Roeper - Debunked!: conspiracy theories, urban legends, and evil plots of the 21st century

From DEBUNKED!:

They kneel in front of Our Lady of the Underpass. They pray to Tortilla Jesus. They give thanks and praise to the Holy Virgin Grilled Cheese Sammitch. They tremble at the image of the Mother Teresa Cinnamon Bun. They cry, Its a miracle! when they see Jesus of Pittsburgh . The Almighty has a wicked sense of humor. Hundreds of millions of people are looking for some kind of affirmation from the heavenly aboveand he responds by giving us an image of his only son on a Pizza Hut billboard?

A well-designed conspiracy Web site looks just as legitimate as the site of the New York Times or CNN. Instead of weakening the B.S. movement, the information and misinformation explosion gave it more strength. If you advanced a conspiracy theory in the 1980s, it might catch a ride on the word-of-mouth express, or it might just die. If you put forward a conspiracy theory in the 21st century, itll live on the Internet forever.

I believe all of us have the ability to communicate with the dead. You can do it right now! Say hello to John the Baptist, let Shakespeare know youve always admired his work, tell Hitler to f off. Give your best to some dead loved ones while youre at it. That part is easy. Its the getting-a-response part thats a little tricky . Heres what gets me. If your grandmother wants to let you know she forgives you for that big fight you had just before she croaked, why does she have to go through some jabbering TV host with gelled hair and a perma-tan? Why cant she just tell you directly?

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Roeper, Richard, 1959

Debunked! : conspiracy theories, urban legends, and evil plots of the 21st century / Richard Roeper. 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-55652-707-4

1. ConspiraciesUnited States. 2. Urban folkloreUnited States. 3. Conspiracies. 4. Urban folklore. I. Title.

E169.Z83R63 2008
364.10973dc22

2008001541

Cover design: Joan Sommers Design
Interior design: Jonathan Hahn

2008 by Richard Roeper

All rights reserved

First edition

Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-55652-707-4

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

P araphrasing George Bernard Shaw, Robert F. Kennedy famously said, Some men see things the way they are, and ask Why? I dream of things that never were, and ask Why not?

Paraphrasing myself (an act of self-involvement that is still legal in 38 states): Some people look at things the way they are and express a healthy skepticism while keeping an open mind and listening to hard evidence and common sense.

And some people look at things the way they arefrom man walking on the moon to the Super Bowl to the events of 9/11and say, ITS ALL A LIE!!!!!

Those people are conspiracy theorists.

In my 20 years as a journalist, Id like to think Ive developed a cynical shell and honed my bullshit detector. My first response to any outrageous story is to say, OK, wait a minute; lets make sure we have this right before we go any further.

As the slogan of the famous Chicago City News Bureau advised, If your mother says she loves you, check it out.

We dont take things at face value in my business.

If an athlete or a politician says hes retiring to spend more time with the family, we roll our eyes and compare notes on the real reasons for his exit.

If someone disappears and the spouse appears at the press conference sobbing and pleading for information and begging for the kidnappers to contact him, we look at the spouse as the first person of interest in the case.

When a candidate who says hes an outsider raises a record amount of funds, we look into his political connections. If corruption rears its head, we follow the money.

If somebody calls the city desk and says, I just saw Bigfoot at the 7-Eleven buying a burrito! we laugh. (But we take her number just in case.)

And when something smells of conspiracy or cover-up, we dive in headfirst in an effort to uncover the plot.

I dont believe for a second that we live in a conspiracy-free world. Ever since I was 14 and I saw the president of the United States announce his resignation on live television, I have understood theres often a much more complicated story behind the story. A third-rate burglary in a hotel can lead to so much more.

Of course some business executives sometimes conspire to cheat their employees and realize huge profits. Of course some government leaders sometimes conspire to mislead their constituents. Of course some individuals and groups act in collusion to commit crimes.

And you know what? We know about these things because the conspiracies are eventually uncovered. Somebody talks, or something leaks, or some trail of evidence is uncoveredand the jig is up.

Its not as if those guys from Enron are laughing it up on the beach right now.

Its easy to understand how folklore, rumors, and conspiracy theories flourished in supposedly less sophisticated times. As recently as a generation ago, such stories were spread largely by word of mouth or via old-fashioned communication methods such as pamphlets and chain letters. It took even longer to debunk the lies.

Ah, but in the 21st century, the concept of the global village has become reality. Thanks to the Internet, anyone with access to a computer can tap into a wealth of resources that dwarf the largest libraries. So how can folklore, rumors, tall tales, myths, and conspiracy theories thrive in a world where the truth is at everyones fingertips?

Problem is, the half-truths, innuendos, speculative claims, and outright falsehoods have also grown over the Internet, like the ivy covering the outfield walls of Wrigley Field. Instead of being relegated to a corner marked Kooks and Crackpots, the conspiracy theorists stand side by side with legitimate news sources and fact-based findings. On the cool, flat, colorful computer screen, a well-designed conspiracy Web site looks just as legitimate as the site of the New York Times or CNN.

Instead of weakening the B.S. movement, the information and misinformation explosion gave it more strength. If you advanced a conspiracy theory in the 1980s, it might catch a ride on the word-of-mouth express, or it might just die. If you put forward a conspiracy theory in the 21st century, itll live on the Internet forever.

One of the most incredible things about all the big-time conspiracy theories percolating on the Internet is that the so-called conspiracies remain secret, even with so many people asking so many questions about so many allegedly suspicious activities.

Nobody involved in, say, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, or the fake moon landing, or the attacks of 9/11, ever breaks ranks and produces a smoking gun. Hundreds if not thousands of people would have to be in on these world-shattering conspiraciesyet theres never any hard proof of such plots. Youd think some disgruntled conspirator would rat out his bosses, or some member of an evil cabal would experience a crisis of conscience and come clean, or some enterprising journalist would dig up some hard evidence of one of these conspiraciesenough to blow the whole thing up.