{"id":287200,"date":"2024-05-09T06:28:10","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T06:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=287200"},"modified":"2024-05-11T05:39:02","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T05:39:02","slug":"new-guide-teaches-uk-mps-to-spot-conspiracy-theories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=287200","title":{"rendered":"New \u201cGuide\u201d Teaches UK MPs to Spot \u201cConspiracy Theories\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Kit Knightley \u2013 Off-Guardian May 8, 2024<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>The British government has issued a new guidebook to all sitting MPs to help them spot \u201cconspiracy theories\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt\u00a0 MP, who commissioned the guide, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prweek.com\/article\/1871749\/new-guide-aims-help-mps-fight-disinformation\">has warned that<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The proliferation of conspiracy theories across the UK is deeply disturbing. They are deliberate campaigns to spread disinformation and fear [\u2026] If they go unchallenged we risk the public being conned and their wellbeing potentially damaged. These campaigns are also a threat to the health of our democracy. It is essential that we give the public and their representatives the tools they need to combat this phenomenon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And claimed the aim of the new guide was to:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">protect the public from the damaging effects of misinformation and safeguard the integrity of our democratic process,\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Which sounds just lovely, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p>Oh, and just in case any of you are still caught up in the party politics illusion, the guide has full cross-party support, the Shadow Leader of the House called it<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/penny-mordaunt-mps-conspiracy-theories-lucy-powell-members-of-parliament-b2540966.html\"> \u201ca must-read\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The report was co-written by \u201cexperts\u201d representing several non-governmental organisations, and fact-checkers including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fullfact.org\/about\/funding\/\">FullFact<\/a> \u2013 funded by (among others) Google, Facebook and the Open Society Foundation.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.isdglobal.org\/partnerships-and-funders\/\">The Institute for Strategic Dialogue<\/a>\u00a0 \u2013 funded by (among others) the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, Facebook, over a dozen national governments and the UN.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/gnet-research.org\/partners\/\">Global Network on Extremism and Technology<\/a>\u00a0 \u2013 The academic research arm of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a thinktank <em>\u201cdesigned to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms\u201d<\/em>\u2026and which is <a href=\"https:\/\/gifct.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GIFCT-Annual-Report-2023.pdf\">funded by<\/a> (among others) Facebook, Amazon, Youtube and Microsoft.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In short, it\u2019s all a rather incestuous funding pool of the same handful of tech giants and billionaires paying \u201cexperts\u201d to tell them what they want to hear.<\/p>\n<p>But we probably shouldn\u2019t judge until we\u2019ve read the \u201cguide\u201d itself, which is tricky because it doesn\u2019t seem to be publicly available (seriously I looked everywhere, if you\u2019re aware of a copy online post it in the comments and we\u2019ll add it the link here).<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, our old friends at the Guardian have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dumptheguardian.com\/politics\/article\/2024\/may\/07\/what-conspiracy-theories-are-uk-mps-being-told-to-look-out-for\">given us a little taste<\/a>, here\u2019s three things they\u2019re warning about.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Great Reset<\/strong>, which the Graun describes as\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u2026a vague set of proposals from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/\">World Economic Forum<\/a>\u00a0to encourage governments to move to adopt more equitable policies, the concept has been hijacked by conspiracy theorists claiming it is a bid by a small group to exert control.<\/p>\n<p>\u2026which is wonderful, because it\u2019s essentially <em>admitting it\u2019s true<\/em> and then <em>pretending it\u2019s not<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The Great Reset is, indeed, a WEF initiative. It was launched in June 2020 with the backing of world leaders and captains of industry, it aims to totally and completely rebuild the way our society works, including how we travel, what we eat and where we live.<\/p>\n<p>You can read about it in Klaus Schwab\u2019s own words <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2020\/06\/now-is-the-time-for-a-great-reset\/\">here<\/a>, or see their handy diagram:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_287201\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WEF-great-reset-plan-800x732-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-287201\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt wp-image-287201\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WEF-great-reset-plan-800x732-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"586\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WEF-great-reset-plan-800x732-1.png 640w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WEF-great-reset-plan-800x732-1-480x439.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 640px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-287201\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<p>How is that NOT \u201cexerting control\u201d? How does one go about transforming the farming, travel, taxation and employment policies of every nation on Earth without \u201cexerting control\u201d?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eating Insects <\/strong>is another \u201cconspiracy theory\u201d, apparently. With the Guardian warning that:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0[conspiracy theories] have included claims \u2013 fuelled by attempts to reduce meat consumption \u2013 that the WEF wants to make people eat insects.<\/p>\n<p>The only problem being that the WEF really <em>does<\/em> want people to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2022\/02\/how-insects-positively-impact-climate-change\/\">eat insects<\/a>:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter size-full wp-image-287202\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/wef-eating-insects-headline-1-800x383-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"287\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/wef-eating-insects-headline-1-800x383-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/wef-eating-insects-headline-1-800x383-1-480x230.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 600px, 100vw\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Like, a lot:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter size-full wp-image-287203\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/wef-eating-insects-headline-2-800x389-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"292\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/wef-eating-insects-headline-2-800x389-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/wef-eating-insects-headline-2-800x389-1-480x234.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 600px, 100vw\" \/><\/div>\n<p>You know what? The Guardian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/food\/2021\/may\/08\/if-we-want-to-save-the-planet-the-future-of-food-is-insects\">wants people to eat insects too<\/a>. So does<a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/insects-invertebrates\/why-eating-insects-could-help-fight-climate-change\"> the BBC<\/a>. And<a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5942290\/eat-insects-save-planet\/\"> Time<\/a>. The list is endless.<\/p>\n<p>This is \u2013 to use an overused word \u2013 gaslighting of the highest degree.<\/p>\n<p>They are at once saying <em>\u201chey, we all need to eat insects to save the world\u201d<\/em>, and then claiming anyone who repeats it back at them is a conspiracy theorist.<\/p>\n<p>To encompass how mad this is you have to picture it being done on an interpersonal level.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine a double-glazing salesman comes to your door, wearing a double-glazing company logo and holding a double-glazing sales catalogue and says <em>\u201cI think you should buy some double-glazing\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>To which you reply,<em> \u201cNo thanks I don\u2019t need any double glazing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>At this point the man screams <em>\u201cDouble glazing? Who said anything about double glazing!? You lunatic!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0storms off down the path, gets in his double-glazing van and drives away.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just that insane.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Climate Lockdowns<\/strong> are the third \u201cconspiracy theory\u201d the Guardian warns us about, claiming:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The ISD identified \u201cclimate lockdown\u201d as the catchphrase for the conspiracy that the climate crisis will be used as a pretext for depriving citizens of liberty.<\/p>\n<p>But climate lockdowns are not a conspiracy theory either, they were first posited in a report in October 2020 published by Project Syndicate and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbcsd.org\/Overview\/Panorama\/Articles\/Avoiding-a-climate-lockdown#:~:text=Under%20a%20%E2%80%9Cclimate%20lockdown%2C%E2%80%9D,structures%20and%20do%20capitalism%20differently.\">World Council for Sustainable Development<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/off-guardian.org\/2021\/06\/10\/is-a-climate-lockdown-on-the-horizon\/\">proposed lockdown<\/a> included banning private vehicles, the consumption of red meat and \u201cextreme energy-saving measures\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Since then we have been inundated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.envirotech-online.com\/news\/air-monitoring\/6\/university-of-birmingham\/lockdown-air-quality-boost-in-oxford-helped-41-reduction-in-adult-asthma-hospital-stays\/61909\">with peer-review studies<\/a>, claiming lockdown is good for the environment.<\/p>\n<p>The Guardian itself headlined, <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20210303160620\/https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2021\/mar\/03\/global-lockdown-every-two-years-needed-to-meet-paris-co2-goals-study\">in March 2021<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Global lockdown every two years needed to meet Paris CO2 goals \u2013 study<\/p>\n<p>It was such an unpopular story that they<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20240418080124\/https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2021\/mar\/03\/global-lockdown-every-two-years-needed-to-meet-paris-co2-goals-study\"> sneakily changed the headline<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s fairly clear that \u201cclimate lockdowns\u201d are far from a conspiracy theory, that they were planned and then abandoned (or delayed) due to public anger at the first lockdown.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">*<\/p>\n<p>So, it looks like at least three of these \u201cconspiracy theories\u201d MPs are being \u201cwarned against\u201d are actually\u2026true. At least partially.<\/p>\n<p>Oh well.<\/p>\n<p>Still, it\u2019s reassuring to know that unnamed experts from billionaire-funded NGOs are writing \u201cguides\u201d teaching our elected officials about the dangers of wrongthink.<\/p>\n<p>What a great way to <em>\u201csafeguard the integrity of our democratic process\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Hat tip to Edwige, who posted <a href=\"https:\/\/off-guardian.org\/2024\/05\/06\/this-week-in-the-new-normal-89\/#comment-665409\">this story in the comments<\/a> yesterday.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>Support Off-Guardian:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/offguardian\">Ko-fi<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.subscribestar.com\/offguardian\">Subscribestar<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=CKFB3MH8CGB9U\">Paypal<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/off-guardian.org\/2024\/05\/08\/new-guide-teaches-uk-mps-to-spot-conspiracy-theories\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The guide was co-written by \u201cexperts\u201d from several non-governmental organisations including: Global Network on Extremism and Technology, which is funded by Facebook, Amazon, Youtube and Microsoft (among others)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":107364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-287200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Commentary","category-Current_Affairs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=287200"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287206,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287200\/revisions\/287206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/107364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=287200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=287200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=287200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}