Posted by Ilya Somin: The Moon Landing and Belief in Political Conspiracy Theories: http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_07_19-2009_07_25.shtml#1248121904
Today is the 40th anniversary of man's first landing on the Moon, a great technological achievement. Unfortunately, public discussion of the Apollo program also exemplifies the problem of widepread belief in ridiculous conspiracy theories. In the United States, [1]only 6% of Americans believe that the Moon landings were faked, with 5% saying they are not sure, though Fox News [2]claimed to have data showing that the figure increased to 20% after they aired a 2001 documentary promoting Moon landing conspiracy theories. Abroad, belief in Moon landing conspiracy theories is more common. For example, some [3]28% of Russians and [4]25% of Britons deny that American astronauts ever landed on the Moon. In and of itself, belief in Moon landing conspiracy theories is probably not as dangerous as other irrational political beliefs, such as the widespread view that the 9/11 attack was an "inside job," that [5]"the Jews" (perhaps as part of a Jewish conspiracy) are responsible for the financial crisis, and so on. These are just a few of [6]many conspiracy theories that have gained widespread adherence in the United States, and elsewhere. In many countries, [7]far more people believe that the 9/11 attacks were a conspiracy perpetrated by the US government than realize that they were in fact carried out by a Muslim terrorist group. Although believing that the Moon landing was faked is far less invidious than some of these other examples, it isn't completely harmless. For example, it could lead to greater than warranted skepticism about future space exploration efforts. In any event, it is yet another example of the widespread pernicious effects of [8]political ignorance and irrationality. References 1. http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/everything+need+know+dinner+conversation+about/1807346/story.html 2. http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/946348/Book-to-confirm-moon-landings.html 3. http://bd.fom.ru/report/cat/sci_sci/kosmos/of001605 4. http://kn.theiet.org/news/jul09/moon-landing-survey.cfm 5. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_05_17-2009_05_23.shtml#1242876352 6. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_01_27-2008_02_02.shtml#1201989369 7. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_09_14-2008_09_20.shtml#1221599856 8. http://ssrn.com/abstract=916963 _______________________________________________ Volokh mailing list [email protected] http://lists.powerblogs.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
