Illuminati: Conspiracy Theories In The 19th Century

The most popular types of conspiracy theories are those that are entrenched in vague assumptions that are both subdued and dramatic. Conspiracists tend to create skeptical arguments, use fallacies, and attack the original source with unreliable evidence to persuade their audience into agreeing with their unfounded claims. The idea of the Illuminati, one of the most popular genres of conspiracy theories that has been widespread since the 19th century, is beginning to take society by storm via the rumors surrounding their existence. Using the worldwide web as a communication platform, conspiracists can spread their theories from simple books to a more creative platform with a wider audience that is willing to seriously consider their ideas, making their conspiracies reach farther than what previously conventional communication methods would allow. Many conspiracy theories revolve around popular public figures in our society.
The comparison helps Walker gain the audience's respect and trust by proving himself as someone who is knowledgeable about what he is talking about. Moreover, the tone of the whole book is serious and more based on factual events, which is completely opposite of the style of Monoco's article. A similar piece of evidence in the latter part of the passage shows that it was difficult to spread conspiracies from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Walker mentions, "The communist screenwriter John Howard Lawson struck the same note in 1947: 'Today the old propaganda machine is again grounding out its lies. The imbecilities of the Illuminati campaign are repeated in our press and on the radio.' He meant the Illuminati campaign of the 1790s, not the anti-Illuminati voices of his day" (Walker 201). In the past, the press and radio were the major communication platforms for spreading news.
We can say that in order to create and spread rumors in the past, playing it once on mediums was not enough to make the message stick. Comparing this to Monoco's article, Monoco has used the internet as his only medium to spread the conspiracy, but he was able to diffuse his idea to more places and attract many viewers. If the internet had existed in previous centuries, maybe our society would contain more terrifying conspiracy theories at this moment. There could be rumors about our present existence that have been created by the Illuminati. Although the press and radio still exist in current society, conspiracists have moved to the internet because it provides a better platform for them to express their ideas. On the internet, conspiracists can be creative by using images and bolded texts to highlight their topical interests and thoughts. For instance, in the popular Illuminati article, “A Comprehensive Guide to the Illuminati, the Conspiracy Theory That Connects Jay-Z and Queen Elizabeth” by Max Read, the author received over 2.47 million views for this article. Read introduces the article with a dark black bolded title and a photoshopped picture of popular celebrities who are possibly part of the Illuminati. By using celebrities as props in his article, Read is able to get more attention from the readers by making the audience feel like their idols are part of this scheme. Also, Read writes one of the headlines in bold as “This is pretty nuts.