conspiracy

They Will Still Kill You

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When people discuss conspiracy theorists and political operators and the like, the question often comes up “do they believe this?” This question embodies many facets – a search for authenticity, a desire to understand, wanting to counter, and so on. Such a quest is often frustrating, as the solid answers elude us even as we delve in to peoples beliefs. We are through the looking glass and it feels like someone is laughing at us.

I’ve seen this come up recently in August 2026 as people once again ask “hey do these various racists in racist movements believe their extreme rhetoric.” The conclusion as of late – perhaps understandably – is “yes, these people do believe it and they will kill people.” But I’d like to argue that the conclusion is partially right and misses the point at the same time.

Before I’ve stated that there is a subset of people whose political beliefs are narratives about themselves – hero stories essentially. They do not so much believe as want to maintain a narrative about themselves. Their beliefs and actions are a juggling act to maintain the story and their own sense of identity.

Now I suspect a lot of people’s real political and spiritual beliefs are like this. In this performative age where the culture and the technology grinds at us to be Influencers one way or another, I think we all run the risk of being narratives without a person attached. But that aside, how many people actually believe the extreme things they say and how many, well, just say it?

It doesn’t matter. The question is not “do they believe?” It is “will they kill us?”

Yes, people who really believe something bad will kill people. We know this from all of human history. Good people believing something bad will kill people. That’s pretty clear.

But the people who are trying to maintain a narrative, maintain a story, the people with Influencer brain will kill you just the same. They may be worse because they don’t even have hard beliefs to change.

Think of all the people who live in the spotlight, who have turned their lives into shows and stories. They have to maintain their image or suffer a kind of living death as their egos are punctured. Their income may depend on weaving the right story to sell merch and advertising hits. They will do whatever it takes, change their story, alter it, add to it, or deny it to meet their needs.

Of course they will gladly advocate for the death of others. You don’t need some hearty belief that people should die to want people dead. All you need is a story so important the lives of others are just decoration, where your tall tale about yourself matters more than actual humans. All you need are people who think they’re main characters and you’re an NPC.

It’s not how much you believe, it’s how many deaths you’ll cause. When it comes to survival, maybe “actually believing” isn’t the first thing we should worry about. Maybe it’s “who will kill us?”

–Xenofact

Community Or Conspiracy

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Conspiracy Theorists fascinate me, as regular readers know and as any new reader is about to unfortunately find out. One thing that really intrigues me is how Conspiracy Theorists somehow turn out to be power-hungry, bigoted, and all too ready to serve existing power structures. No matter what “Conspiracy” they’re fighting to save the world, the end result is just creating an oppressive system, or serving a new one, and going after whatever minorities are convenient to hate.

If you’ve ever followed any serious Conspiracy Theorists, they often seem to veer into a kind of monarchism and outright racism. “We need a leader for the Ultimate Awakening, we’re genetically descended from the Super Aliens. Also buy my supplements/book.”

Now this is not to say, as often noted, I do believe in conspiracies. It’s just that people don’t want to deal with real conspiracies, because ultimately they may not be aware of them, want to be aware, and benefit from them. It’s easy to ignore mass financial fraud when, say, you work in finance or are in an overhyped industry driven by stock price . . .

I’ve wondered how we deal with and prevent Conspiracy Theorists from arising and inflicting their damage to sell books and boner pills. Something that keeps coming back to me is one word – community.

Having connections to people, having roles, having relations gives one a sense of the world. You have to understand and work with people. You have to be something and someone. You’re maintaining the community and understand a bit of how the world works as you have to.

I’m not talking just one community, I’m talking networks. Clans of interrelated and interacting people. Being in a professional association and working in your city library. Real community isn’t just one community, but it’s having community including a community of communities.

It’s community all the way down – and up.

This also means that Conspiracy Theorists have a harder time causing destruction. When people are connected to others they’re less likely to turn on them. They care about people. They know they’re not evil, even if they’re a-holes. They also have people giving them feedback that they might be under the spell of a Conspiracy Theorist.

When I think of my own past, I was not always the most social person. Working with zine groups, fan groups, RPG games, etc. gave me a surprising amount of social connection. I’m used to a matrix of connections, so much so I’ve missed that I have it. I’m used to it – and it’s also helped me keep a perspective on How Stuff Works and a sense of connection.

(And perhaps, explains more on why I’m a Project Manager).

Conspiracy Theorists are driven by The Theory and whatever opportunities it provides. They may have a community or communities, but that’s not the point of the communities to them. The goal is to fight The Thing or sell things about The Thing, or whatever. Real community would mean you fight for real things for real people because they are right there in part of your life.

I think this is one reason that Conspiracy Theorists so often attack communities – especially minorities and outgroups. They’re not just easy targets, but such people are often networked and have community because they have to. The Conspiracy Theorists may instinctively know Community is the enemy – and they view everything Not Them as Conspiracy anyway.

Hell, maybe the Conspiracy Theorists are jealous. Seeing people happy? Seeing people fulfilled? Without a giant complex flowchart explaining why you’re right? Imagine the seething jealousy they feel at people who can be happy without selling seminars on alien conspiracies?

This is where I can say we need more community – that works for us. The Conspiracy Theorists are a continuing danger to humanity, every technical innovation is one they may turn to their twisted fantasies and psychological needs. The Conspiracy Theorists can’t fight that because they don’t really get how community works.

No wonder they’re afraid of it. How do you turn people to your cultish behavior when they don’t need you and they have something real and someone will warn you?

It also means we need to remember our roles in our community – that protects others from being co-opted.

–Xenofact

Your Paranoia Is Your God

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Many a Conspiracy Theorist claims to be religious, but I think they’re not honest about who their real God is.

As my regular readers know I have a fascination with Conspiracy Theories. This is both because I’m interested in how people work, and because as we’ve seen they’re incredibly goddamn dangerous. Honestly the way we treat Conspiracy Theorists as a point of humor misses how some of them turn very deadly individually or in groups.

As I watch these potentially dangerous people, I’ve seen how their ideas can become all-consuming. I’ve noted elsewhere that Conspiracy Theory is a kind of creative skill, an unhealthy form of writing and imagination. I suppose it has to be that way so it can encompass everything you need to an eternal yes-anding to reality.

After all, your Theory has to explain everything. Plus you can’t let someone one-up on you, especially if you want to get internet clicks and sell supplements. A Conspiracy Theory is a comittment.

These Conspiracy Theories almost inevitably include religion because you have to. You have to cover it all, so deities, Satan, angels, etc. all have to become part of it. Most Conspiracy theorists remind me of the ever one-upping that dooms movies and TV shows to raise the stakes ridiculously to keep going before their inevitable collapse. The theory must be fed.

Watching this constant adaption, this sacrifice to the Theory, reminds me of what I said early about Monotheism being so unstable it has to evangelize and spread to avoid questions. Thus I can safely say that Conspiracy Theories are just a form of monotheism.

Think about it. Conspiracists are beholden to the Great Conspiracy. The Conspiracy defines them. The Conspiracy must be supported. For many The Conspiracy is a form of profit or career, the very essence of what they do. The Conspiracy Theory is the most important thing in their life – in short, their god.

And it has to be monotheism. The Conspiracy Theorist by definition worships an all-encompassing idea. Any different idea is incorporated or is declared falsehood and the enemy. To not do so is to risk breaking your god – you may dress it up in cosplay as some other god, but it’s yours and it’s just as broken as you are.

Even if the Conspiracy Theorist is a pure grifter, they still have to keep putting time in on the Theory as it’s always under challenge. It’s still their god even if they don’t believe it. Plus there’s always the risk they start believing or have to start believing.

Whatever deity they say they worship, The Conspiracy Theorist’s real god is The Theory.

This “monotheism model” is a tool I find useful to understand Conspiracy Theorists. They’re on a religious crusade no matter what. They have to be. They have to maintain this god, the god is all they have. No wonder they seem so anxious to kill people for their god.

It doesn’t make me feel any safer. If anything I feel kind of worse. But I feel I have a better grasp of what to worry about.

-Xenofact