These debates are longstanding and can be very personal for participants on either side.įirst is the debate about the existence of God, which goes back to antiquity, and is built on reason, rather than observation. In analyzing these videos, we observed that flat Earthers take advantage of ongoing culture wars by inserting their own arguments into the logic of, primarily, three main debates. The three themes of the flat-Earth theory
When conspiracy theories are part of someone’s value system or worldview, it is difficult to challenge them. While news articles can be fact-checked, personal beliefs cannot. The problem arises when people internalize disinformation as part of their identity. People invest their identity into the group and are more willing to believe fellow allies rather than perceived opponents - a phenomenon that sociologists call neo-tribalism.
People who are deeply attached to one side of a culture war are likely to wield any and all arguments (including truths, half-truths and opinions), if it helps them win. One strategy they use is to take sides in existing debates. We paid attention to their debating techniques to understand the structure of their arguments and how they make them appear rational. In a recent study, my colleague Tomas Nilsson at Linnaeus University and I analyzed hundreds of YouTube videos in which people argue that the Earth is flat.
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