While doomscrolling on TikTok a few nights ago, I came across a new trend to Beyonce’s 2008 song Diva. A video of her dancing received millions of likes, though the comments conveyed a different story. Anonymous accounts plastered the screen, asking us to “all take a moment and thank Beyonce” while other confused viewers genuinely wondered, “Do we like her again or not?”. Scrolling through the comments exemplified the power of social media and its tendency to take rumours to the extreme. What was originally a conspiracy theory has been turned into a universal trend traversing across social media platforms.
The Beyonce conspiracy theory stemmed from her sweeping status in the music industry and in turn, her influence on pop culture. This transpired in moments such as when celebrity singer Adele announced that she owed her Grammy to Beyonce back in 2017, claiming she was more deserving of the award. For some, moments like this are proof of her dominant hold over the music industry, while others go further; attributing her alleged appearances at the exclusive Hollywood parties that were hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs to hidden power plays and agendas within the industry. In a kind of domino effect, this has since fuelled a boycott Hollywood’ sentiment to the celebrities who were allegedly involved in his harrowing case. While some online theories begin as harmless fun, more often than not, they seem to reveal a societal tendency to question —or exaggerate — a celebrity’s influence.
However, conspiracy theories like this are not just applicable to celebrities, as we saw with the tragic case of Jay Slater earlier this year. The conspiracy theories surrounding him were lewd and insensitive, as rumours flew around about alleged stolen goods and escape plans; all whilst his family were grieving for their little boy. Again, these conspiracy theories are wrongfully turned into memes; moments in which we can laugh at the false information being spread on the internet. It is moments like this where we must acknowledge the role of keyboard warriors and the power they have over spreading misinformation and distrust across the internet, especially in times of personal or social hardship where there is much more information to be uncovered before we put our own stamps on events.
Our obsession with conspiracy theories is interesting as it stems from our desire to gossip; to uncover hidden truths and feel empowered by assuming you have cracked a case. Through the rise of social media platforms, this is being amplified, growing our algorithms with increasing theories, rumours and memes that can damage our mental states. As consumers of such content, I believe we should instead strive to evaluate the credibility of the sources we are interacting with and bear in mind the potential fabrication of a lot of media content.
Our curiosity should not be hindered but rather balanced with caution- stay safe and skeptical online.
“Beyonce Independent” by Cornel Pex from La Senia, Spain is licensed under CC BY 2.0.