Conspiracy Debate & PubMedia Redux

I have written in the past of my concerns about public media forwarding conspiracy theories as part of community radio programming. A recent incident with KPFT programming has prompted my interest in revisiting this issue, and highlights why I think these conspiracy theories are touchy ones for noncommercial radio and media.

On Oct. 22, 2009, the host of KPFT’s New Capital Show, Leo Gold, in responding to a caller promoting the website of entrepreneur Alex Jones, remarked that what he saw seemed like paranoia, citing specifically implications on the front page of Jones’ website that President Barack Obama was orchestrating a possible declaration of martial law. Here’s a link to the audio of that call. Leo Gold’s comment sparked an on-air debate between Leo and a caller named Clint Milby about the term conspiracy theorist and the potential for martial law. The radio program ended shortly thereafter. Here’s Clint’s call.

For virtually every radio talk show, the exchange was rote. Hosts give opinions on topics all the time and callers may disagree and communicate such. This clash, though, became far bigger than a call. Leo Gold reportedly received a profanity-laced message at his place of business about the program and references to Jones. Milby posted a series of pieces (1, 2, 3, 4) on his own blog, critical of Leo, me and KPFT for Leo’s terming Jones a conspiracy theorist. I engaged Milby, who posted about Leo at my KPFT blog, and was called a despot for my disagreement. Leo also received email critical of his views of Alex Jones and conspiracy theories. What began as a fairly vanilla debate on a radio program culminated into a call by Milby across the Internet to Jones’ supporters (under the banner “KPFT hates Alex Jones”), 9/11 conspiracy theorists, ‘patriots,’ et al. to boycott KPFT’s pledge drive.

Anyone who has listened to talk radio no doubt has heard a host disagree with a caller. Why has criticism of Alex Jones and the conspiracy theory subculture generated such a reaction? The deeply emotional calls conspiracy theories tap into may be part of the reason.

Claims President Obama is planning to declare martial law are among many conspiracy theories related to the current administration. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks ‘patriot’ and hate groups around the United States, notes conspiracy theories have been turned into video games, demands police and soldiers refuse to participate in enforcing said martial law, calls for armed marches and more. In its recent report, the SPLC warns right-wing ‘patriots,’ inflamed during the Clinton years but faded during George W. Bush’s conservative reign, are back, fueled by fears a Democratic president will take away guns, declare martial law and merge the United States with the so-called New World Order. The report notes:

A key difference this time is that the federal government — the entity that almost the entire radical right views as its primary enemy — is headed by a black man. That, coupled with high levels of non-white immigration and a decline in the percentage of whites overall in America, has helped to racialize the Patriot movement, which in the past was not primarily motivated by race hate. One result has been a remarkable rash of domestic terror incidents since the presidential campaign, most of them related to anger over the election of Barack Obama. At the same time, ostensibly mainstream politicians and media pundits have helped to spread Patriot and related propaganda, from conspiracy theories about a secret network of U.S. concentration camps to wholly unsubstantiated claims about the president’s country of birth.

Writing for AlterNet, Chip Berlet of Political Research Associates, offers another perspective on the ‘patriot’ movement Alex Jones and others are reportedly associated with:

The core narrative of many popular conspiracy theories is that “the people” are held down by a conspiracy of wealthy secret elites manipulating a vast legion of corrupt politicians, mendacious journalists, propagandizing schoolteachers, nefarious bankers and hidden subversive cadres.

This is not an expression of a healthy political skepticism about state power or legitimate calls for reform or radical challenges to government or corporate abuses. This is an irrational anxiety that pictures the world as governed by powerful long-standing covert conspiracies of evildoers who control politics, the economy, and all of history. Scholars call this worldview “conspiracism.”

The term conspiracism, according to historian Frank P. Mintz, denotes a “belief in the primacy of conspiracies in the unfolding of history.” Mintz explains: “Conspiracism serves the needs of diverse political and social groups in America and elsewhere. It identifies elites, blames them for economic and social catastrophes, and assumes that things will be better once popular action can remove them from positions of power. As such, conspiracy theories do not typify a particular epoch or ideology.”

When conspiracism becomes a mass phenomenon, persons seeking to protect the nation from the alleged conspiracy create counter movements to halt the subversion. Historians dub them countersubversives.

The resulting right-wing populist conspiracy theories point upward toward “parasitic elites” seen as promoting collectivist and socialist schemes leading to tyranny. At the same time, the counter-subversives point downward toward the “undeserving poor” who are seen as lazy and sinful and being riled up by subversive community organizers. Sound familiar?

Right-wing demagogues reach out to this supposedly beleaguered white middle class of “producers” and encourage them to see themselves as being inexorably squeezed by parasitic traitors above and below. The rage is directed upwards against a caricature of the conspiratorial “faceless bureaucrats,” “banksters” and “plutocrats” rather than challenging an unfair economic system run on behalf of the wealthy and corporate interests. The attacks and oppression generated by this populist white rage, however, is painfully felt by people lower on the socio-economic ladder, and historically this has been people of color, immigrants and other marginalized groups.

Leo Gold of KPFT’s New Capital Show took to the airwaves Oct. 29 to denounce the call for a boycott, and listeners responded emphatically. No stranger to controversy — KPFT is the only radio station in America to have been bombed off the air by the Ku Klux Klan after all — Houston’s Pacifica radio station raised over $3,600 in the hour (our fundraising goal was $800), with many reporting they were calling to oppose boycott tactics. Leo Gold was particularly pointed in calling for listeners of KPFT to respond to the boycott with support:

Do you think this is the first time someone has called for a boycott of KPFT? Come on. And it isn’t the last time either… How often do you get to call in to a show and bust a boycott on KPFT? How often do you get to call in and say ‘hey, this is what you can do with your boycott.’ I take this call for a boycott seriously. For [me] saying Obama is getting ready to call for martial law is a conspiracy theory, someone calls that hate speech and says I need to be kicked off the station too. So, they’re calling for me to be removed from my job — which is a volunteer job, I’ve never been paid a penny and been doing it for seven or eight years. They want me to be fired, and they want the station to be financially hurt. How many shows do you get to call in and say ‘screw that’?

Post-show, Milby called for 9/11 conspiracy theorists to continue pressing Gold and KPFT. However, I expect Leo, per his remarks on the program, will move on to other topics; the New Capital Show, recipient of past Houston Press readers-choice awards for best talk show, covers an array of subjects, and Leo Gold runs a fast-paced radio program. With health care, the environment, the economy and many subjects on listeners’ minds, Leo Gold has a full programming agenda ahead.

Typical of KPFT, Houston’s Pacifica station swims against the tide of programming that has landed Pacifica in the media recently. Screw Loose Change (referencing the cult 9/11 conspiracy film) points out a recent Nation magazine post on Pacifica and allegations the network is targeting Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! for not reporting 9/11 conspiracy theories as legitimate news stories. Goodman did host a debate some time ago — one of the better ones on the topic — as well as one involving Berlet and a major 9/11 conspiracy figure. The East Bay Express also references 9/11 conspiracy theorists (and the elections process referred to in a recent post on this blog).

I agree with Clint Milby’s assertions noncommercial radio has a journalistic mandate to question the official story. Legendary investigative journalist Seymour Hersh spoke of the My Lai massacre on Pacifica years ago, long before the tragedy was widely discussed. As I have noted in the past, however, we also have an obligation to recognize when a story is outlandish enough to not require our focus, or when other topics require greater focus on our part as journalists and media organizers. 9/11 is an example of a subject that has been so incredibly researched and scrutinized, while a host of issues have yet to receive the attention needed. Take for example Project Censored, which names just a few of the most censored stories of 2009-2010:

• Ecuador Declares Foreign Debt Illegitimate
• Private Corporations Profit from the Occupation of Palestine
• Katrina’s Hidden Race War
• Congress Invested in Defense Contracts
• The ICC Facilitates US Covert War in Sudan
• Bank Bailout Recipients Spent to Defeat Labor
• Recession Causes States to Cut Welfare

I have no doubt the conspiracy theory debate related to noncommercial radio and public media will continue. The escalation of comments made on the New Capital Show is a reminder of how heated these conversations can become.

EDIT: For those interested, these comments were made by Leo Gold early on in the program, in response to the boycott, Alex Jones recommendations, etc.:

It is never my intention to offend anybody or any caller or to belittle or to make it sound as if anybody is [not] entitled to a fair hearing, and if I did that, then I certainly regret it and I apologize. It’s not my intention to ever do that.

In fact, I’ve learned there’s an entire movement called truthers who are centered around this particular site, and I think the best thing I can do is say ‘if you are interested in this type of thing, conspiracies related to 9/11′ – essentially the belief, and I don’t think I’m misstating it, that there are nefarious elements within the U.S. government that were responsible for 9/11, either directly responsible for planning it or understanding it was going to happen and taking steps to allow that to go forward – ‘then there is a site for you.’ And the best thing I can do for those of you who are interested out there is tell you, you’ve got your man. Your man is Alex Jones. He lives in Austin, Texas, and I can only give you a word that that’s where you need to go if that’s what you’re interested in.

This is the type you’ll find there. Alex Jones is a media entrepreneur. You’ll have to pay to become a member to see his movies. His latest is called The Fall of the Republic. And of course this is meant to harken back to Roman times, when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and took control of what was then the Roman republic. What’s going on on Mr. Jones’ website, which he calls Prison Planet, is he’s apparently positing the new president, Barack Obama, is the new Caesar, who is going to destroy the American republic…

There it is, truthers, I’ve given you all the free publicity you need. You got it. I don’t have to agree with you. As a host here on KPFT, it’s my right to follow my conscience and what I believe. I don’t believe 9/11 was a conspiracy of the U.S. government. I believe the conspiracy of 9/11 came afterwards. That was a conspiracy to invade the country of Iraq. That was a conspiracy, no question about it. It was plotted in the White House. It was foisted and perpetrated on the American people, including by many, many members of our government. So that’s my belief. I don’t need to believe that because Building 7, or whatever the number was, didn’t fall down after 210-story buildings after it – the largest buildings in the world collapsed right next to it – ergo our government was involved in plotting and planning and allowing 9/11 to go forward. But I have given you plenty of publicity on this radio station.

So anyone listening who wants more of that, you can get it at Alex Jones and Prison Planet. Go to it, but I don’t have to agree with you. And just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean you need to call my business and leave me nasty messages. I did not engage in hate speech. I spoke directly to the information as I saw it on Prison Planet, the website referred to. And I stand by it.

There are some things our movements have in common, and I appreciate those things. We both believe in the need for more local food. Wonderful. That topic has been pioneered for decades by progressives. You want to pick it up yourselves, truthers? Have at it. We share with you.

We believe in problems in our federal government as well. Yes, we said that for a long time. This station was against the war in Vietnam, against the war in Afghanistan, against the war in Iraq and has been against all the adventures the United States has undertaken. You want to join that party? Welcome to the party.

However, one of you, in the wake of last week’s show, decided to post a call for a boycott. And you did it on many different forums. So I would say, we’re not your community, buddy. Your community is with Alex Jones. Go join him. We solve breast cancer. We raise money for the poor. We stand for social justice. We want to look at fair economics… We’ve got problems to solve. We can’t afford to sit here thinking Barack Obama has plans imminent and ready, through the swine flu virus, to declare martial law on the United States, because it was declared or the military was out in force during Hurricane Ike – one year after the military failed to provide protection for citizens in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. We’ve got problems to solve, real problems… There’s lots of information out there, but I don’t have to go along with what you say is the truth.