Library:Them: Adventures with Extremists
| Them: Adventures with Extremists | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jon Ronson |
| First published | 2001 |
| ISBN | — |
| Role | Analysis |
| Domains | Politics & Elections Society, Identity & Demographics |
| Tactics | Conspiracy Theory |
Them: Adventures with Extremists is a 2001 book by Jon Ronson.
Summary
British journalist Jon Ronson spent time with people on the extremes, from Islamist preachers to white separatists and conspiracy theorist David Icke, and found that many shared a belief in a secret group that rules the world.
Ronson set out to find out whether such a group exists, which led him to try to observe the private Bilderberg conference.
Key points
- Shared belief. Very different extremists converged on the idea of a hidden elite controlling events.
- Bilderberg. Ronson found a real but secretive annual meeting of political and business leaders, which fed theories without proving them.
- Humanizing. Ronson's comic, curious style shows his subjects as people, without endorsing their claims.
Relevance to Bullshitopedia
The book shows how a kernel of fact, such as a secretive elite meeting, can anchor sweeping conspiracy theories.