{"id":5350,"date":"2021-01-08T01:55:56","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T22:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/englishmag.ru\/the-five-real-conspiracies-you-need-to-know-about\/"},"modified":"2021-01-08T01:55:56","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T22:55:56","slug":"the-five-real-conspiracies-you-need-to-know-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/ru\/the-five-real-conspiracies-you-need-to-know-about\/","title":{"rendered":"The Five Real Conspiracies You Need to Know\u00a0About"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div id=\"tdi_1\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_2  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_2,\r\n                .tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_2,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_2:before,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_2:after{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: table;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_4  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_4{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" >[vc_single_image image=&#187;4531&#8243; img_size=&#187;large&#187;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">The Five Real Conspiracies You Need to Know\u00a0About<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><em>While millions of people are spellbound by false conspiracy theories, the real conspiracies that are wrecking our world go about their business unheeded. Here are five genuine threats that everyone should know about\u2014and take action on.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at five of the most damaging conspiracies out there. While our mass media focuses attention on imaginary conspiracies, the real ones that threaten every one of us are barely even discussed.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Conspiracy to turn the world into a giant marketplace for the benefit of the wealthy elite<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Back in 1947, as the world was rebuilding from the destruction of the Second World War, a few dozen free-market ideologues met in a luxury Swiss resort to form the Mont Pelerin Society\u2014an organization devoted to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2016\/apr\/15\/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">spreading the ideology of neoliberalism<\/a>\u00a0throughout the world. Their ideas\u2014that the free market should dominate virtually all aspects of society, that regulations should be dismantled, and that individual liberty should eclipse all other considerations of fairness, equity, or community welfare\u2014were considered fanatical at the time. Over three decades, though, financed by wealthy donors, they assiduously expanded their plot for global domination, establishing networks of academics, businessmen, economists, journalists, and politicians, in global centers of power.<\/p>\n<p>When the stagflation crisis of the 1970s threw classic Keynesian economics into disrepute, their moment of opportunity arrived. By 1985, with free market disciples Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher entrenched in power, they initiated a campaign to systematically transform virtually all aspects of life into an unrestrained marketplace, where everything could be bought and sold to the highest bidder, subject to no moral scruple. They crippled trade unions, tore up social safety nets, reduced tax rates for the wealthy, eliminated regulations, and instituted a massive transfer of wealth from society at large to the uber-elite. Every time a new crisis occurred of their own making, such as the Great Recession of 2008, they\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2017\/jul\/06\/naomi-klein-how-power-profits-from-disaster\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">took advantage of the mayhem they caused<\/a>\u00a0to double down on their power, and extend their reach even further, bringing the ideology of the marketplace into domains, such as education, law enforcement, or wilderness preserves, that had previously been considered sacrosanct.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3483\" src=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/percent-change-in-real-income.png?w=702\" sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/percent-change-in-real-income.png 702w, https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/percent-change-in-real-income.png?w=150 150w, https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/percent-change-in-real-income.png?w=300 300w\" alt=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"3483\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.com\/percent-change-in-real-income\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/percent-change-in-real-income.png\" data-orig-size=\"702,502\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"percent-change-in-real-income\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/percent-change-in-real-income.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/percent-change-in-real-income.png?w=702\" \/><figcaption><em>The Neoliberal conspiracy has succeeded in transferring massive wealth to the uber-elite<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, this conspiracy has found yet another opportunity to squeeze wealth from the bulk of society into the hands of the few. In the United States, since the pandemic began, while 200,000 Americans have died from coronavirus and more than 50 million have lost their jobs, the collective wealth of this country\u2019s billionaires\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2020\/sep\/17\/wealth-of-us-billionaires-rises-by-nearly-a-third-during-pandemic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has soared 29%<\/a>\u00a0to $3.8 trillion. Jeff Bezos alone could give every Amazon employee $105,000 and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/the.ink\/p\/billionaire-wealth-just-got-wealthier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">still be as wealthy<\/a>\u00a0as he was before coronavirus hit.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Conspiracy by transnational corporations to turn billions of people into addicts<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In the 1920s, two ruthless men\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jeremylent.com\/foundations-of-consumer-culture.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">laid out a sinister scheme<\/a>\u00a0to gain control of the minds of Americans. Their plan? To identify people\u2019s deeply buried needs and use subtle messaging to manipulate them into doing whatever they wanted without realizing it\u2014even at the cost of their health and well-being. One of them, Edward Bernays, was Sigmund Freud\u2019s nephew and used his uncle\u2019s insights into the subconscious to develop his new methods. Their goal was to turn normal working Americans into manic consumers, training them to desire an ever-increasing amount of goods, and thereby converting their life\u2019s energy into profit for American corporations. \u201cWe must shift America from a needs to a desires culture,\u201d declared Bernays\u2019 partner, Paul Mazur. \u201cPeople must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality. Man\u2019s desires must overshadow his needs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5039 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-345x230.jpg 345w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-770x513.jpg 770w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-440x294.jpg 440w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-570x380.jpg 570w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-170x113.jpg 170w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0441igarettes1-waiting-to-be-picked-up.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>In 1928, Bernays proudly described how his techniques for mental manipulation had already permitted a small elite to control the minds of the American population:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><em>The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government that is the true ruling power of this country.<br \/>\n\u200bWe are governed, our minds molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. . . . In almost every act of our daily lives. . . we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons\u00a0. . . who pull the wires which control the public mind.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Since then, this conspiracy has succeeded beyond its instigators\u2019 wildest dreams. Corporations have perfected the technique of mind control by tweaking core human instincts that originally evolved to support our ancestors\u2019 flourishing in hunter-gatherer bands\u2014such as the desire for status or fear of exclusion\u2014for their nefarious purposes.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5033 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/there-is-more-to-life-than-likes-and-followers-instagram-facebook-twitter-social-media-addicted_t20_7ml4JO-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"There is more in life than likes and followers\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/there-is-more-to-life-than-likes-and-followers-instagram-facebook-twitter-social-media-addicted_t20_7ml4JO-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/there-is-more-to-life-than-likes-and-followers-instagram-facebook-twitter-social-media-addicted_t20_7ml4JO-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/there-is-more-to-life-than-likes-and-followers-instagram-facebook-twitter-social-media-addicted_t20_7ml4JO-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/there-is-more-to-life-than-likes-and-followers-instagram-facebook-twitter-social-media-addicted_t20_7ml4JO-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/there-is-more-to-life-than-likes-and-followers-instagram-facebook-twitter-social-media-addicted_t20_7ml4JO-501x375.jpg 501w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/there-is-more-to-life-than-likes-and-followers-instagram-facebook-twitter-social-media-addicted_t20_7ml4JO-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/there-is-more-to-life-than-likes-and-followers-instagram-facebook-twitter-social-media-addicted_t20_7ml4JO.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">There is more in life than likes and followers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Corporate predators have learned that the most valuable population to ensnare are children. In the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.com\/2017\/11\/30\/ai-has-already-taken-over-its-called-the-corporation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sinister words<\/a>\u00a0of chief executive Wayne Chilicki, \u201cWhen it comes to targeting kid consumers, we at General Mills . . . believe in getting them early and having them for life.\u201d Children in the Global South are turned into junk food addicts with the same callous contempt that factory farms turn their animals into chicken nuggets. Half of the children in south Asia are now\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2019\/dec\/26\/coke-crisps-convenience-how-ads-created-a-global-junk-food-generation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">either undernourished or overweight<\/a>, conditioned by pervasive advertising to spend what little money they have on the empty calories of junk food.<\/p>\n<p>A new generation of mind controllers are now using sophisticated data mining technologies to inject their power even deeper into our minds. At the ominously named\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/captology.stanford.edu\/go\/welcome?from=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab<\/a>, a modern-day Bernays named B. J. Fogg has taught budding entrepreneurs how to use \u201chot triggers\u201d such as thumbs-up signs and \u201cLike\u201d statistics to activate short hits of dopamine in our brains that literally get us addicted to our screens. With social media now infiltrating every aspect of many teenagers\u2019 lives, the power of predatory corporate advertising to control their minds for profit has become even more formidable. In 2017, a leaked document revealed Facebook\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2017\/may\/01\/facebook-advertising-data-insecure-teens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">boasting to advertisers<\/a>\u00a0how they can identify in real time when teenagers feel \u201cinsecure\u201d and \u201cworthless,\u201d and would be most susceptible to a \u201cconfidence boost.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Conspiracy to plunder the Global South for the benefit of the Global North<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Ever since Portuguese and Spanish explorers set sail in the fifteenth century on a quest for wealth and power, a small population of white Europeans have conspired to use their technological advantage to despoil, plunder, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jeremylent.com\/power-and-exploitation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">exploit the rest of the world\u2019s wealth<\/a>\u00a0for their own benefit. With the Treaty of Saragossa in 1529, Spain and Portugal carved up the non-European continents between them for conquest and booty. After the Industrial Revolution, the countries of northern Europe took over the plot for global supremacy, devastating the lives of tens of millions of Africans mercilessly chained and shipped as slaves to the colonies.<\/p>\n<p>After the abolition of the slave trade, the brutal exploitation continued through an international system of indentured labor. Having destroyed their livelihood in their native countries, European potentates transported more than 60 million desperate workers from India, China, and the Pacific islands to territories where they were needed, in what was frequently referred to as the \u201cnew form of slavery.\u201d This\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1139&amp;context=faculty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vast global scheme of human trafficking<\/a>\u00a0was promoted by colonial magnates such as Cecil Rhodes who declared: \u201cWe must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labour that is available from the natives of the colonies. The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods produced in our factories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In more recent times, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rapidshift.net\/jason-hickel-the-divide-a-brief-guide-to-global-inequality-and-its-solutions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">plot continues<\/a>\u00a0in different guises. During the decades after the Second World War, Global South leaders who demanded a fair role in the economic system were systematically deposed in coups arranged by U.S., British, and French militaries. In a vast loan sharking scheme, countries impoverished by colonialism then racked up unsustainable debts forced on them by Global North banks. When they couldn\u2019t pay them back without bankrupting their nations, they were coerced into so-called \u201cstructural adjustment programs\u201d which opened their labor markets and natural resources to further plunder by the North\u2019s transnational corporations. The World Bank, IMF, and World Trade Organization are all\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jasonhickel.org\/blog\/2019\/10\/16\/apartheid-in-the-global-governance-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">controlled by a few wealthy nations<\/a>\u00a0that set the terms for international trade, with the result that through a combination of illicit financial flows, debt interest payments, and profit repatriation, wealth continues to flow from the South to the North at the rate of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development-professionals-network\/2017\/jan\/14\/aid-in-reverse-how-poor-countries-develop-rich-countries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">about $3 trillion per year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonhickel\/status\/1309448765066051584\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3487\" src=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/global-north-income-disparity.png?w=974\" sizes=\"(max-width: 974px) 100vw, 974px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/global-north-income-disparity.png 974w, https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/global-north-income-disparity.png?w=150 150w, https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/global-north-income-disparity.png?w=300 300w, https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/global-north-income-disparity.png?w=768 768w\" alt=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"3487\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.com\/global-north-income-disparity\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/global-north-income-disparity.png\" data-orig-size=\"974,531\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"global-north-income-disparity\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/global-north-income-disparity.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/global-north-income-disparity.png?w=863\" \/><\/a><figcaption><em>The income gap between Global North and South has quadrupled since 1960. Data from World Bank.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>4. Conspiracy to hide the effects of climate breakdown for corporate profit<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For over fifty years, fossil fuel executives have known about the reality of human-induced climate change, yet they spent most of that time\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rapidshift.net\/jason-hickel-the-divide-a-brief-guide-to-global-inequality-and-its-solutions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">deliberately concealing their knowledge<\/a>\u00a0and obfuscating public discussion on the topic so they could rake in trillions of dollars in profit. In 1968, the Stanford Research Institute\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smokeandfumes.org\/documents\/document16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alerted the American Petroleum Institute<\/a>\u2014the national trade association that represents America\u2019s oil and natural gas industry\u2014to the fact that CO2 emissions were accumulating in the atmosphere, and could reach 400 parts per million by 2000. Their report warned that rising CO2 levels would result in melting ice caps, rising seas, and serious environmental damage worldwide. Exxon scientists studied the issue further,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/frontline\/article\/investigation-finds-exxon-ignored-its-own-early-climate-change-warnings\/\">reporting\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/frontline\/article\/investigation-finds-exxon-ignored-its-own-early-climate-change-warnings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/frontline\/article\/investigation-finds-exxon-ignored-its-own-early-climate-change-warnings\/\">\u00a0management in 1977<\/a>\u00a0that there was \u201coverwhelming\u201d consensus that fossil fuels were responsible for CO2 increases. In an internal Exxon memo in 1981,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/ng-interactive\/2019\/oct\/09\/half-century-dither-denial-climate-crisis-timeline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">scientists raised the alarm<\/a>\u00a0that the company\u2019s 50-year plan \u201cwill later produce effects which will indeed be catastrophic (at least for a substantial fraction of the Earth\u2019s population).\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5042\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5042\" style=\"width: 474px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5043 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Man-in-a-zodiac-passing-by-a-giant-iceberg-at-Alaskan-fjord-1024x623.jpg\" alt=\"South-Sawyer-Gletscher, USA\" width=\"474\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Man-in-a-zodiac-passing-by-a-giant-iceberg-at-Alaskan-fjord-1024x623.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Man-in-a-zodiac-passing-by-a-giant-iceberg-at-Alaskan-fjord-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Man-in-a-zodiac-passing-by-a-giant-iceberg-at-Alaskan-fjord-768x467.jpg 768w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Man-in-a-zodiac-passing-by-a-giant-iceberg-at-Alaskan-fjord-600x365.jpg 600w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Man-in-a-zodiac-passing-by-a-giant-iceberg-at-Alaskan-fjord.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5042\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Man in a zodiac passing by a giant iceberg at Alaskan fjord Alaskan adventures. South-Sawyer-Gletscher, USA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Exxon\u2014and the other fossil fuel companies\u2014knew their actions would lead to climate breakdown, and instead of trying to solve the problem, they lied to the public to hide their misdeeds. Following the example of the tobacco industry, which had already condemned millions to early deaths through cynical deception, they\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/exxonknew.org\/timeline\/?_ga=2.144951156.174356882.1601410573-2074692163.1600979233\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">embarked on a concerted strategy<\/a>\u00a0to dupe the public by paying fake experts to publish papers; cherry picking selective data to support false conclusions; and sow their own wild conspiracy theories to deflect attention from their crimes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5046\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5046\" style=\"width: 474px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5047\" src=\"http:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Tropical forest destruction - construction of skyscrapers in forest zone \" width=\"474\" height=\"316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-345x230.jpg 345w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-770x513.jpg 770w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-440x294.jpg 440w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-570x380.jpg 570w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-170x113.jpg 170w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tropical-forest-destruction-construction-of-skyscrapers-in-forest-zone.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5046\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tropical forest destruction &#8212; construction of skyscrapers in forest zone. Malaysia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As a result of their immoral plot, the world is now facing a dire climate emergency. If the fossil fuel companies had confronted the issue honestly from the outset, there could have been a managed transition to renewable energy over decades, causing little disruption and saving millions of lives through reduced pollution. Instead, it will now take an immediate global mobilization to avoid a 2\u00b0 C rise in temperature over preindustrial levels. The world is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/energy-and-environment\/2018\/4\/30\/17300946\/global-warming-degrees-replace-fossil-fuels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">currently on track<\/a>\u00a0for more than a 3\u00b0 C rise this century, with the high likelihood of stumbling into a tipping point cascade that quickly leads to a three- and four-degree world\u2014one that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/owlcation.com\/stem\/Mark-Lynass-Six-Degrees-A-Summary-Review\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">becomes rapidly unrecognizable<\/a>, with the Amazon rainforest turning into searing desert; coastal cities inundated by flooding; super-hurricanes tearing the windows out of skyscrapers; persistent massive droughts and famine across the world; and hundreds of millions of desperate climate refugees.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, by putting billions of human lives in jeopardy, the four biggest fossil fuel companies\u2014ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, and BP\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2020\/feb\/12\/revealed-big-oil-profits-since-1990-total-nearly-2tn-bp-shell-chevron-exxon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">have made $2 trillion in profits<\/a>\u00a0since they began their campaign of lies in 1990.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>5. Conspiracy to grow the global economy indefinitely, while killing most of life on Earth and risking the collapse of civilization.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In a barely noticed footnote to the daily news, the World Wildlife Fund recently released\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/livingplanet.panda.org\/en-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a shocking report<\/a>\u00a0revealing a devastating 68% worldwide decline in animal populations in the past fifty years. Even this dismal news hides more gut-wrenching statistics, such as the 84% decline in amphibians, reptiles, and fishes, or the 94% decline in animal populations in South America.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5040\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5040\" style=\"width: 869px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5041\" src=\"https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/the-volunteer-beach-trash-man-is-picking-up-cigarette-butts-and-other-trash-left-by-careless_t20_a7RGYx.jpg\" alt=\"The volunteer beach trash man is picking up cigarette butts \" width=\"869\" height=\"475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/the-volunteer-beach-trash-man-is-picking-up-cigarette-butts-and-other-trash-left-by-careless_t20_a7RGYx.jpg 869w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/the-volunteer-beach-trash-man-is-picking-up-cigarette-butts-and-other-trash-left-by-careless_t20_a7RGYx-300x164.jpg 300w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/the-volunteer-beach-trash-man-is-picking-up-cigarette-butts-and-other-trash-left-by-careless_t20_a7RGYx-768x420.jpg 768w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/the-volunteer-beach-trash-man-is-picking-up-cigarette-butts-and-other-trash-left-by-careless_t20_a7RGYx-600x328.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5040\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The volunteer beach trash man is picking up cigarette butts and other trash left by careless litterbugs who have no respect for others or for the environment and are killing our oceans and endangering wildlife<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5044\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5044\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5045 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/plastic-found-gathered-beach-trash-garbage-rubbish-recycle-pollution-global-warming-reduc-300x240.jpg\" alt=\"plastic waste trash on sandy beach\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/plastic-found-gathered-beach-trash-garbage-rubbish-recycle-pollution-global-warming-reduc-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/plastic-found-gathered-beach-trash-garbage-rubbish-recycle-pollution-global-warming-reduc-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/plastic-found-gathered-beach-trash-garbage-rubbish-recycle-pollution-global-warming-reduc-100x80.jpg 100w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/plastic-found-gathered-beach-trash-garbage-rubbish-recycle-pollution-global-warming-reduc-600x480.jpg 600w, https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/plastic-found-gathered-beach-trash-garbage-rubbish-recycle-pollution-global-warming-reduc.jpg 967w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5044\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">plastic waste trash on sandy beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is just the latest bulletin marking\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.com\/2017\/12\/19\/what-will-it-really-take-to-avoid-collapse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the demise of nature<\/a>\u00a0as it succumbs to the relentless growth of human economic activity across the world. Three-quarters of all land has been appropriated for human purposes, either turned into farmland, covered by concrete, or flooded by reservoirs. Three-quarters of rivers and lakes are used for crop or livestock cultivation, with many of the world\u2019s greatest rivers, such as the Ganges, Yangtze, or Nile, no longer reaching the sea. Half of the world\u2019s forests and wetlands have disappeared\u2014the Amazon rainforest alone is vanishing at the rate of an acre every second.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the world\u2019s Gross Domestic Product is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.oecd.org\/economy\/growth\/scenarios-for-the-world-economy-to-2060.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">forecast to nearly triple<\/a>\u00a0by the middle of this century, by which time it\u2019s estimated that 5 billion people will be\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2018\/mar\/19\/water-shortages-could-affect-5bn-people-by-2050-un-report-warns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">facing water shortages<\/a>, 95% of the Earth\u2019s arable land\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegef.org\/topics\/land-degradation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">will be degraded<\/a>\u2014and there will be\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2016\/01\/20\/by-2050-there-will-be-more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-worlds-oceans-study-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more plastic than fish<\/a>\u00a0in the ocean. It\u2019s been estimated by leading experts that, by the end of this century, half of the world\u2019s estimated 8 million species\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/eowilsonfoundation.org\/the-8-million-species-we-dont-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">will be extinct<\/a>\u00a0or at the brink of extinction unless humanity changes its ways. These depredations, combined with climate breakdown, are believed by an increasing number of analysts to spell\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/voiceofaction.org\/collapse-of-civilisation-is-the-most-likely-outcome-top-climate-scientists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the likely collapse<\/a>\u00a0of modern civilization.<\/p>\n<p>The underlying cause of this headlong rush to catastrophe is our society\u2019s obsession with economic growth as the sole criterion for measuring success. A dangerous myth of \u201cgreen growth\u201d propagated by techno-optimists argues that through technological innovation, GDP can become \u201cdecoupled\u201d from resource use and carbon emissions, permitting limitless growth on a finite planet. This has been shown to be\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/eeb.org\/decoupling-debunked1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nothing but a fantasy<\/a>: it hasn\u2019t happened so far, and even the most wildly aggressive assumptions for greater efficiency lead to unsustainable consumption of global resources.<\/p>\n<p>So who, in this case, are the conspirators? If you\u2019re living a normal life in an affluent country, you don\u2019t need to look further than the mirror. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/2053019614564785\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wealthy OECD nations<\/a>, with only 18% of the global population, account for 74% of global GDP, and the richest 10% of people are responsible for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com\/bitstream\/handle\/10546\/621052\/mb-confronting-carbon-inequality-210920-en.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than half<\/a>\u00a0the world\u2019s carbon emissions.<\/p>\n<p>Those of us who continue to benefit from the inequities dealt us by the global system, and aren\u2019t actively engaged in curbing it, are like a few shipwrecked survivors on a gilded lifeboat kicking others desperately scrambling for life into the ocean to protect their own safety and comfort. We may not be actively kicking their knuckles, but by allowing this reckless system of unsustainable growth to continue, we\u2019re implicitly making the same choice.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3492\" src=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/for-a-beautiful-moment.png?w=716\" sizes=\"(max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/for-a-beautiful-moment.png 716w, https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/for-a-beautiful-moment.png?w=150 150w, https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/for-a-beautiful-moment.png?w=300 300w\" alt=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"3492\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.com\/for-a-beautiful-moment\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/for-a-beautiful-moment.png\" data-orig-size=\"716,716\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"for-a-beautiful-moment\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/for-a-beautiful-moment.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/for-a-beautiful-moment.png?w=716\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>So, the next time someone tells you to \u201cdo your research\u201d on their new conspiracy theory, please point them to the real conspiracies that are threatening life on this beautiful but troubled planet. The good news is that, since they\u2019re real conspiracies, there is something we can do about them. We can vote in politicians that promise to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ourrevolution.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">peel back the neoliberal nightmare<\/a>; advocate for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.com\/2018\/07\/12\/five-ways-to-curb-the-power-of-corporations-and-billionaires\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">curbs on predatory corporate activities<\/a>; support the Global South in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizenstrade.org\/ctc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">changing the terms<\/a>\u00a0of international trade;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theclimatemobilization.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declare a Climate Emergency<\/a>\u00a0in our community to turn around carbon emissions; and become active in the movement to transform our global society to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.com\/2018\/10\/10\/we-need-an-ecological-civilization-before-its-too-late\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an Ecological Civilization<\/a>\u2014one that is based on life-affirming principles rather than accumulating wealth.<\/p>\n<p>Check what we published earlier: <a href=\"https:\/\/englishmagazine.ru\/sea-level-rise-from-ice-sheets-track-worst-case-climate-change-scenario\/\">https:\/\/englishmagazine.ru\/sea-level-rise-from-ice-sheets-track-worst-case-climate-change-scenario\/\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\" \/>\n<p>Jeremy Lent is author of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeremylent.com\/the-patterning-instinct.html\"><em>The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity\u2019s Search for Meaning<\/em><\/a>, which investigates how different cultures have made sense of the universe and how their underlying values have changed the course of history. His upcoming book,\u00a0<em>The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe<\/em>, will be published in Spring 2021 (New Society Publishers: US\/Canada | Profile Books: UK\/Commonwealth). For more information visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeremylent.com\/\">jeremylent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>check more &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikiquote.org\/wiki\/Conspiracy_theories\">https:\/\/en.wikiquote.org\/wiki\/Conspiracy_theories<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Check the comments here: <a href=\"https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.com\/2020\/10\/01\/the-five-real-conspiracies-you-need-to-know-about\/\">https:\/\/patternsofmeaning.com\/2020\/10\/01\/the-five-real-conspiracies-you-need-to-know-about\/<\/a>\u00a0[\/vc_column_text]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"tdi_5\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_6  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_6,\r\n                .tdi_6 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_6,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_6 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_6 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_6:before,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_6:after{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: table;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_8  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_8{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_8 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_8 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_8 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_8 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_8 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" >[vc_single_image image=&#187;4535&#8243; img_size=&#187;large&#187; css_animation=&#187;fadeIn&#187;]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"tdi_9\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_10  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_10,\r\n                .tdi_10 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_10,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_10 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_10 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_10:before,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_10:after{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: table;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_12  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_12{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" >[vc_column_text]So, what do we need to do? It&#8217;s, definitely, to unite![\/vc_column_text]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_single_image image=\"4531\" img_size=\"large\"][vc_column_text] The Five Real Conspiracies You Need to Know\u00a0About While millions of people are spellbound by false conspiracy theories, the real conspiracies that are wrecking our world go about their business unheeded. Here are five genuine threats that everyone should know about\u2014and take action on. Let\u2019s take a look at five of the [...]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,78],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-novosti","8":"category-articles"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Five Real Conspiracies You Need to Know\u00a0About - EnglishMag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The world is awash in a deluge of dangerous conspiracy theories. Most notoriously, the bizarre\u00a0QAnon fantasy\u00a0postulates that a global child sex-trafficking ring is being run by liberal, Satan-worshiping pedophiles whose plot will be uncovered by President Donald Trump on a \u201cday of reckoning\u201d involving mass arrests. Earlier in 2020, the\u00a0Plandemic conspiracy video\u00a0went viral on social media, instilling disinformation into millions of minds about Covid-19...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/englishmag.ru\/ru\/the-five-real-conspiracies-you-need-to-know-about\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ru_RU\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Five Real Conspiracies You Need to Know\u00a0About - EnglishMag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The world is awash in a deluge of dangerous conspiracy theories. Most notoriously, the bizarre\u00a0QAnon fantasy\u00a0postulates that a global child sex-trafficking ring is being run by liberal, Satan-worshiping pedophiles whose plot will be uncovered by President Donald Trump on a \u201cday of reckoning\u201d involving mass arrests. 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