Tag Archives: conspiracy theory

Biden’s Body Double

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student

Description: Some people believe that the 2020 president, Joe Biden, is actually played by actor Jim Carrey while the previous president, Donald Trump, remains in power.

Background: The informant hears about crazy conspiracies constantly from their mother, who legitimately believes all of it.

Transcript:

TS: My mom thinks Biden is a body double played by Jim Carey who’s actually in a Hollywood set, being broadcast by the satanist hollywood elites to make people think he’s actually president, when really Trump is still in control. Maybe the Jim Carey stuff is iffy, but the general vibe is he’s a body double/clone or something.

Me: Is there a reason for there to be a body double and not just have trump win the election instead?

TS: No, so (she believes) Trump is a good guy and the elites are the bad guys. They’re scrambling cuz “oh no trumps still in power we got to make it seem like he isn’t”. So they have “fake Biden” to try and trick people. I think that’s the thought process? It’s wild because all the conspiracy stuff makes no sense or contradicts itself. My mom will be upset about stuff the Biden admin is doing, but it’s like “He’s not the real president tho why are u upset?”. It’s also like “If the illuminati cabal is so strong how did they even let Trump in in the first place?” Apparently that was because “so many people voted for Trump that he broke the algorithm to rig the vote”, which is LAUGHABLE as someone who deals with code stuff. She says the same thing happened in 2020, but this time like they’ve just been able to lie about it (unlike in 2016?). I could go on and on about this garbage, it’s funny but it’s also sad cuz my mom believes it and is terrified by it

My thoughts:

This is one of the most recent and relevant pieces that I have encountered. Conspiracy Theories stem from people’s distrust of the government since they do hide an enormous amount of information from us. This is a piece of Folklore that is currently having an effect on our nation’s political climate and the well being of other people. Because of these beliefs, the rights and life of people is placed into question. This of course, is also often discussed in regards to censorship. Should misinformation be allowed a place to exist? It’s interesting to hear a second hand account of these theories as it shows us the logic that people are willing to jump through in order to deny being wrong. In the end, I think these theories stem from a combination of Denial and a fragile ego. People making justifications in order to remain in a reality that they are correct. People who believe it also tend to be those who are either emotionally vulnerable or just very easily accept certain dogmatic beliefs.

Resident Evil and the Umbrella Corporation – A Covid Conspiracy Theory

Nationality: American
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
Residence: Lancaster, CA
Performance Date: May 2, 2021
Primary Language: English

Context:

My informant, AW, is my 15-year-old brother. He is heavily involved in multiple online gaming communities that exist on Discord and other social platforms. This piece was collected during an informal interview at home when I asked him to share something unique to the gaming community. He has heard about this conspiracy theory from many friends and in various internet forums. I refer to myself as SW in the text.

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Main Text:

AW: “There is a huge conspiracy theory going around about corona, and, relating to game called Resident Evil. And um, in that game it is basically a post – well not post but the apocalypse just happened, and um, you’re trying to stay alive and find whatever vaccine you can find, try to get out of that city or something but the entire city has turned to zombies, basically. And you and maybe one other person are still alive. But um, anyway the logo for the Chinese government is like a, or whatever Chinese… the logo for the Chinese… I don’t remember what it is exactly but it’s a… something that had to do with China and covid, and the logo for that uh, lab or brand or whatever it is, is like an umbrella. And it’s blue and white striped in the middle. The logo inside the game for the Umbrella Corporation which is the people who manufactured the vaccine, is that exact same logo just red and white. And people were saying that like… the Chinese whatever it was is the Umbrella Corporation and manufactured the vaccine and they’re gonna turn a bunch of people into zombies and stuff. And there was also, there was another thing that proved that theory, or conspiracy theory, that I don’t remember… But… I think it was like the logo and… I can’t remember but something else related it back to that same company. But that, a lot of people had fun conspirarizing – conspiring. 

SW: Did people actually believe it? Or was it like a…

AW: “Oh there was definitely people who actually believe it. But it was mainly, it mainly just started out as a joke and a ‘hey this is a funny coincidence!’ and then there’s the people who take it a step too far like ‘oh my gosh I actually believe this.’ So that was fun.”

SW: “Where did it start? Did it start like, within the games or did it start on discord or reddit or where did it come from?

AW: “I think it originated off of reddit.”

SW: “Most conspiracy theories come from reddit.”

AW: “Yeah. It was probably off the ResE reddit – Resident Evil reddit. But it… it spread everywhere. Like if you knew what Resident Evil was you know about that.”

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Analysis:

The covid-19 pandemic started millions of conspiracy theories that spread like wildfire online. I think this is because many people are looking for any source to blame for the pandemic, and would much rather unite against a known common enemy than try to fight an invisible virus. As AW mentioned, this particular theory mostly started as a joke based on a coincidence, but as it spread further it began to become an actual belief. This shows how exposure and stories from friends make you more likely to believe something, even if you normally wouldn’t. It’s interesting that it spread to basically everyone who knew about the game, showing how compelling folklore becomes part of the formal culture it is attached to or based on.

The Jersey Devil

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Calabasas, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2020
Primary Language: English

Background: 

My informant, NK, is 19 years old and of South Korean descent from both her mother and father’s sides of the family. Her grandparents live close to her, so she spends a lot of time with them. She is very passionate about cooking. Even though she is majoring in biochemical engineering at UC Berkeley, she has always been, and remains to be, extremely interested in conspiracy theories. While she may not necessarily believe them, she enjoys hearing lore from across the world. (I’ll be referring to myself as SW in the actual performance).

Performance:

NK: So, there’s this urban legend in New Jersey, called the Jersey Devil. I’ve heard about it from different like conspiracy shows or websites, and just word of mouth. Um, and it’s one of those things like Bigfoot. The myth goes that there’s a woman – there’s some variations obviously – but she had one kid or thirteen, depending on who you ask, and she had a pact with the devil or hooked up with him, or something. And so either that one kid or the youngest one was born deformed, so he had like wings and a beak and was human-like but also bat-like. He grew up to huge sizes, and then would be seen around New Jersey, I’m not sure which area. And then there’s been sightings, I’m not sure when the first one was, but there were a lot in the 20th century. I wanna say it’s similar to Mothman: big wings, red eyes, part human. 

SW: Do you know anything about the origins of the story?

NK: I’m not sure, but I think there were some sightings that were hard to explain, so people kind of made up the lore to explain them. 

Thoughts:

I love urban legends. As NK pointed out, like many urban legends, it’s safe to assume that the legend of the Jersey Devil developed in response to some unexplained sightings in an effort to make sense of them. There are a few different variations of the Jersey Devil legend. Most seem to identify the woman NK mentioned as Mother Leeds, as Leeds was one of the first settlers in New Jersey, and family with the name Leeds can still be found there today. There have been numerous accounts and sightings of the Jersey Devil, many of which can be found all across the internet. For more background on this urban legend and personal sightings of the Jersey Devil, see “The Jersey Devil.”

Annotation:

“The Jersey Devil.” Weird NJ, Weird NJ, 13 Jan. 2017, weirdnj.com/stories/jersey-devil/.

Living by the Ocean Gives you Coronavirus

Nationality: Indian American
Age: 20
Occupation: USC business student
Residence: Southern California
Performance Date: 4/19/20
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

NA: So his first one was that if you live by the ocean you have the coronavirus automatically because people with corona when you go to the bathroom, when you poo, you pee, wash your hands, take a shower it just goes in the water with it and all that water just gets mixed in with the ocean. Then, it evaporates in the air and then it rains on land by the ocean. So, it is just everything is in the ocean. Um, so basically if you live by the water you have corona. 

CA: And where did he her that from?

NA: I don’t know, What’s App videos?

Context: 

NA is a USC student who comes from a Sindhi Hindu family from India. She grew up in Southern California as an active Hindu going to temple and fasting on Mondays. The information was taken from a casual conversation over zoom with two other friends. We were talking about coronavirus and the conspiracy theories surrounding it when she spontaneous told this story about a conspiracy theory her dad told her about. 

Analysis

It is significant NA was telling the story in a context to emphasis how ridiculous she felt this conspiracy belief was and kind of making fun of the fact that her father believed it. I think it represents the broader frustration many people have towards all the different conspiricies that are coming out of the chaos of coronavirus that seem completely ridiculous and impossible. 

On the other hand, for the people seeking out these conspiricies it seems to be a source of perceived control over the virus. Especially, since most of them are founded on scientific claims that sound intuitive and makes you feel like you understand more about the virus and how it spreads. If you know all the people and places that are more likely to get it then it makes you feel more secure in your position. In this example, since NA’s father does not live by the ocean it might make him feel that other people will get the virus instead of him and that the belief is based on “science.”

Coronavirus Pandemic – North Korean Biowarfare Conspiracy

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Charleston, South Carolina
Performance Date: 4/5/20
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Subject: Okay… so basically how the Coronavirus started was this- and this is how it was told to me. Basically, if you look on the news, “Why are there no cases in North Korea? Kim Jong Un closed that off, he’s cutting that thing down to zero.” To which I replied, “Well no one can really go to North Korea but… okay.” But he said, “No. North Korea had a relationship with China. It started in China right? What happened was, the North Korean prisoners were let free into China. And you know how when you leave the army or prison you get a vaccine, you get shots, you don’t really question it. Come on if someone said I’ll give you this shot for freedom, or else you’re gonna stay here, then you’re gonna take the shot! You don’t care, you want freedom. So… those North Koreans took the shot or whatever thinking it was a vaccine. Then they went to China. What if that…. was the Coronavirus and they started giving it to people in China…”

Interviewer: Oh… So like biowarfare?

Subject: Exactly! “So China knows what the cure is because they’re friends with North Korea. So some of these Chinese people have the vaccine already… but it’s just spreading to everyone else.”

Interviewer: Wow… Wait who did you hear this from?

Subject: *laughter* My grandfather. But he was telling me, “Here’s another reason why it could be. What do you think about that? What do you think about that?” And I was like, “I don’t know about that.” He was like, “You think it’s possible?” I was like, “No.”

Interviewer: Hmm… Um… Okay. So… how’s that currently affecting your mental state? *laughter*

Subject: Um. When my mom was here- because it’s not just that story specifically. It’s “the 5G towers.” It’s “to protect yourself, breathe in steam.” It’s “get some ginger on your boiling pot and put your face over it…” It’s all these videos that are popping up, and all these whatsapp messages everywhere that are like these nurses who are like, “I worked at a radiation lab and they locked us out of our work places.” Basically like these CSI, Men-In-Black type things. It’s just annoying… the amount of bullshit conspiracy theories that are coming out.

Interviewer: The rare times I go on Facebook, that is all I see. It’s disturbing.

Subject: It’s so annoying. My mom keeps showing me them like not endorsing it but just showing me it. And it’s literally like… other medical people. Apparently. In their PPE. It’s like cat-fishing but with using their authority. It’s such a mistrust it’s annoying. Like I could care less if it was harmless… but the idea that 5G or random other stuff is happening is so annoying. And dangerous.

Context: The subject is a 20-year-old African American male in his sophomore year at Columbia University studying creative writing. The subject and I were best friends in high school, and we are both currently quarantined in our homes in Charleston. I asked the subject if he would like to meet up for a six-feet-apart walk one evening, and asked him if he had heard any folklore regarding the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Interpretation: I have heard many variations of this conspiracy theory regarding the Coronavirus outbreak. Like the subject, I am quite disturbed by the amount of misinformation, conspiracy, and racism that has spread along with the virus. I think times of such uncertainty and fear invite conspiracies. I found it interesting how the theory came from the subject’s grandfather, because while these types of theory are often tied more to the older generation, I have also seen so much of it coming from young people. I have seen so much misinformation and lies coming from people in the twenty to forty age-range, that the hysteria seems widespread across all demographics. Particularly, the racism thrown at China over the Pandemic has been abysmal. The biowarfare accusations have been pretty prominent on the Internet. I think people are just desperate to find a scapegoat when they lose control over a situation.