Facts v Conspiracy theory

September 13, 2001 2:02 PM

I feel like all I've done here today is bounce from thread to thread trying to remind people the difference between news/facts and rumor/speculation/conspiracy theory.

Are people really so ready to believe just about anything? Or is the thrill of posting the latest outrageous tidbit on the front page too damn hard to resist?
posted by briank to MetaFilter-Related at 2:02 PM (3 comments total)

Its because some people are scared. Some people are still on the adrenaline high that something like this can cause, and are posting before they can stop to think...
posted by Mossy at 2:05 PM on September 13, 2001

What Mossy said. Plus, people want to *do* something, anything, to help - or hurt. Here is St. Louis, they're going on the radio telling people NOT to come down to the Red Cross - not enough trained personnel available to take all the the blood donations. Right after, the radio says not to go to the military recruiting station, either. Finding and posting every little dab of yadda yadda and typing post after post is a way of coping with the frustration of realistically being able to do nothing to aid the situation.
posted by UncleFes at 2:22 PM on September 13, 2001

er, that's "here in St. Louis"...
posted by UncleFes at 2:25 PM on September 13, 2001