"#Antisemitism does not behave like an opinion. It behaves like a #contagion.

It lies dormant in the background of societies that congratulate themselves on progress. It reappears in new costumes when conditions allow: #economic anxiety, #political polarization, #war, #socialmedia accelerants, #conspiratorial thinking. It #mutates so that each generation can say, sincerely, “This is different.” And then, as if on cue, it becomes socially transmissible again—moving from the fringe to the fashionable, from coded insinuations to open intimidation.

If this sounds like a virus, that’s because it functions like one.

For #Jews, the strategic question is not whether we can finally “solve” antisemitism through education, dialogue, or moral appeal. Those tools matter, but history is brutal on fantasies of eradication. The strategic question is: How should Jews live wisely in a world where antisemitism periodically becomes #epidemic?"

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-chronic-virus-the-strategy-jews-need-for-antisemitisms-recurring-outbreaks/

The #Paranoid Style in American #Politics ( Harper’s 1964)

American politics has often been an arena for angry minds. In recent years we have seen angry minds at work mainly among extreme right-wingers who have now demonstrated in the #Goldwater movement how much political leverage can be got out of the animosities & passions of a small minority… I call it the paranoid style … heated #exaggeration, #suspiciousness , & #conspiratorial #fantasy that I have in mind
#maga

https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/

[en] How political conspiracy theories start and spread, and why people believe them

Some systematic background to #conspiracy theories or "#conspiracisms" (Prof. Tyson).

"I think now we’re just well past the point of no return," says Tyson, who teaches an undergraduate class on conspiracy theories ...

"Conspiracy theories thrive especially in environments where #uncertainty, ſfear, or #distrust are rampant ..."

https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/how-do-conspiracy-theories-work-explainer-653052/

#conspiratorial #disinformation #disillusionment #secrecy #suspicion #confirmationbias #illusorypatternperception #uor #universityofrochester

They Asked #ChatGPT Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling.

#GenerativeAI #chatbots are going down #conspiratorial rabbit holes and endorsing wild, mystical belief systems. For some people, conversations with the technology can deeply distort #reality.
#ai #conspiracy

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/technology/chatgpt-ai-chatbots-conspiracies.html

What Trump, Putin & Orbán Understand About Your Brain

#Lying, #conspiratorial thinking might seem 2 different problems, but they're related

I study political rhetoric & work to understand how populists use language to develop cult-like following, divide nations, create culture wars & instil hatred. This pattern goes back to antiquity

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/30/the-connection-between-political-lies-and-conspiracy-theories-00108378

#dictators #cults #authoritarian #HybredWar #disinformation #oppression

Donald Trump's #mental #state appears to have further #deteriorated since last night’s news about a new grand jury’s #superseding #indictment of him on charges of trying to overthrow the 2020 presidential election.

Over the course of about four hours this morning, Trump #posted #50 #times on his social media platform, mostly reposting material that was associated with #QAnon, #violent, #authoritarian, or #conspiratorial. 

🔸He suggested he is “100% INNOCENT,” and that the indictment is a “Witch Hunt.”
🔸He called for trials and jail for special counsel Jack #Smith, former president Barack #Obama, and the members of Congress who investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
🔸And he reposted a sexual insult about the political careers of both Vice President Kamala #Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary #Clinton.

Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign has today escalated the fight about Trump’s photo op Monday at #Arlington #National #Cemetery, where campaign staff took photos and videos in Section 60, the burial ground of recent veterans, apparently over the strong objections of cemetery officials.

Then the campaign released photos and a video from the visit attacking Harris. 

A statement from the Arlington National Cemetery reiterated:
♦️“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate's campaign. ♦️
⭐️Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants.
We can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed.”

Arlington National Cemetery was established on the former property of General Robert E. Lee in 1864,
after the Lee family did not pay their property taxes.
At the time, Lee was leading Confederate forces against the United States government, and those buried in the cemetery in its early years were those killed in the Civil War.
The cemetery is one of two in the United States that is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army, and it is widely considered hallowed ground.  

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-28-2024