journalist, ITWeb
Top of Google's list is the Illuminati Conspiracy Archive. Heavy reading for this time of the morning, the Web site aims to disseminate the real history of the world. It assumes that pretty much all the information we believe and act on in our daily lives is rooted in falsehood and maliciously-spread fake learnings.
Conspiracy Planet is "your antidote to media cartel propaganda". This Web site has a collection of news articles on everything from 911 to the "War on Gold". However, there is no "about us" button, or any other description of who and what the site is. Odd.
Locally, the embattled deputy pres of the ANC has his own conspiracy Web site, where the self-styled "friends of JZ" aim to debunk the "conspiracy" theories around a man who has become most famous for his safe-sex-shower utterances.
Type "real cause of Aids" into Google. Much of the information looks credible, and people with Dr in front of their names have provided it. But the fact remains, there are people dying out there.
Reading is believing
Surely, any sane person will not just blithely believe all this stuff. Some of the (mis)information on the Net is funny, laughable, and downright sad. Some of it, however, is dangerously misleading.
And many other people the world over use the World Wide Web as a reference, a work tool, and a teaching aid.
Does the mere fact that something is available in published format make it true? Despite this, anything that gets "out there" quickly becomes the de-facto truth and is disseminated indiscriminately.
Think urban legends. The "hottest" urban legend, says Snopes, is the little beauty that has been doing the e-mail rounds on foiling a theft by entering your PIN backwards at an ATM. This, apparently, will summon the cops.
Surely, it has occurred to someone that there is not a bank of little LEDs somewhere with tags like "Rivonia FNB, Mutual Mews" that light up and emit a warning when someone does work out - with a gun to their head - how to type the number in backwards.
Perhaps my high school English teacher would have something to say on this. Apart from "take your feet off the desk", that is. "Don't believe everything you read."
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