What is it about conspiracy theories that makes them so popular? How do you spot the signs of conspiratorial thinking? The conspiracy hypothesis tries to explain events by pointing to a hidden source of power.
"How about when Johnson and Johnson knew that their talc powder had too much asbestos in it which can cause cancer and they kept selling it to be used on babies. They're still getting sued for mesothelioma and ovarian cancer (lots of women used it on their lady parts)." (cactusflower4-Reddit)
Faced with thousands of lawsuits alleging that its talc causes cancer, J&J insists on the product's safety and purity. Internal records obtained by Reuters reveal that J&J's powder was occasionally contaminated with dangerous asbestos and that the corporation withheld this information from authorities and the public.
J&J didn't tell the FDA that asbestos was identified in its talc in at least three tests by three different labs between 1972 and 1975 - in one case at levels described as "very high."
White baby powder bottle with blue colored words printed on it and white baby powder around it "I would love a follow up to this because I haven't heard of it and my GF takes Prozac for her anxiety. Now I'm concerned." (Potato_Puncakes-Reddit)
The US Food and Drug Administration has agreed to analyze private drug company documents that went missing more than a decade ago during a contentious product liability lawsuit. The materials seem to point to a correlation between Eli Lilly's fluoxetine (Prozac) and suicide attempts and violence.
"That Prozac appeared to increase suicidal tendencies in many subjects. They didn't want people to know that little nugget." (BorgyPorgiLongiJordy-reddit)
Claims in the Prozac Lawsuit
The legal systems have dealt with over 300 Prozac litigation, with 30 of them being settled for an estimated $50 million. These lawsuits were mostly filed by people who claimed that the prescription induced them to murder or attempt to murder someone.
Yellow and green Prozac capsule with pink, blue, and white tablets all around on a white surface "A man named John Wojnowski used to stand outside the Vatican Embassy in the '90s in Washington, DC with a sign saying that the Pope is hiding pedophile priests. He claimed to be a victim of such abuse. People would honk and throw insults/junk at him and call him crazy." (captainsmoothie-Reddit)
Many children have been sexually abused by Catholic priests, nuns, and other members of the religious community. Many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, admission, apologies by Church authorities, and discoveries regarding decades of abuse and attempts by Church officials to cover them up to have all occurred in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Boys and girls, some as young as three years old, are among the molested, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. Adult sexual harassment is rarely prosecuted in criminal proceedings. During the late 1980s, allegations of abuse and cover-ups began to gain public attention. Many of these cases accuse decades of abuse, most of which was perpetrated by adults or older children.
I met him back in 2011. I recorded in my journal: "There was a guy from sorrypope.com protesting in front of The Vatican embassy. I talked to him a little bit. He said he had been protesting at that location for the last 13 years because he was sexually abused when he was 15 years old and it negatively influenced his life." (Darrakis-Reddit)
Pope benedict wearing a green and white-colored big gown sitting on a chair in front of a cross sign Conspiracy theories have a lot of negative consequences for society. Despite the fact that conspiracy theories are rarely backed up by evidence, they continue to thrive.