GMO conspiracy theories are conspiracy theories related to the production and sale of genetically modified crops and genetically modified food These.
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Associations between belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory and all other variables included in Study 1. To examine antecedents of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, bivariate correlations were conducted between overall scores as derived above and all remaining variables general conspiracist ideation, attitudes to authority, political cynicism, political alienation, self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and participant age.
As can be seen in Table 2 , belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was significantly and positively correlated with general conspiracist ideation, although the strength of the correlation was weak. Belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was also positively correlated with participant age and political cynicism, although the strength of these correlations was likewise weak.
Belief in general conspiracy theories was positively correlated with attitudes to authority and political cynicism, and negatively correlated with participant age. To examine the predictive strength of these associations, a multiple linear regression was conducted with belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory as the criterion variable and all remaining factors as predictor variables.
Overall, the results of Study 1 provided only limited support for the hypotheses. Although belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was significantly associated with general conspiracist ideation, which supports the idea of a monological belief system, the association was relatively weak. Furthermore, other measures of anomie did not emerge as significant predictors of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, which stands in contrast to the findings of previous work. In terms of general belief in conspiracy theories, the results indicated that politically cynical individuals were more likely to hold stronger conspiracist beliefs.
Again, however, the association was weak and further variables associated with anomie did not emerge as significant predictors. In short, the results of Study 1 appear to suggest that measures of anomie are not strong predictors of conspiracist ideation among Malaysian Malays. It is possible that the results of Study 1 reflect the fact that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays stems, not from feelings of powerlessness but rather from implicit resentment toward ethnic minorities particularly the Chinese , as well explicit hostility toward Western secularism and cosmopolitanism Hadler, That is, rather than being monological in the sense proposed by Goertzel , belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory may serve a specific ideological purpose within the Malaysian geopolitical context.
If this is the case, then the lack of significant associations between belief in this conspiracy theory and measures of anomie is unsurprising, as the conspiracy theory is not driven by traditional feelings of powerlessness, disadvantage, or voicelessness in fact, among some Malaysian Malays, it may be just the opposite. Study 2, therefore, sought to extend the findings of the first study by examining the relationships between belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory and a range of ideological variables.
Specifically, this study included measures of right-wing authoritarianism a measure of support for traditional social norms and submission to authority , social dominance orientation a measure of preference for hierarchical social systems , anti-Israeli attitudes which has been argued to be a socially acceptable cover for hostility toward Jews; Cohen et al.
In addition, participants also completed a measure of general conspiracist ideation, as in Study 1, which allowed for a test of the relative strength of these variables in predicting belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory.
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Participants of Study 2 were women and men of Malay ancestry, recruited from Kuala Lumpur. Participants completed the item measure of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, as described in Study 1.
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Based on the above results, an overall score for this scale was computed as the mean of all 12 items. To measure authoritarianism, the short form of the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale Zakrisson, was used. This is a item short version of the original item measure Altemeyer, and measures the degree to which an individual supports traditional social norms and submission to authority.
Higher scores on this scale provide an index of greater right-wing authoritarianism. The short form of this scale has good psychometric properties Zakrisson, Higher scores on this scale indicate greater social dominance orientation.
Higher scores on this scale reflect more pro-Israeli attitudes. The scale has been successfully adapted to different target groups e. Higher scores on this scale reflect greater prejudice toward the Chinese. The original version of the scale has been shown to have good psychometric properties McConahay et al. The procedures of Study 2 were identical to those of Study 1, with the exception that participation was limited to those who had not taken part in Study 1. Descriptive statistics for, and bivariate correlations between, all variables included in Study 2 are reported in Table 3.
As can be seen, stronger belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was significantly associated with more anti-Israeli attitudes, higher racism, greater social dominance orientation, greater right-wing authoritarianism, stronger belief in general conspiracy theories, and older age. The correlations were strongest for attitudes toward Israel and modern racism and weakest for general conspiracist ideation. Associations between belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory and all other variables included in Study 2.
General conspiracist ideation and participant age did not emerge as significant predictors in this analysis. The results of Study 2 indicate that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays was significantly associated with anti-Israeli attitudes, modern racism directed at Chinese, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation. When these ideological variables had been accounted for, general conspiracist ideation did not emerge as a significant predictor.
Overall, these results suggest that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory may serve particular ideological needs rather than conform to a monological belief system, at least among the present sample. That is, the Jewish conspiracy theory may not be viewed in the same way as other conspiracy theories, but rather appears to reflect specific political expressions within a particular geopolitical context. The results of the present studies suggest that, in the Malaysian context, belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory may only be weakly associated with belief in other conspiracy theories.
Rather, belief in this conspiracist, anti-Semitic narrative appears to serve ideological demands and needs that may be more pronounced in the Malaysian context. For example, various authors have noted the upsurge of anti-Jewish rhetoric among politically conservative Malaysians, motivated in part by the question of Palestine, but also broader concerns about the threat from secularism, cosmopolitanism, globalization, and capitalism. In this context, the Jewish conspiracy theory should be viewed through the lens of the particular geopolitical context in Malaysia, especially in relation to the resurgence of political Islam and Muslim victimhood Reid, Interestingly, the results of Study 2 also indicate that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was associated with prejudice toward the Chinese.
Several scholars have suggested that, in Malaysia, anti-Jewish rhetoric may represent an implicit attack on the Chinese, particularly Chinese commerce and business elites Hadler, Because explicitly targeting the Chinese is both illegal and politically unwise, the Jewish conspiracy theory may offer a means of expressing an anti-Chinese polemic that would otherwise remain suppressed Reid, That is, to the extent that explicit anti-Chinese rhetoric must remain hidden, the anti-Jewish conspiracy theory provides a crude tool for the expression of racist sentiment.
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In a political climate marked by the exploitation of race for political ends, but in which explicitly anti-Chinese rhetoric must remain hidden, conspiracy theories about the Jews may serve particular ideological needs Hadler, ; Reid, It is also interesting to note that, in Study 1, belief in general conspiracy theories was significantly predicted by political cynicism, but not other measures of anomie. Moreover, Study 2 showed that belief in general conspiracy theories was significantly associated with right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, albeit weakly.
These results stands in contrast to previous findings among Western samples, which indicate that belief in conspiracy theories is significantly associated with measures of anomie Goertzel, ; Abalakina-Paap et al. Additionally, the negative association between belief in general conspiracy theories and right-wing authoritarianism appears to be stronger in the present study than has been reported among central European participants Swami et al. In short, the present results provide preliminary support for the suggestion that conspiracist ideation may play different roles in different cultural contexts.
As Gray , p. Certainly, the present study suggests that explanations related to anomie and powerlessness may be insufficient to explain the maintenance and spread of conspiracy theories in Malaysia. Of course, this is not to suggest that the study of conspiracism in the West will not be beneficial for understanding it in other cultural contexts. Rather, accumulating evidence suggests that there may be limits to the applicability and transferability of the former onto the latter Gray, Nevertheless, this discussion of cultural specificity should be interpreted with some caution.
For one thing, previous studies of conspiracist ideation among Western samples have tended to focus on conspiracy theories that tend to be stigmatized or outside the mainstream, which contrasts with the ubiquity of the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays.
As such, it is quite possible that more mainstream conspiracy theories in the West will also show similar patterns of antecedents as the Jewish conspiracy theory in Malaysia. In short, more work is needed to ascertain the extent to which there is a cultural gap in the socio-political functions of conspiracism in the West. In a similar vein, it would also be useful to further explore whether, or the extent to which, the relationship between the Jewish conspiracy theory and ant-Chinese sentiment among Malaysian Malays in fact reflects a more generalized reaction that views any outsider as having sinister motives.
This study is also not without other limitations. Socially desirable responding is a real concern, particularly as participants may not have wished to disclose politically or socially sensitive information despite the steps taken, such as assurances of anonymity. In addition, the opportunistic method of sampling means that the present results may not be generalizable to the wider Malay public. Indeed, and conversely, the present set of results may represent phenomena that are specific to Malaysian Malays, and future studies would do well to replicate these results in other cultural settings.
For example, it is unclear whether the same pattern of results would be found in Western settings where anti-Semitic sentiments are more culturally circumscribed than in Malaysia. Furthermore, although steps were taken to ensure that the scales used in the present study were appropriately back-translated, it is possible that translational issues affected the present set of findings. Finally, future studies could include further variables that were neglected in the present work, such as religiosity which may be particularly important given the issue of Muslim victimhood and its relevance to belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory.
Even so, the present results raise important questions about the nature and functions of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories in the Malaysian context. It would appear that, among Malaysian Malays at least, the Jewish conspiracy theory serves specific ideological functions that are distinct from other conspiracy theories. More broadly, the present findings suggest that anti-Jewish rhetoric among Malaysian Malays should not be dismissed as a marginal phenomenon.
Rather, it would appear that, as the Jewish conspiracy is espoused by politicians and the mainstream media, boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable political discourse becomes blurred for a similar discussion concerning Yugoslavia, see Byford and Billig, In this context, there is an urgent need to more carefully locate the ideological functions served by such conspiracy theories and to begin the difficult task of combating anti-Jewish and other racist rhetoric.
GMO conspiracy theories - Wikipedia
The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Markus Wiener Publications , 57— Patterns Prejudice 41, 45— A Culture of Conspiracy. University of California Press. Rhetoric of the conspiracy theory: Patterns Prejudice 22, 23— Cornell University Press , — Pubmed Abstract Pubmed Full Text.
Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Assessing belief in conspiracy theories: The conspiracy of Jews: Patterns Prejudice 35, 50— The scree plot test for the number of factors. University of Washington Press. Political Disaffection AmongUniversity Students: Contents, Measurements, and Causes.
Modern anti-semitism and anti-Israeli attitudes. Belief in conspiracy theories: The satisfaction with life scale. Anew measure of anti-Arab prejudice: Uses and Abuses of Psychology. Secrecy and Power in American Culture. University of Minnesota Press. Routledge and Kegan Paul. Media, education, and anti-Americanism in the Muslim world. The political economy of hatred. Belief in conspiracy theories. The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America. Explaining conspiracy theories in modern Arab Middle Eastern political discourse: Moscovici New York, NY: Jews, the Chinese, and violence in colonial and post-colonial Indonesia.
Malay World 32, — Duke University Press , — Hofstader New York, NY: A History of the Jews.
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- GMO conspiracy theories.
Handbook of Test Construction. The truth is out there: Attitudinal and political implications of diffusion of technology: Modern racism and modern discrimination: Gaertner San Diego, CA: Academic Press , 91— Has racism declined in America? It depends on who is asking and what is asked.
On the John F. The Politics of Denial. Human science as conspiracy theory. George Allen and Unwin. On political conspiracy theories. Delinquent behaviour and attitudes to formal authority. Jewish-conspiracy theories in Southeast Asia: Malay World 38, — Society and the Adolescent Child. Conspiracy Theory as Naive Deconstructionist History. One claim is that Monsanto is deliberately hiding scientific evidence that GMOs are harmful. There are some well-qualified dissenting scientists and a motivated group of food activists behind them, pushing back against GM food.
They believe a GM crop is not substantially equivalent to traditional crops. Moreover, they believe that the FDA follows the substantial equivalence rule not because of the science, but because the FDA was corrupted by corporate influence. This is not a belief that the authors' share, but there are smart people of high character who do believe this conspiracy theory, and their side of the story deserves to be heard. In The World According to Monsanto , author Marie-Monique Robin describes how the substantial equivalence began with a policy statement by the FDA under the leadership of a former Monsanto lawyer, who, after working in the FDA, returned to Monsanto as vice president.
It is not hard to imagine a company rewarding lenient regulators with a nice job, and food activists have websites listing powerful government officials and their relation to Monsanto and other corporations. If this sounds like a conspiracy theory a term not meant as a euphemism , it is. An example of Monsanto-based conspiracy theorizing were the claims by some anti-GMO activists that Monsanto banned GMOs from their cafeterias while promoting them for sale and consumption by the public.
In January , concerns over a Zika virus outbreak were accompanied by claims first published on Reddit that the virus was being spread by a genetically modified mosquito. In the context of ongoing concerns over food safety at Chipotle Mexican Grill certain commentators have implied that the outbreaks of food-borne illnesses were intentional sabotage by the biotech industry in retaliation over Chipotle's removal of GMOs from their menu.
Like preventable childhood diseases, malnutrition is another great moral failing of our time. GMOs such as golden rice —rice modified to contain high levels of beta carotene in order to compensate for the vitamin A deficiency which kills hundreds of thousands of children around the world and blinds many more every year—and drought resistant crops, which will become increasingly vital in the global south due to climate change , have vast potential to help those who don't shop at Whole Foods.
But real progress has been stymied by the paranoid and misinformed, who clamor that GMOs, which are biologically no different than "natural" foods, are somehow poisonous. Behind it all is of course an evil corporation: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is part of a series on Alternative medicine , pseudomedicine, and medical conspiracy theories General information.
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Alternative medicine Quackery Health fraud History of alternative medicine Rise of modern medicine Pseudoscience Pseudomedicine Antiscience Skepticism Skeptical movement. Fringe medicine and science. Alternative medical systems Mind—body intervention Biologically-based therapy Manipulative methods Energy therapy. Retrieved 31 January Challenging anti-technology conspiracy theories". Handbook of plant biotechnology. The Journal of Value Inquiry.
Public Understanding of Science. A critical examination of the rhetoric in the GMO public policy debates in Ghana".
Conspiracy Theories in American History: The Science and Ethics of Genetic Engineering. The Food Is Safe. The Rhetoric Is Dangerous". Bailey Norwood; Michelle S. Oltenacu 17 November Agricultural and Food Controversies.