Talk:Conspiracy theories in the Arab world

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The subject of this article is controversial and content may be in dispute. When updating the article, be bold, but not reckless. Feel free to try to improve the article, but don't take it personally if your changes are reversed; instead, come here to the talk page to discuss them. Content must be written from a neutral point of view. Include citations when adding content and consider tagging or removing unsourced information.

Gross NPOV Violations

This article is a total mess in terms of NPOV - examples can be found throughout. Since wikipedia has such high standards for this kind of thing, and normally upholds them very well, I wasn't sure what was going on at first, but when I saw the talk page was empty, I figured one person wrote it and it wasn't really checked or seen by many other editors. I would suggest deletion or overhaul.

One problem seems to be the phrase "conspiracy theory." Even though the dictionary definition for this word doesn't include "probably untrue," the connotations of the word as used by most people give the image of someone crazy or giving something without much evidence. Example of what I'm talking about in the very first article of the paragraph:

"Variants include conspiracies involving colonialism, Zionism, superpowers, oil, and the war on terrorism, which may be referred to as a War against Islam."

Many of these ideas, such as colonialism or oil as reasons for the invasion of Iraq, are either controversial or widely held (not only in Arab societies but across the world). The appropriate language, therefore, for a Wikipedia article, should certainly not take a stand against these ideas. The next sentences - especially the choices of quotes provided - immediately dismiss these theories as crazy ideas fabricated for psychological reasons:

"Roger Cohen theorizes that the popularity of conspiracy theories in the Arab world is "the ultimate refuge of the powerless",[2] and Al-Mumin Said noted the danger of such theories in that they "keep us not only from the truth but also from confronting our faults and problems..."[3]

They "were usually the most implausible, wild-eyed conspiracy theories one could imagine ... Israelis, the Syrians, the Americans, the Soviets, or Henry Kissinger—anyone but the Lebanese—in the most elaborate plots to disrupt Lebanon's naturally tranquil state."[6]"

These quotes, moreover - especially the last one - are stating that Arabs are so unwilling to admit their own problems that they wildly blame others. This is an opinion, and an extreme one at that, and Wikipedia should not be toting opinions.

This message was pretty long and repetitive but I hope it got the point across. I don't think this article is painting a good image of Wikipedia. In addition it's not a topic that is all that important to have an article about, which is why I'm suggesting deletion over improvement - I could not find any other regions of the world that had an article dedicated to "conspiracy theories" coming from them.

I'm pretty new to all the code and technicalities of editing wikipedia, and not sure about the complete process of nominating pages for deletion, so I put the tag up at the article. Apologies if I did something wrong. Thanks in advance :) 71.181.46.21 (talk) 01:51, 14 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

"These quotes, moreover - especially the last one - are stating that Arabs are so unwilling to admit their own problems that they wildly blame others. This is an opinion, and an extreme one at that, and Wikipedia should not be toting opinions."

It's not an opinion, it's a fact; and you not liking it doesn't make it any less true.142.105.159.60 (talk) 12:19, 6 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, and I am shocked at how this article is presented when it quotes Thomas Friedman and articles in the New Republic. Actual sources from authors within the supposed region are scarce. CJ Meyer (talk) 18:27, 17 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Bassam Tibi wrote a book on the subject, "Die Verschwörung. Das Trauma arabischer Politik" (1994; "The conspiracy. The trauma of Arab politics"). I don't think there is an English edition. He says that conspiracy theories are an essential element of political culture in Arab countries. --Hob Gadling (talk) 18:42, 17 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Regardless of the first IP's claim, the "X wildly blames Y" is an (NPOV) opinion. Zezen (talk) 09:26, 17 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Extreme bias

These articles are mainly edited and written by supporters and sympathisers of Israel, Zionism and western warmongers which is why the article looks so biased and unprofessional. The article is based mostly on personal opinions and ideas as well likes and dislikes. Jganx (talk) 08:05, 9 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Ok. Please be more specific with your objection. What part of the article violates WP:NPOV or other Wikipedia policy in your opinion? There is no prohibition in Wikipedia against "Zionists" editing.--Matt Broberg (talk) 04:07, 28 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Articles should be objective by presenting facts and historical accounts as they occured. I, too, agree with @Jganx and many others on the heavy bias on this page. Several sources are questionable, as many of the listed references have connections to Israel or Zionism. For example, the contents of the sources cited in refuting Israeli connections with ISIS/ISIL are not congruent with the information presented. Leaked NSA documents do reveal relationships with Israel which specify "global jihad" among Israeli SIGINT National Unit's (ISNU) success key priorities. The personal convictions of what Edward Snowden's legal council believes on the matter are irrelevant (who also happens to have ties to Israel).

Even as mentioned previously by other users, the very first sentence is laden with bias. The source is a paper whose authors are Zionists, upon scrutinising the co-author of the paper they are revealed as a staunch Zionist with strong anti-arab, anti-islamic views by their other publications and public statements.

From WP:NPOV:

A neutral point of view neither sympathizes with nor disparages its subject (or what reliable sources say about the subject), although this must sometimes be balanced against clarity. Present opinions and conflicting findings in a disinterested tone. Do not editorialize. When editorial bias towards one particular point of view can be detected the article needs to be fixed.

Ensure that the reporting of different views on a subject adequately reflects the relative levels of support for those views and that it does not give a false impression of parity, or give undue weight to a particular view.

Remaining objective and neutral is a core tenet to WP:NPOV, only relying on sources who have links to Israel or Zionism is inherently a sign of bias and a violation of the dogma. Whilst there is no prohibition in Wikipedia against Zionists contributing, it is against the neutrality policy to edit articles to be biased. Thus the article warrants editing in order to achieve neutrality.

The original complaint on non-neutrality was 10 years ago and it seems nothing been done to remedy the issue. In fact, browsing the contribution history reveals some users to consistently edit articles in favor of Israeli or Jewish opinion. This needs to be addressed. 83.190.114.103 (talk) 00:16, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Iranian occupation of Lebanon conspiracy theory

There is a conspiracy theory in Lebanon that Iran is occupying Lebanon through Hezbollah,I think it should be added. Tony Yammine 2004 (talk) 14:28, 15 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Is this topic covered in reliable sources? aismallard (talk) 02:32, 2 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

NPOV: Attribution to Arab culture

The first sentence states:

"Conspiracy theories are a prevalent feature of Arab culture..."

The cited source for the above statement (Zonis, Marvin; Joseph, Craig M.) states that "conspiracy thinking exists to some extent probably in every society". It claims that there is a "special prevalence of this type of thinking in the Arab-Iranian-Muslim Middle East", but it never states that this is a feature of Arab culture. Conspiracy theories are a cultural universal. The sources cited here do not nearly meet the burden of evidence needed in order to claim that conspiracy thinking is a particular feature of Arab culture (moreso than other cultures).

It is a far more mainstream view that the proliferation of conspiracy theories in the Arab world is largely due to state-sponsored disinformation schemes and repression of political and press freedoms.^[1]^[2] — Preceding unsigned comment added by Enonx1 (talk • contribs) 05:50, 25 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ Lahoud, Nelly. The (In)effectiveness of Conspiracy Theories in the Arab World.
^ Oueis, Hadeel. The Holocaust in Arab Collective Consciousness.

[1] Lahoud, Nelly. The (In)effectiveness of Conspiracy Theories in the Arab World.

[2] Oueis, Hadeel. The Holocaust in Arab Collective Consciousness.

[1]

[2]