Debunked: Separate the Rational from the Irrational in Influential Conspiracy Theories

by Casey Lytle

Head down the rabbit hole and feed your fascination for conspiracy and controversy. Conspiracy theories—they’re influential and spread to sometimes irrational extremes. Why do people cling to conspiracy theories so powerfully? Is there a way to separate the possible from the impossible? Yes. Debunked.

Conspiracy theories pop up surrounding every major national and global event—some are possible, some are not. TikTok influencer and psychology professor Casey Lytle will teach you how to be an intelligent consumer of “alternative” theories. Lytle’s trademark “project management approach” will help you discern possible from impossible in the popular and controversial theories surrounding 10 national and global events.

9/11—No fewer than 10 alternative theories have gained traction. But let’s Did the Twin Towers really look like a controlled demolition? Would jet fuel have to melt steel for the towers to collapse? What would it take in hours and people to secretly plant enough explosives to bring the buildings down without being discovered, and without being set off by the impact and fires from the planes? All this and more in Chapter 7.

COVID-19—The vaccine implants a microchip used to track people; the fatality rate has been wildly inflated; oh, and Bill Gates is not only responsible for the virus but also the head of a plot to use the virus as population control.

School shooters—why are they so easy to explain, but so hard to predict? In what ways has the profile of a school shooter changed over the last 25 years, and what has caused those changes? Are school shootings a new phenomenon, or does the media simply make us more aware of them when they happen? The chapter will cover Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, as well as the psychology behind “truthers.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology

208 pages, Paperback

Published September 27, 2022

Reviews

[Doug Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was interesting, especially the psychological analyses of conspiracy theorists.

[Xylia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually came across Casey on TikTok via the Idaho 4 murders. I really enjoy how rational and analytical of a thinker he is. Something really novel about Casey’s approach to conspiracy theories is that he uses a particular framework to evaluate the rationality of each theory. I wrote my thesis about far-right conspiracy theories, and this is the first time I’ve come across an accessible evaluative tool.

[Tyler Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can check out my review here:

https://youtu.be/h4lkBHAM0HY

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was slightly surprised by this book. I didn't have high expectations. I enjoyed his focus on the planning aspect of conspiracy theories. I also think it's important to acknowledge that sometimes certain more realistic ones can be true. People take it so far wish conspiracy theories sometimes and that can be frustrating. There is no global elite. Aliens would definately be more interested in other countries.

Although I personally don't believe in any of the conspiracy theories he was talking about, I did still see a lot of holes in some of his arguments. And if I can pick those apart then believers definately will. Specifically when thinking about his aliens argument. I know a lot of people who believe in aliens even if I don't.

One thing I see missing from all of these books is the religious studies perspective. The function of holding some of these beliefs isn't about logic and all of these debunkers come into these communities, write/talk about the logical fallacies of the arguments, basically trying to explain people out of their beliefs without trying to understand the emotion behind them, and then they're suprised when other people aren't swayed by the light of reason.

If you look at these beliefs from the perspective of spirituality then you can start to understand the people who hold those beliefs more easily. I don't agree with most of them and some conspiracy theories can be dangerous to public or personal health. But there's a reason that people have these beliefs beyond the logical. It can be that they're missing something, they're looking for some schema of the world that fucking makes sense to them, that they distrust a government that's continuously fucking them over, that they're xenophobic, that they're trying to grapple with generational trauma around oppressing other people... There are so many theories. And yet these logic men still come to the party thinking they can just mansplain why conspiracy theories won't work to people. Its hubris.

You're talking to the people who already aren't believers. It's a closed circle and no one is working to open it up and have larger dialogues.