What has US politics taught us about UK society?

IT is worth adding that most conspiracy theories often do contain elements of fact, for example 1 of the most popular American conspiracy theories is centred around Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore has a massive chamber built in it behind the monument which depicts:- Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. This chamber was intended to house America's most prized historical documents and artefacts, including the Declaration of Independence, but was never finished. Now conspiracy theorists believe that the US Government is using the chamber to store the nation's secrets, such as untold treasures or even alien bodies!

While many theories are quite convincing, others are downright laughable, like Alien autopsies, secret societies of reptile humanoids and Mind control laboratories... Some, due to lack of knowledge and pseudo science develop a life of their own. This is where the internet and social media take over, like the:- 'Storming of Area 51,' in the Nevada desert, back in 20 September 2019. This was advertised on Facebook as an event aimed at discovering if the Nevada Test and Training Range did have extraterrestrial life. Conspiracy lore alleges this. The event was created by Matty Roberts, on 27 June 2019, and quickly hit headlines around the world. 1 of the main sources of inspiration behind this theory is a 1947 weather balloon crash in Roswell, New Mexico along with flashy headlines within the media at the time and a massive rise in interest in Sci-Fi. Plus, add to the mix the Cold War drive in the testing experimental aircraft for the United States military at that location. All of this made for a perfect base to develop conspiracy theories.

Others wacky suspicions concerned activities of the drink's firm Snapple and its possible links to the Ku Klux Klan, because of the use of the letter "K" and a outline of a ship that looks suspiciously like a slave ship, on its branding of its iced teas and juices. Despite clarification from the 3 co-founders that the "K" stood for "kosher," meaning that it complies with the strict dietary standards of traditional Jewish law, plus the ship was a drawing of the Boston Tea Party, sceptics still buy into the conspiracy.

Also, you have the very well known Sci-Fi favourite, the:- "Alaskan Mind Control Lab" that is often now used in connection to mobile phone conspiracy theories, including in parts of the Covid19 5G theories. The "Alaskan Mind Control Lab" dates back to 1993, when the US Government set up the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) within the Alaskan mountain range. With over 180 antennas, the most popular theory is that it is a secret Government mind control facility, others claim it can manipulate the weather. The oddest was that it caused the destruction of NASA's Space Shuttle, Columbia! In reality, HAARP is a laboratory that allows scientists to study the upper reaches of the atmosphere, and researchers have recently allowed the public in, proving nothing sinister is going on., but, the ideas these theories and many others leave with us, are easily built on. We have a natural interest to uncover secrets, and here lies the problem.

Another good example that most consider implausible, which defies logic, includes the Flat Earth Theory. This has seen resurgence, driven by the likes of videos on YouTube and social media, which show people trying to prove our planet, is not a sphere. This has led to a growing movement who think everything you know about the world is wrong and is the result of a global conspiracy involving NASA. This again demonstrates how easy people can start to doubt what seems unquestionable. The idea of a flat Earth something that is exclusive to the Western world and it initially resurfaced within the 1800's as a backlash to scientific progress, especially among those who wished to return to biblical literalism. The last most famous proponent of the return of this idea was pushed by the British writer Samuel Rowbotham in the late 1800's. This idea has been more worryingly linked with the conspiracy theory, QAnon. At its heart, QAnon is a wide ranging, completely unfounded theory that says that President Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan worshipping paedophiles within US Government. QAnon isn't the 1st conspiracy theory, but it might be the largest and it is not just the US that has connections to this. The British version of QAnon has latched on to the continued fascination with cases such as Madeleine McCann's disappearance and other high profile cases in recent years, like Jimmy Saville. We can see the influence of QAnon creeping into public discourse about child abuse, especially on social media all over the world and typifies the problem of fact merging with fiction.

Many other popular American urban myths dominant the internet and certainly, in the wake of President Trump's presidency, there's been no shortage of conspiracy theories.

Whenever the media reports on it, we are often seen by those pushing the theories out, as part of the problem, as we question those ideas and put forward the facts. Frequently, they denounce other ideas as:- "fake news" and shout it out loud. , but the more you hear ideas being pushed the more you start to question what the public views the authorities, especially if the declaration of "fake news" emanates from the higher echelons of office. This is how Social Media starts to show a very sinister side.

Free speech can easily be manipulated, with the loudest voice drowning out all reason. Look at Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany. The Nazi party's propaganda played on the distrust and resentments of a population, which was feeling repressed and let down by its political establishment. The few, but very loud, voices, tuned into the conspiracy theories and mythology of the times and eventually led to Adolf Hitler taking power. Move on to 2021, we now see the same dangers within the UK, over Brexit and in the US over Donald Trump. Statements issued over the Brexit debate and Donald Trump along with fellow politicos have effectively used social media, which has, up to now, been seen as a safe haven for free speech. However it is increasingly being used to promote conspiracy theories and link them to political causes. With social media firms, apparently uninterested in taking to task such groups and indeed, at times, actively promoting them, via the algorithms they uses, whether intentionally, or unintentionally. It is alleged that this may have led to supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol building, in Washington DC, on the day Congress was meeting to confirm Joe Biden's election victory. This appears similar to the influences which led to the 'Storming of Area 51,' back in 2019.

Oddly, Donald Trump, in 2019, said he has heard some:- "interesting things" about aliens as he hinted he may declassify files on the infamous Roswell UFO, just before the Area 51 event, and then he reiterated this in 2020. Is there a connection?

So how does this all affect the UK, for example, conspiracy theories around Covid19?

We hear lots about Russian and Chinese influence over the UK's political landscape, but the Trump Administration's interactions and the US in general should also be looked at more closely. Most of the anti mask groups and anti vaccine myths come from the US, and even the 5G theory about radio waves transmitting or activating the virus, for example, is based on a reworking of long running conspiracy theories about mind control and "cancer" due to:- "brain warming." Often honest caution mixes with wild hypotheses. It is very hard to distinguish fact from fiction. Even Facebook flags up NHS pages that have Covid19 information on as potentially dangerous material, along with the posts of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

So many of us are using US controlled social media platforms and even our own media is dominated now by US firms. This begs the question, just how dangerous an influence is American politics on the UK? Not only that, but while Google dominates search results, 6, Google, Bing, Yahoo, AOL (Verizon Media), and Duck Duck Go. Only the 4th place is not owned by an American firm, that is Baidu, which is based in China. This gives the US an extremely powerful platform to control UK and world politics. So, when Donald Trump supporters flock to support his claims that Coronavirus is just the flu while, or thinking it is a Chinese Bio Weapon designed to turn them communist, you can see how it has led to a potentially dangerous state of affairs in the UK. As President, Donald Trump repeatedly suggested and aired his ideas. This may have led to many, who are feeling upset about being:- "locked up" and "unable to have fun" assuming the conspiracy theories around Covid and giving them more life. President Trump also "jokingly" suggested the possibility of an "injection" of disinfectant into a person infected with the Coronavirus, leaving many horrified companies having to put out statements warning NOT to do this. That is why, we should be very much aware of whom and what controls the topic of conversation in the UK.

With Brexit, we have lost the EU as a shield of last resort, and now we must, as a nation look at how we can use laws to protect ourselves from fake news, both from our own nation and also from other nations. 1 of those steps is ensuring, UK regulated, independent media are supported, on a local level and on a national level. By sharing our posts and also advertising with us, this helps us to question this build up of fake news we are seeing daily. Let's hope the way Donald Trump has ended his Presidency, will help to remind people what a dangerous thing it is to let just 1 nation dominate the internet. This should be the time the UK looks at investing in UK internet businesses and supporting them, both big and small.

Many of UK media businesses have struggled for years, but the importance of the web is now clear and the impact is has on our nations financial and political battle fields. The UK has been increasingly reluctant to invest in the internet and so the UK industry is playing catch up with 1 hand tied behind its back. The reality is that the US now has a domination over many other countries, with most of the top websites being US firms. Thus they are able to influence and potentially control everything from media to shopping, even web hosting. As a nation, we are out of touch with the new world's business and political landscape, and the UK Government must act now.

Following Brexit, we have a chance now to invest in our own small businesses, to help them to rise up, but instead, the UK Government has excluded many from help over the Covis19 crisis, putting the many entrepreneurs in jeopardy, pushing the very people we should be supporting to develop ideas to the back of the queue, behind big multi national businesses. Even the banks will not support online development, without substantial capital behind the firm developing the software. So let's, as a nation, take this new national status on the world stage, to think and work out just how we can re-build our nation.

The virus has highlighted the flaws in our economic system and ways of trading and Brexit could provide us the opportunity to correct this, but it could also be a danger. We must now watch our back door more than ever. We must also remember that things are not always hinged on profit or loss alone.

Our society tends to forget the middle all too often, but we must also remember that most of life is painted in shades of grey. If things become too black and white, with ideas becoming too polarized, conspiracy theories can start, like they have in the US in recent years?

Even issues like the Black Lives movement, have shown how the US is leading the world's thoughts. Statement driven sound bite political statements, must be followed by action, that is constructive and not divisive, something that many in power both in the UK and US have forgotten. It shouldn't just be the UK that should be asking questions about our society, but also the rest of the World. Apart from the Covid crisis, the world faces a monumental challenge from Climate Change, it is time now for greater clarity of thought and the abandonment of clichés and empty sound bites. More than ever we need more genuine international co-operative action, before it is too late.

This means every nation striving to ensure no nation or company dominates the internet scene, without international oversight. Already Australia and the EU are doing this, as are many other nations, so the UK must get moving, or becoming, yet again, a late attendee at the party, and getting left behind by the rest of the world.

What are your thoughts on technology and the influence the internet has on us all?

Please remember that he, who controls the access of data, controls the world. So, we must also have the power and ability to question, and not stop people questioning things, as to do so can stop innovation, hamper free speech and drive dangerous conspiracy theories underground, where they can go unchallenged.

The UK Government must help regulated UK based, independent media to challenge, by legitimate augment, these dangerous conspiracy theories we see each day, from the no mask campaigns to the anti vaccine groups, buy supplying us with the financial help to do this. Too many UK Government policies focus on big firms and that again has helped to fuel those conspiracy theories. The theories used by Government that the small paper, with a small local audience and a small readership is not viable or worth advertising in, must be questioned? Time after time, it is the local papers, with the small readerships that put out the fires, before they become infernos and take on a life of their own., but, many small papers, including our own, struggled to get in revenues, which are taken up by US firms, like Google and large media groups.

It is time small online media firms in the UK are judged on their wider social merits not on economics alone, or nominal readership claims.

Having a strong UK internet presence is not only economically sound, but also both politically and financially sensible in the long term.

We hope this gives you some food for thought and raises more questions. Please so email us to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com Should the UK focus our rebuild our technology or has the time already passed? What do you think? Could Government use Brexit to focus on funding UK owned businesses and UK development, by putting in clauses that they have in likes of America and Europe, about ownership and commitment to the UK's national interest?