I am, as regular readers know, interested in Conspiracy Theories. I want to know how people work, how the world works, and honestly what to be aware of that _may kill me_. There’s some people out there who’ve not only gone down the rabbit hole, they turned it into a bunker, and we’re the ones on the outside. Something that’s struck me over time – and something I want to organize my thoughts around, so you get to read them – is that Conspiracy Theorists are _lazy_. This may seem strange to say as Conspiracy Theorists are pretty busy. They’re arguing online. They’re obsessed with “following the crumbs.” The joke of the Conspiracy Theorist with a corkboard of pins and strings and newspaper clippings at least credits them with some _industry_. But it’s not _industry_. For those who believe in the Conspiracy Theories to some extent, they’re _entertainment_ and they’re a _substitute_. They’re not real effort, they’re essentially a game, a Live Action Role-Play, aka LARP. Nothing actually gets done, nothing happens, there’s no actual end game, and when one theory wears out the latest takes it’s place. For the grifters, these efforts are _easier than having an actual job_. You just spew BS, and make sure to dress it up right and people believe you and spend money. Heck, most conspiracy theorist grifters are just dressing up old biases and theories in new digs and putting them out there. It’s no different – and very much the same – as the millionaire preacher who puts in a few hours of spewing quotes and then goes back to their mansion. The grifters rely on the believers to do the work by staying occupied with trying to hunt up clues and whatever. The lying grifters put in less effort than the people who are _bored_ or who would rather read internet posts than change the world. And this is where Conspiracy Theories get really lazy. Conspiracy Theories are _easy_. Most of them are well-worn biases with a few extra modernizations. You have someone else to blame, you’re blameless, and to fight them you _don’t do anything that actually fixes things_. Reaching out to your fellow humans, getting involved in politics, actually being informed is _hard_ and requires you to confront _uncomfortable truths_. Just being biased and claiming you’re fighting the Deep State is a lot easier. Of course this makes it easier on the grifters and easier on more malicious political actors. People trapped in their own made up Conspiracy LARP AND ready to blame people AND ask you to do all the work? Score for any would be dictator and money-hungry manipulator. I thus have some sympathy for Conspiracy Theorists in this way. I get being lazy, wanting to play with ideas, and stuff is hard. It’s just in the end it’s better to deal with real issues and deal with the real world – and take on the people manipulating us. Also a _lot_ of professional Conspiracy Theorists are utter a-holes, so screw them. But I do get it sometimes. However in the end, Conspiracy Theory is just lazy, but the wrong _kind_ of lazy. –Xenofact

So as I write this in 2025, a predicted Rapture just didn’t happen. I know, failed Raptures have been predicted ever since a few people made up the idea in the 1830s. But this Rapture, it felt different, more present in the media, more widespread, more _manic_. I honestly think the internet part of the phenomena. Suddenly religious and cultural commentators I followed, podcasts I listened to, and so on were talking _people getting ready for the Rapture_. Of course that quickly turned into _people disappointed the Rapture didn’t happen_. It just all happened so fast it was a crash course in crashing eschatology that was _pretty widespread_. By the time you read this who knows how many other failed Raptures will have happened. Maybe we can get a Rapture of the Month club going. I wondered just how could people fall for this _again_? The failed Rapture prediction is a fixture of Christian history, a long-running cautionary tale that people _still need to be cautioned against_. I mean the weird 2012 “prophecies” didn’t happen, assorted failed predictions have dotted the American cultural landscape for decades, and don’t we go through this _every few years_? After some analysis while writing this column (which mutated from its original intent as I wrote it) is that _The Rapture predictions aren’t about the Rapture_ – and today’s technology has hit a point that changes how and why information spread. Once you poke around history – and watch the most recent Not-Rapture – it becomes very apparent how much psychology is involved. A person or people under crisis. A time of change or turmoil in history. Historical happenings raising questions that lead people to want _simple answers_. Personal issues and large-scale social and economic issues leading people to _want an out_. _The Rapture_ isn’t a coming event, it’s a sign something’s gone on, that people are troubled or seeking something. It’s the echo of a scream shouted into a world that’s not the way people wanted. There was a _desperation_ I hadn’t seen before. However, as I watched this spread across the Internet, it’s also a reminder of how our social media provides a vector for ideas to spread. Long gone are the days of books of prophecy and media figures preaching The Rapture. A single idea can spread from person to person, person to crowd, crowd to crowd in ways that weren’t imaginable 30 years ago. Moreso, there are people whos goal is to be an Influencer – even if they call it something else. So many of us are taught to crave social media hits and a widespread audience, and the benefits that entails. I think for many this desire is unconscious or semi-conscious. The Rapture is a great way to get attention, pure Influencer bait. Combine troubled times and Influencer Brain and you’ve got a great recipe for the latest Rapture story to spread to people’s brains. Even if there are skeptical people, skepticism isn’t spreading while the latest Influencer Idea _is_. They network _around_ any skeptics. What do we do with that? I have no idea. But it’s a reminder any communications strategy we may need to address such viral ideas is going to have to take motivation into mind as well as the technology that boosts it. Because we’ll go through this again soon enough. –Xenofact