Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything
- Downloads：6858
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-02-21 17:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Kelly Weill
- ISBN：B08WK7XCQ4
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Daily Beast reporter Kelly Weill's OFF THE EDGE: FLAT EARTH， CONSPIRACY CULTURE， AND WHY PEOPLE WILL BELIEVE ANYTHING， exploring the recent boom in conspiratorial thinking through the lens of the Flat Earth movement， in a deeply reported narrative that is part internet anthropology and part intervention， to Abby Muller at Algonquin。
Reviews
Crystal P
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An enlightening and curious look into the psychology of how people fall into beliefs and thought processes that contradict many others - while living in the reality of society today。 Written from a journalist's point of view and experience， this nonfiction piece forces readers to look into themselves to see why it is easy to come into a circle of believers， a community and embrace these new thoughts。 Weill also looks at how today's technologies prey on users and make conspiracy theories even str An enlightening and curious look into the psychology of how people fall into beliefs and thought processes that contradict many others - while living in the reality of society today。 Written from a journalist's point of view and experience， this nonfiction piece forces readers to look into themselves to see why it is easy to come into a circle of believers， a community and embrace these new thoughts。 Weill also looks at how today's technologies prey on users and make conspiracy theories even stronger than they were years ago。 Thought provoking read。 。。。more
Michelle B
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I received an advance reader's copy from Goodreads giveaways and the author。 I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read this book before it's release next year。 I like my reviews to be quick and straight to the point without giving away spoilers。What you'll get in this book:- A history of how Flat Earth conspiracies came to be in the 1800's。- How Flat Earth believers are ridiculed and isolated in their social lives。- How flat Earth conspiracy theories have become prominent in the 2000s and mor I received an advance reader's copy from Goodreads giveaways and the author。 I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read this book before it's release next year。 I like my reviews to be quick and straight to the point without giving away spoilers。What you'll get in this book:- A history of how Flat Earth conspiracies came to be in the 1800's。- How Flat Earth believers are ridiculed and isolated in their social lives。- How flat Earth conspiracy theories have become prominent in the 2000s and more so in recent years。- How Flat Earth conspiracy theory can， and often crosses over to other conspiracy theories such as qAnon， and antisemitic beliefs。- A few anecdotal stories about Flat Earth believers， their lives and failed experiments。Overall， I found this book to be an incredibly interesting read。 It's not a long book， so it does keep you engaged throughout。 The chapters were well thought out。 The first half of the book is mainly about the history of Flat Earth conspiracy and it's founders。I do wish that book included a more in-depth look at the various theories sourrounding Flat Earth and the reasoning behind those theories。 I would have liked an additional chapter on discussions with flat earthers and their personal experiences with family， friends， and how they came to enter the Flat Earth consipracy group。 I find the progress of people falling down the rabbit hole facinating。 As I said， good book， quite interesting， and worth a read。 I don't have any issues with the book。 。。。more
Sharon
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Kelly Weill is a reporter for the Daily Beast， a legitimate left-leaning news source， and her beat is extremist movements and conspiracy theories。 The beginning of the book is the history of the Flat Earthers， dating to the early 19th century， backfill for her contemporary research on the modern movement。 Members believe that governments and scientists are selling a “global lie” in order to control the world by tarnishing religious teaching。 One guy told her that they want people to be confused Kelly Weill is a reporter for the Daily Beast， a legitimate left-leaning news source， and her beat is extremist movements and conspiracy theories。 The beginning of the book is the history of the Flat Earthers， dating to the early 19th century， backfill for her contemporary research on the modern movement。 Members believe that governments and scientists are selling a “global lie” in order to control the world by tarnishing religious teaching。 One guy told her that they want people to be confused when the aliens land， mistake Jesus for an alien and then kill him。 She says， “Conspiracies theories are a way to construct order and meaning in times of uncertainty。 They let us shape our fears into something we understand。” A “stolen election” and a world-wide pandemic was the perfect storm。She attended FE （Flat Earth） conferences， ultimately making friends from some of the followers。 The early movement would have died out for lack of interest， but enter social media which is like pouring gas on a fire。 The FEers fell in bed with the Truthers that Trump gave birth to， and of course with the stolen election and MAGA group。 Believe it or be ostracized - Very cultish。 Don’t be afraid to check the authors facts。 Mike Adams really did generate a ton of money selling subscriptions to untruths about Y2K creating world-wide panic。“When I read back on my first published interview with the Flat Earth Society， I can acknowledge that its premise was a silly joke that probably gave the society unwarranted publicity。 But other passages read like warnings from the future。” We are in the future。 。。。more
Tima
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Thank you！ I never knew people like this existed， and I have more knowledge about the conspiracies spouted on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and on social media。
Carol
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Received as a GoodReads giveaway。 Interesting， thought-provoking read， with a history of the Flat Earth movement and its connections to social media， other conspiracy theories and political cultures。 Easy to read and engaging。
Thomas Lambe
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