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Conspiratoria – the Internet and the Logic of Conspiracy Theory A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Screen and Media Studies at The University of Waikato by Dean Ballinger 2011 ABSTRACT _______________________________________________________ This thesis is a theoretical investigation of the relationships between the logic of conspiracy theory and the Internet. It argues that the Internet can be conceptualised as a technocultural space conducive to the development of conspiracy belief and practice. Critical discourses regarding the relationships between mainstream media and the Internet are discussed as constituting the main points of connection between conspiracy theory and the Internet. With reference to radical discourses of media power, the study first considers conspiracy theorist‘s conceptions of mainstream media as a site of conspiratorial control, and their configuration of the Internet as a medium which operates as a countervailing influence to mainstream media power. The study then considers cyber-cultural discourses, such as those of the second media age, that articulate the Internet as a site of democratic empowerment, and how these resonate with the democratic ideas that, in distorted forms, constitute key aspects of conspiracist belief. These two major discursive themes – the Internet as a counteractive force to mainstream media power, and the Internet as a site of democratic empowerment – are then discussed as forming the basis for radical configurations of the Internet as an alternative medium. The study then shifts into an examination of the Internet‘s configuration as an alternative public sphere, and argues that this configuration constitutes the most significant point of connection between the Internet and the logic of conspiracy theory as the alternative principles of opposition to mainstream media and radical democratic activity correspond to central ideas of conspiracist thought. This argument is developed further through a discussion of alternative news practices, and the ways in which conspiracy theorists appropriate such practices as a means of legitimating their extremist beliefs within the alternative public sphere. A case study of the conspiracy news site Rense.com is then presented as an illustration of this appropriation-legitimation dynamic in action. The study concludes by arguing that the Internet does constitute a ‗conspiratorium‘ for conspiracy theorists in relation to the ideas outlined above, and that conspiracy theory can – ironically – be seen as a major embodiment of the dominant technologically deterministic discourses that articulate the Internet as a ‗revolutionary‘ technology. The arguments presented in this study are developed with reference to direct examples of online conspiracy theory beliefs and practices. Major theoretical bases for the study include the work of Atton (2004) on alternative media; Curran‘s (2002) discussions of media power; Holmes‘ (2005) and Mosco‘s (2004) overviews of the cyber-utopian perspectives that have shaped the development of the Internet; and Keane‘s (1991) work on the media and democracy. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ________________________________________________________ This thesis would not have been possible without assistance from the following: Academically, I would most like to thank my supervisors, Prof. Dan Fleming, Dr Ann Hardy, and Dr Bevin Yeatman, for their academic guidance and moral support, enthusiasm towards the study, and pragmatism regarding its completion. I would also like to thank the rest of the Screen & Media Department at the University of Waikato, particularly: - Assoc. Prof. Geoff Lealand, who was instrumental in securing scholarship money towards the completion of the thesis, and who also kept me supplied with useful conspiracy-related news articles; - Dr Craig Hight, for fielding my endless queries on the administrative requirements of thesis study; - Head of Department, Dr Alistair Swale, for facilitating post-graduate study; - Carolyn Henson and Athena Chambers for technical assistance with areas such as formatting. Thanks to Assoc. Prof. Catherine Coleborne and the University of Waikato History Department for providing office space in which the work could actually get done. Other people related to the University of Waikato who were particularly helpful in various capacities include Euan at ITS; Josh Drummond of Nexus magazine; and Malcolm Skinner. I will also thank the University of Waikato library for letting me have the same pile of books continually re-issued for three years. Personally, I would like to thank friends and colleagues who advised or supported me throughout the writing of the study. These include: Dr Richard Swainson of Auteur House, whose sardonic take on academic matters was a grounding influence throughout; Stan Jagger, for proofreading assistance; The Hollow Grinders; Disco Volante; Roz Case and Geoff Doube; Kevin Pryor and Esther Hildebrandt; Browsers Bookstore. The support of family members was, of course, invaluable. Special thanks to my parents Joan and Ross Ballinger, and my in-laws David & Agnes Taylor, for assistance with childcare and sundry other domestic matters. The most profound thanks is reserved for my wife, Kelly Taylor, for supporting – and enduring! – her husband‘s academic undertakings in too many ways to note, and to my children Perry, Oisin, and Felix, for being my children and for keeping their father so tired that he was unable to get too stressed out about this study. Since Oisin and Felix were born during the course of this study, it is dedicated to them. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ________________________________________________________ Abstract i Acknowledgments ii Table of contents iii Tables and Figures viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Ideas of this study 1 1.2 Approach to subject matter 4 1.3 Chapter overview 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 10 2.2 Critical approaches – Pathological 10 2.21 Pathological approaches – Hofstadter 11 2.22 Later pathological studies 13 2.3 Critical approaches – Allegorical 16 2.31 Allegorical approaches – Lyotard 16 2.32 Paralogical studies 17 2.33 Allegorical approaches – Jameson 19 2.34 Cognitive mapping studies 21 2.35 Anthologies and general studies 22 2.4 Overview of critical approaches 24 2.41 Pathological approaches – strengths and weaknesses 24 2.42 Allegorical approaches – strengths and weaknesses: Paralogy 26 2.43 Allegorical approaches – strengths and weaknesses: cognitive mapping 30 2.5 Critical position of this study 31 2.51 A typology of conspiracy theories 34 iii Chapter 3: Theory and Methodology 3.1 Introduction 39 Section 1 – Theoretical contexts 39 3.21 Public communication 40 3.22 Medium theory 41 3.23 Cultural politics 43 Section 2 – Methodological frameworks 45 3.31 Qualitative paradigms 46 3.32 Hermeneutic approaches 49 3.33 Cultural interpretation 50 Section 3 – Web research practices 51 3.41 Data-gathering – non-participant observation 51 3.42 Observation of online conspiracy material – website analysis 55 3.43 Observation of online conspiracy material – website types and conspiracy content 57 3.5 Summary 61 Chapter 4: Conspiracy Theory and Mainstream Media 4.1 Introduction 62 4.21 The mainstream media as conspiratorial control system 63 4.22 Conspiratorial control of the media – examples 74 4.31 Conspiracist ideas of information freedom – political contexts 93 4.32 Freedom – political traditions 94 4.33 Democracy – key concepts 101 4.34 Democracy and media 107 4.35 Populism 109 4.36 Libertarianism 112 4.4 Summary 117 Chapter 5: The Internet and Information Freedom 5.1 Introduction 118 5.21 The Net and discourses of the second media age 118 5.22 The Net and myths of the digital sublime 122 iv 5.3 American discourses of the Internet and information freedom 127 5.4 Summary 139 Chapter 6: The Internet as an Alternative Medium and Conspiracy Theory 6.1 Introduction 141 6.21 The public sphere – background 143 6.22 The public sphere – principles and practices 146 6.23 The public sphere – criticisms and revisions 149 6.24 The public sphere and the Internet 151 6.31 Alternative media – definitions 155 6.32 The Internet as alternative public sphere and conspiracy theory 158 6.4 Summary 162 Chapter 7: Alternative News and Conspiracy Theory 7.1 Introduction 163 7.2 News media and the public sphere 163 7.31 Mainstream news media and alternative news media 168 7.32 Alternative news media and conspiracy theory 178 7.4 Summary 183 Chapter 8: Alternative News case study – Rense.com 8.1 Introduction 185 8.2 Rense.com – background 185 8.21 The conspiracist worldview presented on Rense.com 186 8.22 The presentation of Rense.com as an alternative news site 188 8.3 Methodology 192 8.31 The address of each individual news webpage