A teacher has been jailed in Ireland for failing to comply with a temporary injunction banning him from the school where he works.
The dispute at the centre of the arrest is reported to involve the teacher, Enoch Burke, refusing to use a transgender pupil’s preferred pronouns, with the teacher reportedly saying that he does not agree with transgenderism.
According to a report by the Irish Independent, the Irish courts have now “committed” the teacher to prison for failing to comply with the court injunction, finding that the suggestion that Burke had broken the injunction was not in dispute.
Speaking to the court, Burke argued that he could not in good conscience comply with the order, arguing that his initial suspension from the school was unlawful, and that obeying the order would constitute a violation of his own religious beliefs.
“I am here today because I would not call a boy a girl,” Burke is reported as telling the court. “It is not something I will do. It is in violation of my conscience.”
“Were I to obey the order of the board of management and the order of the court, I would have to accept that sticking by my belief in male and female is wrong,” he added.
“It is not something I will do,” Burke went on to say. “It is in violation of my conscience.”
The judge presiding over the case, Mr Justice Quinn, said that the only matter he could concern himself with was whether the previous injunction issued by the court had been followed, claiming he could not consider the point raised by Burke.
Justice Quinn committed Burke to Mountjoy Prison in Dublin and ordered that he “remain therein until he purges his contempt or until further order of this court”.
Speaking on the decision after the ruling, however, Burke reportedly said that it would not be possible to “purge” his “contempt”.
“I cannot purge my contempt by holding my Christian beliefs in contempt,” the teacher reportedly said.
He is then noted as hugging his father, Sean, and his brother, Isaac, before being taken away by members of Ireland’s police force, An Garda Síochána.
Burke has since declared that he believes he will never leave prison should this only be possible through the abandonment of his Christian faith.
“I can be a Christian in Mountjoy Prison or I can be a pagan acceptor of transgenderism outside it,” the Irish Independent reports the teacher as declaring.
“I will never leave Mountjoy Prison if in leaving that prison I must violate my well-informed conscience, and my religious beliefs, and deny my God,” he added.
A teacher who refused to use the preferred pronouns of a transgender pupil has been jailed for breaching a ban imposed upon him by his school.
A teacher has been jailed in Ireland for failing to comply with a temporary injunction banning him from the school where he works.
The dispute at the centre of the arrest is reported to involve the teacher, Enoch Burke, refusing to use a transgender pupil’s preferred pronouns, with the teacher reportedly saying that he does not agree with transgenderism.
According to a report by the Irish Independent, the Irish courts have now “committed” the teacher to prison for failing to comply with the court injunction, finding that the suggestion that Burke had broken the injunction was not in dispute.
Speaking to the court, Burke argued that he could not in good conscience comply with the order, arguing that his initial suspension from the school was unlawful, and that obeying the order would constitute a violation of his own religious beliefs.
“I am here today because I would not call a boy a girl,” Burke is reported as telling the court. “It is not something I will do. It is in violation of my conscience.”
“Were I to obey the order of the board of management and the order of the court, I would have to accept that sticking by my belief in male and female is wrong,” he added.
“It is not something I will do,” Burke went on to say. “It is in violation of my conscience.”
The judge presiding over the case, Mr Justice Quinn, said that the only matter he could concern himself with was whether the previous injunction issued by the court had been followed, claiming he could not consider the point raised by Burke.
Justice Quinn committed Burke to Mountjoy Prison in Dublin and ordered that he “remain therein until he purges his contempt or until further order of this court”.
Speaking on the decision after the ruling, however, Burke reportedly said that it would not be possible to “purge” his “contempt”.
“I cannot purge my contempt by holding my Christian beliefs in contempt,” the teacher reportedly said.
He is then noted as hugging his father, Sean, and his brother, Isaac, before being taken away by members of Ireland’s police force, An Garda Síochána.
Burke has since declared that he believes he will never leave prison should this only be possible through the abandonment of his Christian faith.
“I can be a Christian in Mountjoy Prison or I can be a pagan acceptor of transgenderism outside it,” the Irish Independent reports the teacher as declaring.
“I will never leave Mountjoy Prison if in leaving that prison I must violate my well-informed conscience, and my religious beliefs, and deny my God,” he added.
This is where we are in today’s society. Regardless of the law, if we don’t comply with the OPINIONS of those “in charge”, they trump up charges against us. As evidence I give you the above man, as well as Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, Dinesh D’Souza, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, and every single one of us who refused to comply with the Covid mandates. But actual criminals like McCabe, Comey, Brennan, Clapper, Hillary Clinton, the Strzok-Page lovebirds, and so many more go free. This is a very sick time in the world as the Looney Left takes control. – The Liberator
Biden is betting that Americans have forgotten that he and his Demos are on the record as “election deniers.”
The Patriot Post
Democrats are doing everything possible to avoid a midterm bloodbath like the one suffered by their last first-term president. In the 2010 midterm election, their man, Barack Obama, was the catalyst for a 63-seat Republican gain in the House (the largest seat shift since 1948) and a seven-seat gain in the Senate. In the states, Republicans gained six gubernatorial seats and flipped 20 state legislative chambers.
Of course, in 2010, Demos did not have the now-unlimited power of systemic BIG Tech and Leftmedia free speech suppression acting as political surrogates for them. Those two factors alone are now the greatest threat to “free and fair elections.”
Focusing all his wrath on Trump’s “extremist” legions of “MAGA Republicans” in his latest Soviet dictatorial-style red-set screed, Biden promoted himself as the savior of America’s soul and the great defender of “democracy” (which he errantly referenced 32 times to describe our Republic) against those MAGA Republican “threats” to democracy.
MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. … They refuse to accept the results of a free election. And they’re working right now, as I speak, in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself. … And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections. … This is a nation that respects free and fair elections. We honor the will of the people. We do not deny it. … We can’t let the integrity of our elections be undermined, for that is a path to chaos. … But democracy endures only if we, the people, respect the guardrails of the republic. Only if we, the people, accept the results of free and fair elections. … Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated. And that’s where MAGA Republicans are today. … I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people who simply refuse to accept that they lost.
I believe questioning election integrity is a very healthy debate in a Republic, but apparently not so in an authoritarian democracy.
Biden doubled down a day later, declaring, “I do think anyone who … refuses to acknowledge an election has been won, insists upon changing the way in which we rule and count votes, that is a threat to democracy.”
Apparently, in Biden’s warped political universe, to “insist upon” the most rudimentary requirement for voting — the global standard of producing an ID to ensure election integrity — constitutes “a threat to democracy” and makes its proponents “election deniers.” In fact, it actually constitutes a threat to the socialist Democrat Party’s effort to nationalize the bulk-mail ballot fraud they perfected in 2020.
For the record, in no election in American history has a national crisis, in this case a pandemic, been used to justify massive bulk-mail balloting schemes nationwide, and further, exclude any ID requirement to authenticate who was casting those votes.
Of the 155 million votes cast in 2020, 43% (66 million ballots) were cast by mail – and a majority of those in states where authentication of the person receiving and casting the ballot is not required. Of all those who voted in person, 66% voted for Trump versus 42% for Biden – which is to say that 58% of Biden ballots, almost 47 million votes, were cast by mail.
Further, regarding those who “insists upon changing the way in which we rule and count votes,” Biden is referring to states which are implementing legal measures to restore the integrity of elections – including voter ID requirements, the global standard for voting.
Again, election integrity is a threat to the Democrats’ goal of manipulating elections to ensure a permanent majority.
Recall also that Clinton herself denied Trump’s election: “I believe he knows he’s an illegitimate president. He knows. He knows that there were a bunch of different reasons why the election turned out the way it did.”
That congressional boycott group was led by the late John Lewis (D-GA), who declared: “I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president. I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected, and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.” Calling out the “conspiracy,” Lewis added: “That’s not right. That’s not fair. That’s not the open democratic process.”
Other boycotters issued similar claims. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) said, “I will not be part of normalizing or legitimizing a man whose election may well have depended on the malicious foreign interference of Russia’s leaders.” Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) insisted: “I will not be attending the inauguration. Russian hacking must be investigated.”
Looking back, here are some other “election deniers.”
On the 2000 Presidential Election
On Al Gore’s defeat by George W. Bush, in 2013 Biden asserted, “[Gore] was elected president of the United States of America.” Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain said: “People frequently tell me that I should ‘get over’ the 2000 election and recount. I haven’t, and I don’t think I ever will.” Joe Biden, 2016: “I think [Gore] won.” Hillary Clinton, 2016: The Supreme Court “took away a presidency.” Barack Obama, 2005: “Not every vote” was counted. Bill Clinton, 2001: “The only way they could win the election was to stop the voting in Florida.” Jimmy Carter, 2005: “There’s no doubt in my mind that Al Gore was elected president.” Jamie Raskin, 2003: George W. Bush was the “first court-appointed president.” Terry McAuliffe, 2004: “We won that election!” Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 2016: “The Supreme Court elected the president. Al Gore won the state of Florida in 2000.” Al Gore, 2017: “Actually I think I carried Florida.”
On the 2004 Presidential Election
Howard Dean, 2006: “I’m not confident” the election “was fairly decided” because “the machines were not reliable.” Hillary Clinton, 2005: “It’s fair to say that there are many legitimate questions about” the “accuracy” and “integrity” of America’s election system. Jerry Nadler, 2005: “The right to vote has been stolen from qualified voters.” Sheila Jackson Lee, 2004: “We cannot declare that the election of November 2, 2004 was free and clear and transparent and real.” Maxine Waters, 2005: “Problems in the Ohio election” could have been “outcome determinative.”
On the 2016 Presidential Election
Joe Biden, 2019: “I absolutely” agree that Trump is an “illegitimate president.” Hillary Clinton, 2019: The election was “stolen.” Jimmy Carter, 2019: “Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election and was put into office because of the Russians’ interference on his behalf.” Kamala Harris, 2019: “Absolutely right” that Trump “didn’t really win.” Jerry Nadler, 2017: It was a “tainted” and “illegitimate” election. Karine Jean-Pierre, 2016: “Stolen emails, stolen drone, stolen election. Welcome to the world of #unpresidented Trump.”
On the High-Profile 2018 Georgia Gubernatorial Election
Stacey Abrams, 2019: “We won!” Cory Booker, 2018: “Stacey Abrams’ election is being stolen from her.” Sherrod Brown, 2018: “They stole it. It’s clear.” Hillary Clinton, 2018: “If she had a fair election, she already would have won.” Kamala Harris, 2019: “Without voter suppression, Stacey Abrams would be the governor of Georgia; Andrew Gillum is the governor of Florida.” Karine Jean-Pierre, 2020: “Reminder: Brian Kemp stole the gubernatorial election from Georgians and Stacey Abrams.” Terry McAuliffe, 2021: Abrams would have been governor “had the governor of Georgia not disenfranchised 1.4 million Georgia voters.”
Of course, in each of the aforementioned elections, Democrats rallied hordes of their own lemmings to become election deniers. As I have often noted, if not for double standards, Democrats would have no standards.
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776
To call a Democrat or Liberal a hypocrite is to state the obvious. They do not care about the truth. Ever. They only care about winning at any cost. That is not the case with true conservatives. We care about the truth, and that becomes the anvil around our neck when competing with these scoundrels. – The Liberal
This tweet from December, 2020 at the height of the so-called pandemic proves it, and is therefore worth remembering…
Incompetent, power-hungry imbeciles always find ways to seek relevance. Kate Brown is the embodiment of power-hungry incompetence, but so many of them were exposed for the world to see during the height of the scamdemic. It was one of the very few benefits of that jack-booted period of stunning government overreach. – The Liberator
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) has declared an emergency in the region as nearly 11,000 border crossers have arrived on buses from Texas and Arizona — a fraction of the number of illegal aliens who arrive in American border towns every few days.
On Thursday, Bowser declared an emergency over the many migrant buses that have been sent to the sanctuary city of Washington, DC, from Texas by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) over the last few months.
Bowser said the emergency will allow the city to allocate about $10 million in American taxpayer money to put towards aiding and resettling arriving border crossers.
“We’re putting in place a framework that would allow us to have a coordinated response with our partners,” Bowser said. “This will include a program to meet all buses, and given that most people will move on, our primary focus is to make sure we have a humane, efficient, welcome process that will allow people to move on to their final destination.”Ashley Oliver, Breccan Thies / Breitbart News0 seconds of 4 minutes, 23 secondsVolume 90%
The emergency comes as President Joe Biden’s Pentagon has twice rejected Bowser’s pleas to deploy the D.C. National Guard to help with the wave of illegal immigration to the region.
Biden officials have said they are worried about “the optics” of pro-sanctuary city Democrats like Bowser sounding the alarm on illegal immigration.
In July, Bowser called Abbott’s migrant buses to D.C. a “tipping point” for the city and in her recent National Guard request, she called the arrival of the buses a “crisis.”
The nearly 11,000 border crossers who have arrived in D.C. since the beginning of the summer is a small fraction of what American border communities deal with on a weekly basis. For example, most recently, about 5,100 border crossers and illegal aliens flooded into a single Texas border sector over the Labor Day weekend.Randy Clark / Breitbart News0 seconds of 2 minutes, 49 secondsVolume 90%
Abbott implemented the migrant bus operation after Biden hugely expanded his Catch and Release program that allows most apprehended border crossers and illegal aliens to be quickly released into the United States interior.
Over a million border crossers and illegal aliens have been released into American communities from February 2021 to May 2022. This figure does not include those released from June 2022 to August 2022 nor those who successfully illegally entered the United States undetected by Border Patrol.
As Breitbart News exclusively reported, the Biden administration is continuing to release into the United States interior border crossers who test positive for the Chinese coronavirus. Bombshell emails detailed by Breitbart News show top Department of Homeland Security officials signing off on the release of COVID-positive border crossers.
Bahahahahahwawahahahaha!!! I thought you Libs were in favor of open borders? Oh, wait…only when it’s someone else’s border? Well, too bad! And prepare for more of those poor, helpless illegal immigrants, Dear Mayor, because they’ll be arriving on the next bus from Texas. Bahahahahaha!!
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.” – H.L. Mencken
Fed Interest Rate drops, Debt goes up, Money Supply increases to cover the Debt. All of this creates inflation, which creates a recession as people can’t afford their prior living standards and cut back. This is not a calculus problem. It was all caused by dimwitted politicians who just want to remain in power, and they do that by buying votes with free stuff from the government candy store. – The Liberator
In response to the recent raid on former president Trump’s Mar-a-Lagoresidence, the FBI has decided to change its name to more accurately reflect their current role in American society…
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, better known by its acronym, UNESCO, is escalating its global war on ideas and information it considers to be “misinformation” and “conspiracy theories.”
According to the Paris-based U.N. education agency, which released a major report on the subject for educators this summer, conspiracy theories cause “significant harm” and form “the backbone of many populist movements.”
Among other concerns, conspiracy theories “foster and reinforce harmful thinking patterns and exclusive worldviews,” the report said.
They also “reduce trust in public institutions” and “scientific institutions,” which can drive people to violence or decrease their desire to “reduce their carbon footprint,” UN officials argued in the document.
While “all conspiratorial thinking threatens human rights values,” the document says without elaborating, some conspiracy theories are more dangerous than others.
In some cases, teachers are even encouraged to report their students to authorities.
Examples of “conspiracy theories” cited in the report include everything from widely held and respectable beliefs such as “climate change denial” and “manipulation of federal elections” in the United States, to more far-fetched notions such as the “earth is flat” or “Michelle Obama is actually a lizard.”
“There are plenty of crazy thoughts on the Internet, many of which are patently false,” explained Citizens for Free Speech Director Patrick Wood. “The only thoughts being ‘corrected’ are those contrary to the globalist narrative. This proves that the focus is on protecting their own narratives and nothing else.”
“UNESCO joins a censorship cartel that now includes the European Union, the U.S. government, the World Economic Forum, social media giants like Facebook and Twitter, and notably, Google,” Wood told The Epoch Times. “Anyone who does not parrot the globalist narrative is by default considered to be a ‘conspiracy theorist.’”
At the heart of the global program to combat these ideas and theories are teachers and schools, according to the U.N. agency. Also central is the battle online and in the media, UNESCO documents explain.
The latest strategy was unveiled at UNESCO’s “International Symposium on Addressing Conspiracy Theories through Education.” Held in late June in Brussels, the summit brought together academia, governments, civil society, and the private sector to promote “joint action” against conspiracy theories and those who believe or spread them.
The plan includes strategies to prevent people from believing in conspiracy theories in the first place as well as tools for dealing with those who already believe them.
Several experts on propaganda and free speech, however, warned that the U.N. effort represents a “dangerous” escalation in what they portrayed as a global war on free speech, free expression, questioning official narratives, and dissent more broadly.
“What they mean by ‘conspiracy theory’ is any claim or argument or evidence that differs from the propaganda pumped out by the government and media,” warned New York University Professor of Media Studies Mark Crispin Miller, who studies propaganda and government misinformation.
“I can’t think of anything more dangerous to free speech and free thought—and, therefore, democracy—than this effort by the U.N., which has no business telling us what’s true and what is not,” Miller told The Epoch Times. “That distinction is not theirs to make, but ours, as free people capable of thinking for ourselves, and unafraid of civil argument.”
The Global War on Conspiracy Theories
Official efforts to clamp down on “conspiracy theories” and “misinformation” are not new. In fact, Western governments—including the U.S. government—have for years been leading the charge.
In 2010, the U.S. State Department, with help from its “Counter Misinformation Team,” published “Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation” on America.gov claiming to debunk various “conspiracy theories.”
More recently, the Biden administration has also turned its focus to “conspiracy theories.” Last year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security repeatedly suggested that belief in widespread voter fraud or alternative views on COVID-19 and public health measures represented a major terrorism threat to the United States.
While the Biden administration’s proposed “Disinformation Governance Board” appears to have been shelved for now following a public outcry, the U.S. government has been working closely with technology giants to suppress speech surrounding election fraud, Hunter Biden’s laptop, alternative views on COVID-19, and more.
National Public Radio, a tax-funded operation, has published numerous pieces over the last month echoing UNESCO’s talking points about the alleged danger and prevalence of conspiracy theories in schools and beyond.
Outgoing senior health official Dr. Anthony Fauci has chimed in recently, too. “What we’re dealing with now is just a distortion of reality, conspiracy theories which don’t make any sense at all pushing back on sound public health measures, making it look like trying to save lives is encroaching on people’s freedom,” he said on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Aug. 22.
The World Economic Forum, which has become a lightning rod for criticism around the world over its “Great Reset” agenda, is also working to counter ideas it labels misinformation and conspiracy theories.
“Key to stopping the spread of conspiracy theories is educating people to be on the lookout for misleading information—and teaching them to be suspicious of certain sources,” senior WEF writer Charlotte Edmond wrote two years ago in a piece for the organization’s website.
The U.N. has been central to the global effort. Indeed, the new program is actually an extension of a 2020 initiative by UNESCO and the European Commission dubbed #ThinkBeforeSharing to combat conspiracy theories online.
That effort included urging citizens to post links to fact-checking services and even report journalists who may be engaged in conspiracy theorizing to “your local/national press council or press ombudsperson.”
In an October 2020 World Economic Forum podcast on “Seeking a cure for the infodemic,” U.N. global communications chief Melissa Fleming boasts of having enlisted over 100,000 volunteers to amplify the U.N.’s views and squelch competing narratives.
“So far, we’ve recruited 110,000 information volunteers, and we equip these information volunteers with the kind of knowledge about how misinformation spreads and ask them to serve as kind of ‘digital first-responders’ in those spaces where misinformation travels,” the U.N. communications chief said.
The revelation came after years of U.N. and governmental efforts to quash what it describes as extremism, misinformation, and more on the internet. In 2016, the U.N. Security Council launched a “framework” to fight “extremism” online on the heels of a program from the previous year to battle “ideologies” that could lead to violence.
But the fresh UNESCO efforts in education signal a dramatic escalation in the battle—especially in the targeting of school children.
Combating ‘Conspiracy Theories’ at School
Education and schools are at the center of the new UNESCO plan to combat conspiracy theories.
“The fight against conspiracy theories, and the antisemitic and racist ideologies they often convey, begins at school, yet teachers worldwide lack the adequate training,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay about the new effort. “That is why today, UNESCO is launching a practical guide for educators, so they can better teach students how to identify and debunk conspiracy theories.”
Beyond working through education, the U.N. agency also hopes to expand its efforts to combat the spread of what it refers to as conspiracy theories in the realms of press and social media.
“This builds on the wider work we’re doing to strengthen media and information literacy to better prepare learners to navigate a world of algorithms, artificial intelligence and invasive data collection,” added Azoulay, who served in the French government as a member of the Socialist Party before taking over the UN education organization.
The UN strategy for fighting conspiracy theories in education lists a number of major objectives for educators.
These include teaching teachers how to “identify and dismantle conspiracy theories,” how to develop students’ “resilience to conspiracy theories,” and how to tell the difference between a “real conspiracy” and a “conspiracy theory.”
One of the ways offered for educators to determine the veracity of information is to check fact-checking services, which have come under repeated criticism in recent years for being highly politicized and often inaccurate. Many of the services are funded by individuals, such as billionaire founder of Microsoft Bill Gates, who UNESCO says are frequently the target of conspiracy theories.
The document also contains multiple strategies for combating conspiracy theories. To fight “harmful information” among students, for example, UNESCO urges teachers to engage in what the agency describes as “prebunking.”
“Prebunking is also sometimes called ‘inoculation,’” the report reads. “Psychologists have proven that weakened forms of harmful information, carefully introduced and framed, can help to strengthen the resilience against wider harmful messages, much like a vaccine.”
When students believe in ideas because of parental influence, teachers are instructed to seek help from school officials and consider a “mediated conversation with parents.”
If a student were to express concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, teachers are instructed to “state that the vaccine has been scientifically proven to be safe” and “that it is important to get vaccinated to curb the pandemic.”
It was not immediately clear whether the relevant section of the UNESCO document was written before public health authorities in the United States and around the world began acknowledging that the COVID-19 injections do not prevent infection from or transmission of the CCP virus that causes COVID-19.
In some cases where conspiracy theories involve alleged hate or discrimination, teachers are urged to consider reporting students to “safeguarding authorities or safeguarding officers.”
What Is a Conspiracy Theory?
The document, titled “Addressing conspiracy theories – what teachers need to know,” defines a conspiracy theory as: “The belief that events are being secretly manipulated by powerful forces with negative intent. Typically, conspiracy theories involve an imagined group of conspirators colluding to implement an alleged secret plot.”
The UNESCO report moves on to offer warnings about, and definitions for, misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and fake news.
One term that is not defined in the document, however, is the word “conspiracy” itself. Most dictionaries define it as an illegal or immoral plot carried out in secret involving two or more individuals. State and federal law-enforcement authorities charge large numbers of people with the crime of “conspiracy” each year.
In its short guide for telling the difference between “real” conspiracies and mere “theories,” the U.N. report divides the thinking into two broad categories.
The first, dubbed “conventional thinking” in the UNESCO document, uses Watergate as an example of a real conspiracy uncovered by following evidence and having “healthy” skepticism.
The other mode of thinking, labeled “conspiratorial thinking,” features a “birds aren’t real” theory that concludes birds are robots spying on people and the government creates replica eggs to cover it all up. This conclusion is reached as a result of “overriding suspicion” and “over interpreting evidence,” UNESCO said.
In the real world, experts say the line between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact is far less obvious.
According to a 2020 YouGov-Cambridge Globalism poll cited in the UNESCO document, strong majorities believe in overarching “conspiracy theories” in many nations. Almost eight in 10 Nigerians, for example, said they believed in “a single group of people who controlled world events.” Almost six out of 10 Mexicans, 56 percent of Greeks and 55 percent of Egyptians believed that, too, the poll showed.
One of the reports at the center of the new UNESCO effort, “The Conspiracy Theory Handbook” by Stephan Lewandowsky and John Cook, also acknowledges that conspiracies exist and are not uncommon.
“Real conspiracies do exist,” the report admits at the start. “Volkswagen conspired to cheat emissions tests for their diesel engines. The U.S. National Security Agency secretly spied on civilian internet users. The tobacco industry deceived the public about the harmful health effects of smoking. We know about these conspiracies through internal industry documents, government investigations, or whistleblowers.”
The U.N. documents also outline various reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories. These include feelings of powerlessness, coping mechanisms for handling uncertainty, or seeking to claim minority status. Evidence is not listed as a reason why people might believe in a conspiracy theory.
One of the “case studies” listed in the UNESCO document refers to Mikki Willis’s documentary “Plandemic.” Among other points, the film and the experts who are interviewed argue that COVID-19 may have been created in a laboratory for sinister purposes.
Reached by The Epoch Times, Willis slammed the U.N. and its effort to “indoctrinate” people.
“When I hear that the U.N. is now directing its indoctrination towards teachers, I become concerned about the well-being of our future generations,” he said, adding that the U.N.’s attack on “conspiracy theories” was an effort to stop the truth.
“The fact that they continue to use my film series as an example of what they’re fighting against says everything we need to know,” continued Willis, saying the vast majority of scientists now agree with key points in his film and yet “propagandists” keep trying to “perpetuate the lies.”
Critics Sound the Alarm
Multiple experts in the field of propaganda warned The Epoch Times that the UNESCO initiative was a major threat to free expression.
“Basic principles of freedom of expression remind us that, because we can never be sure who is right and who is wrong, all ideas and arguments need to be evaluated through a process of rational scrutiny and debate,” Robinson told The Epoch Times. “Censoring arguments and opinions believed to be wrong means we risk censoring the truth.”
Explaining that these dangers have long been understood, Robinson quoted the great 19th-century British philosopher John Stuart Mill.
“First: the opinion which it is attempted to suppress by authority may possibly be true. Those who desire to suppress it, of course deny its truth; but they are not infallible,” Mill said. “All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.”
Robinson, who also serves as co-editor of Propaganda in Focus and sits on the executive committee of Pandemics Data & Analytics (PANDATA.org), also cautioned that powerful actors with large budgets would likely be involved in deciding what is true and not.
“This means allowing powerful actors to define reality and, as history shows, they will define reality in a way that serves their own interests,” he said. “This is all contradictory to democracy and, of course, the reason why freedom of expression is understood to be so important: we must be free to scrutinize and criticize those in power in order to guard against tyranny and abuse of power.”
Robinson also blasted the use of the term “conspiracy theory” as “deeply problematic,” saying it was a term often used to shut down discussion on serious issues and questions about powerful actors.
“If we value democracy and the ideas of freedom of expression and rational debate, UNESCO could do useful work on helping people of the world to think for themselves, and develop their own critical skills,” he concluded. “They should not be in the business of telling people what to think.”
Another expert on propaganda, environmental political theory Professor Tim Hayward at the University of Edinburgh, also warned that efforts to demonize and silence “conspiracy theories” was really an effort to pathologize dissent and inconvenient lines of questioning.
“Instead of reasoned arguments put forward by critics and dissidents being met with proper consideration and rebuttal, they are just dismissed out of hand; and the critics themselves are smeared with the name conspiracy theorists,” warned Hayward, who has written a number of peer-reviewed academic papers on the subject in recent years.
“Worse, of course, is that the general denigration of dissent is used to whip up moral panic about ‘disinformation’ and to try and justify increased censorship,” he added.
Hayward views the focus on education to combat “conspiracy theories” as particularly concerning.
“It is truly worrying when those responsible for the strategic communications challenged by dissidents get to infiltrate education systems and implant prejudices in favor of ‘official stories’ which are only official because they are backed by political authority rather than actual epistemic authority,” he said.
While Hayward cautioned that he was not necessarily accusing UNESCO of doing this, he warned that the organization and its programs needed to be watched as this was a troubling trend.
It would be better to teach children “the fundamentals of critical reasoning” so they can detect falsehoods on their own, he told The Epoch Times.
“You cannot reasonably identify disinformation or reject a ‘conspiracy theory’ unless you have a robust and defensible grip on what is reliable information,” he said, calling for “logical thinking” and “broad knowledge” to help people guard against disinformation from adversaries or even their own leaders. “That should be the focus of education.”
Truth or Misinformation?
The fresh push to quash “misinformation” and “conspiracy theories” online comes as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies increasingly admit that much of what was labeled false during the pandemic turned out to be correct.
