Among the Truthers

Here’s a snippet from my July 16, 2010 column from Canada’s National Post, explaining the links between global-warming denialism and conventional conspiracy-mongering.

Let me be clear: Climate-change denialism does not comprise a conspiracy theory, per se: Those aforementioned 2% of eminent scientists prove as much. I personally know several denialists whom I generally consider to be intelligent and thoughtful. But the most militant denialists do share with conspiracists many of the same habits of mind. Oxford University scholar Steve Clarke and Brian Keeley of Washington University have defined conspiracy theories as those worldviews that trace important events to a secretive, nefarious cabal; and whose proponents consistently respond to contrary facts not by modifying their hypothesis, but instead by insisting on the existence of ever-wider circles of high-level conspirators controlling most or all parts of society. This describes, more or less, how radicalized warming deniers treat the subject of their obsession: They see global warming as a Luddite plot hatched by Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and Al Gore to destroy industrial society. And whenever some politician, celebrity or international organization expresses support for the all-but-unanimous view of the world’s scientific community, they inevitably will respond with a variation of “Ah, so they’ve gotten to them, too.”

In support of this paranoid approach, the denialists typically will rely on stray bits of discordant information — an incorrect reference in a UN report, a suspicious-seeming “climategate” email, some hypocrisy or other from a bien-pensant NGO type–to argue that the whole theory is an intellectual house of cards. In these cases, one can’t help but be reminded of the folks who point out the fluttering American flag in the moon-landing photos, or the “umbrella man” from the Zapruder film of JFK’s assassination.

Read the rest here.

Here’s my May 5, 2010 article in Canada’s National Post, explaining Obama “Birther” conspiracy theories through the lens of the Evangelical fixation on False Prophets …

Cult of the false prophet
Joseph Farah, the Book of Revelation and the Birthers who just won’t go away

By Jonathan Kay
National Post
Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Almost two years after Barack Obama released a copy of his birth certificate — proving that he was brought into this world on Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu — “Birther” conspiracy theorists continue to claim that America’s 44th president was born in Kenya (or Indonesia, or who knows where), and so is constitutionally ineligible to assume the role of U.S. president. A few weeks ago, the Arizona House actually passed a Birther-inspired provision requiring U.S. presidential candidates to prove they meet constitutional requirements. That proposal was withdrawn, but similar laws are being promoted by Republican lawmakers in other jurisdictions.

Since the Birther movement refuses to die, it’s worth examining the roots of the phenomenon — beginning with the website that has done more than any other to advance their conspiracy theory …

Read the rest here.

Here’s an article I published on Newsweek.com about conspiracists I met at the Feb, 2010 Tea Party Convention in 2010 …

Black Helicopters Over Nashville

By Jonathan Kay | Newsweek Web Exclusive

It’s a charming act, which makes the tea-party movement seem no more unnerving than the people who spend their weekends reenacting the Civil War. But the 18th-century getups mask something disturbing. After I spent the weekend at the Tea Party National Convention in Nashville, Tenn., it has become clear to me that the movement is dominated by people whose vision of the government is conspiratorial and dangerously detached from reality. It’s more John Birch than John Adams.

Read the rest here.

On Nov. 27, CBC’s The Fifth Estate aired “The Unofficial Story,” an hour-long documentary about the 9/11 Truth movement. Featured interviews included Richard Gage, David Ray Griffin, and Among The Truthers author Jonathan Kay. Watch the whole show here.