Shane Dawson’s Conspiracy Series Is Everything That’s Wrong With Youtube.
Tags: Fake News, Conspiracy Theories, Shane Dawson, YouTube

Much to the joy of a lot of people , Shane Dawson returned to Youtube this week with the first video in what will be a six-part series looking at ‘conspiracy theories.’ With over 20 million subscribers on Youtube and fresh off the hype of his incredibly viral “The Mind of Jake Paul” series; it’s unsurprising that part one of the new series has gained an incredible 8 million views within its first eighteen hours. There is no disputing that Dawson can pull in the big numbers — but a big audience doesn’t make your content indisputable.

Shane Dawson’s ‘The Mind Of Jake Paul’ instalments averaged at least 15 million views.

Dawson doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to creating sensitive and well-researched content, as some of the backlash to his comments about mental health in the Jake Paul series highlighted. The first instalment of this new series is unfortunately anything but well-informed or nuanced which is kind of worrying considering the whole point of this new series is to investigate conspiracy theories — that usually requires some objectivity and research at the very least. Even more worrying is the fact that Dawson doesn’t seem to be being held up to the high standards he proclaims to have. Most of the audience feedback to the video is overwhelmingly positive with comments suggesting he’ll have a “Netflix series any minute now!” Well, it’s going to be a long wait for that minute to arrive if this is the kind of standard Dawson is setting — as a more scrutinising look at the first episode shows.

The first episode of the ‘Conspiracy’ series was released on January 30th.

My aim in writing this isn’t to rag on someone’s hard work. It’s to hold a very successful influencer with a lot of, y’know — influence, to a higher standard because misinformation does not help any of us. Also, let’s be blunt here: there is no way that producing this piece of clickbait was hard work. If it was a hard grind and this is the best Dawson could come up with then he has my apologies, my sympathies and my heartfelt advice that serious documentary making is not the field for him.

“Investigating” and “Conspiracy Theories.”

Before I plunge into the specific conspiracy theories Dawson raises, I think it would be helpful for everyone involved to define some terms here.

Investigation (noun): The act of examining something carefully to discover the truth about it. Conspiracy theory (noun): a theory that rejects the standard explanation for an event and instead credits a covert group or organisation with carrying out a secret plot.

Keep these definitions in mind as we go ahead — because Shane sure as heck didn’t.

Number One: “Your iPhone is spying you.”

The first of many stock photos I will be using — buckle up.

The TLDR here is that Shane and co were unaware that iPhone’s ‘Live Photo’ is a thing. There’s a big deal made of the fact that the group are seemingly only just discovering that when they take photos, their iPhone records 1.5 seconds before and after they take the photo. Ignorance about this feature is hardly a crime but the fact that this feature exists is also hardly a conspiracy theory. I’m not sure how many organisations with secret plots relay said secret plots in keynote speeches to the masses but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say none of them. I’m also going to just put it out there that the iPhone ‘Live Photos’ feature has existed since at least 2015 so even if you’ve never picked up on it before, it’s easy to find out all about it with one easy Google search. However, that would be too much investigating for Shane so instead, he concludes that this is some sneaky feature Apple use to collect incriminating data about their consumers so that they can one day blackmail them. Damning of all, Dawson doesn’t even mention how easy it is to turn off the Live Photos feature to provide relief for any alarmed viewers.

So what is Dawson letting us take away from this? Apple is spying on you so it can blackmail you because reasons. Sounds reasonably balanced.

Is this a conspiracy theory? No. Was this claim investigated in a balanced way? Nope.

In the same segment, Shane talks about being concerned that his phone sometimes makes background noises and that this a definite sign of a phone being bugged. It’s discussed that when some apps are running, your phone might also make strange background noises. This then leads to a discussion about how it’s apparently very eerie that ‘Siri is always listening’ — forget the fact that you install Siri, Alexa or any other virtual assistant because you want them to always be listening — no suddenly, Siri’s well-publicised job description is a ‘conspiracy theory’ too. At this point, one of the Scooby gang tries to be the voice of reason here by adding that they’re “sure it’s in the 50 pages of terms and conditions no one reads” that Siri will be monitoring you. This is promptly shut-down by Shane who snorts: “I’m not gonna read it. This is a conspiracy theory video!” Yeah, that’s right! Fuck logic, reason and objective facts — this is a conspiracy video which means I’m going to pander to the audience’s most irrational fears. Can I have my Emmy now, Netflix?

Is this a conspiracy theory? Nope — as iPhone’s Software License agreement makes clear. You can read a TLDR here. Was this claim investigated in a balanced way? Please picture me doing the same incredulous snort that Shane does when one of his well-meaning colleagues suggests they look into the Apple terms and conditions before making outlandish statements. That’s a hell-to-the-no.

In a final portion of this segment, Shane includes a clip of the news that states Apple is in trouble for data breaches related to FaceTime. Shane does not explain this clip in any detail or explain how it’s connected to the conspiracy theorising at hand. This is because it’s not connected at all. It’s recently been announced that when you use the Group FaceTime feature and try to ignore or silence an additional incoming call, your attempt to do so actually activates your microphone and/or camera, letting your caller hear/see you. This is obviously not a cute look for Apple. It’s a massive technical fuck-up that has compromised the security of their users. Yet, Apple’s incompetency here has nothing to do with the conspiracy theory that they’re spying on you so that they can blackmail you with your own data. By placing a very vague headline about the technical error in this segment, Shane lets his audience assume it is a piece of news that legitimises the conspiracy theory.

Is this a conspiracy theory? I don’t know what in the subliminal messaging heck this was. Was this claim investigated in a balanced way?HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Number Two: “Deep Fakes Will End The World.”

Next up, we’re talking about ‘Deep Fakes’ which is something that’s been around since at least 2014. Essentially, fake videos can be created using a machine learning technique that can analyse hundreds of photos of someone and then produce a new, different image of them. This technology can also generate new text from existing text and new audio from existing audio. Obviously, it’s a technology that’s open to exploitation and it’s been very well documented for a few years now that it could be used to mislead people — especially in the political sphere.

Here, Shane dramatically notes that “this could actually lead to the end of the world — just listen to this horrifying and very realistic scenario.” We are then presented with archival footage of computer science professor Hany Farid who takes us through the paces of the following hypothetical: a fake video is released of President Trump saying he has released nuclear weapons against North Korea, that video goes viral, North Korea picks it up and responds and we have all out nuclear war. Shane doesn’t add that there is some hope for the situation as scientists are working on developing new detection methods to help spot forgeries. As well as that, back in April 2018, a doctored BBC news segment that suggested nuclear war between Russia and NATO forces went viral. The BBC released an announcement stating the video was a fake to allay the concerns of the general population more than anything else because presumably, key decision makers don’t flip their shit and hit the red button because of something on Twitter.

Is this a conspiracy theory? Is a conspiracy theory a well-established (albeit somewhat concerning) fact that literally no-one is contending? Then, no, it’s not a conspiracy theory. Was this claim investigated in a balanced way?There’s plenty of evidence showing significant awareness about ‘deep fakes’ does exist and evidence suggesting that ‘an end of the world’ scenario solely because of ‘deep fakes’ is unlikely. Shane doesn’t reference any of this because it would ruin the vibe in the doom-and-gloom circlejerk he’s creating. If you want to find a more informed and balanced take on ‘deep fakes’, you can check out episode seven of the ‘Follow This’ docu-series on Netflix or read more about it direct from the horse’s mouth (Prof. Hany Farid) in this great New Yorker profile.

Number Three: “Disney is Frozen versus Disney: Frozen the Movie”.

There’s an urban legend that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen when he died. These rumours have always been denied by his family and the Disney corporation. Firstly, I have a hard time understanding why a man wanting to immortalise himself in some way is such a devilish scheme. Shane doesn’t address this either. Other than the initial ‘ew’ factor, it wouldn’t really affect Disney corporation. However, there’s a conspiracy theory that ‘Frozen’ the movie was created solely to hijack the Google results pages so that anyone getting too smart about this whole frozen Walt Disney thing wouldn’t be able to find any information about it. Hilariously, this is where Shane does the bare minimum for the first time in the entire series and takes to Google to see how the search results have changed. Googling ‘Disney Frozen’ before the animated movie came out resulted in lots of results about the urban legend and predictably, after the movie’s release — it was all about building snowmen and Elsa Halloween costumes. Cue Shane’s wide-eyed, mouth silently agape expression at the camera, looking like he’s just dropped the biggest truth bomb in all human history. The cringe was strong at this point but somehow, I managed to find the strength to keep watching.

Is this a conspiracy theory? Yes, I’ll give you this one Shane. Was this claim investigated in a balanced way? No. Absolutely zero efforts were made at attempting to debunk the easiest of conspiracy theories. Here’s one — someone looking for information about Walt Disney being cryogenically frozen is likely to Google ‘Walt Disney frozen’ — not ‘Disney frozen’ and if they were to do this, the results are all about the urban legend. Disney’s multi-million dollar scheme to hide the truth foiled! Come on, Shane, it’s a level of Google search proficiency that even my technophobe father-in-law could master.

Number Five: “Stores Use Subliminal Messages To Get You To Buy Stuff.”

This segment could also be called “things anyone who minored in marketing in the 1980’s could tell you.” Here, Shane uses lots of archival footage to talk about the sneaky trickery retailers use to get you to buy things — some of the archival footage is black and white, which just shows how old and established this marketing knowledge is. Firstly, if the knowledge that stores work tirelessly to come up with techniques to get you to buy stuff has exploded your mind then I don’t even know what to say to you. I suppose a congratulations for the fact that you’ve mastered the ability to use a computer, get on the Internet and read up to this point of this post is in order?

This segment rather randomly starts with archival footage of the Toys R Us layoffs. We see plenty of clips of employees who have been left devastated and in dire financial straits. There’s a strong impression that these big corporations don’t care about people and that they’re ‘the bad guys’ here. Granted, you can have your opinions about the rougher edges of capitalism but what does this footage have to do with store marketing? Shane doesn’t explain the inclusion of these clips; he just drops them in and lets you assume — something that’s becoming a pattern at this point. Regardless, implication is clear — these are clips to prime us with anti-corporation sentiment right before we learn about the dirty tactics (aka legitimate marketing tools) they use. Ironically, Shane and/or his editors are using the same kind of subliminal techniques to emotionally manipulate the audience that they go onto deride.

After this disturbing introduction, we delve into the ‘conspiracy theories’ happening in stores complete with dramatic music that almost gives it a satire-feel: candy is placed on shelves that are eye-level to children so they can get grabby with it, every watch advertisement features the clock-hands at 10:10 because this helps the clock-face resemble a smiley-face and as human psychology has shown us — we gravitate towards the warm and fuzzy. I mean, this was honestly the equivalent of being twelve-years-old and listening to Eminem’s music backwards because you swore you could hear Eminem telling you to worship the devil. It gets worse too. Shane then brings us some breaking news from 2010 about the tactics Hollister stores use to sell clothes. The stores used to be dimly-lit, heavily fragranced and feature a loud, thumping soundtrack and the store employees were generally picked for their model-like looks. These techniques worked as Hollister became an aspirational look for many teens. For some reason, this is a big conspiracy and this is the one where he decides he’ll make an effort to go out and investigate. What is he investigating? Why is it important? Shane doesn’t even know. He could have saved himself the trip because a simple Google search would have told him that but due to several lawsuits and the creepiness factor of the CEO, the company underwent some changes in 2014. The stores look different and they allegedly have less discriminatory hiring policies. Cue clips of Shane in the Hollister looking dumbfounded at the fact that the stores are now well-lit, and the music isn’t overwhelming — aaaand that’s about it for his hot take on Hollister. If Shane’s goal was to create a confusing, anticlimactic mess in this clip than he succeeded.

Is this a conspiracy theory? No, it’s called ‘marketing’ and if it intrigued you, there’s plenty of free Marketing courses that will give you access to case studies highlighting other cool techniques marketers use. Was this claim investigated in a balanced way? I can’t even give Shane credit for driving to his local Hollister here as a simple Google search would have told him everything he needs to know. Him visiting a Hollister just betrays the lack of research that went into this series — not that I needed anymore evidence at this point.

Number Six: “Cartoons Are Brainwashing People To Kill Themselves.”

In this clusterfuck of a segment, Shane talks about the conspiracy theory that cartoons glorify suicide in order to brainwash us into thinking this is a viable option, and all of this is being orchestrated as a form of population control. References are made to the many episodes of Spongebob which feature dark adult humour such as Squidward’s depression. Shane acknowledges that cartoonists have always embedded adult humour into their work as a little wink to adults but dismisses these as harmless when it comes to sexual references — but when it comes to any allusions to mental health or suicide, he decides it has a darker undertone. Where is the objectivity here? Shane then tells us that he “looked into it and found that suicide references have been in a lot more cartoons than just Spongebob!” He then references episodes of the Looney Toons and Mickey Mouse comics dating all the back to the 1930s that either feature suicide or allude to it. It is not a massive revelation that suicide existed in the 1930s (Great Depression, hello?!) and the fact that popular culture might reflect societal issues such as suicide is also not a major light-bulb moment. What Shane does here is fully endorse an argument that is the equivalent of “video games create school shooters.” He also manages to reduce the complex issue of suicide into a pretty insulting and two-dimensional caricature. He uses some pseudo-scientific explanations about how your brain develops the most in your first five years of life and if you’re being exposed to cartoons depicting suicide, it will be ingrained in you that this is an option. Forget that in your first five years of life, you don’t have the emotional maturity to understand the violence you’re seeing as an act of suicide.

Is this a conspiracy theory? Completely. Was this claim investigated in a balanced way? No. Shane fully invests in the theory and the whole segment is an exercise in confirmation bias. If this man is ever allowed to produce a documentary series that isn’t a propaganda piece, we should all be worried.

Number Seven: “The Woolsey Fires Weren’t Really Wild Fires.”

In the final segment, Shane takes on the wild fires which devastated California at the end of 2018. He attempts to be sensitive, prefacing with “this is very real, it affected a lot of people” and that he doesn’t want to add to any hurt anyone is feeling. Well, mission well and truly failed.

We see footage of Shane walking through a neighbourhood that still has many ruins of the fire as well as many homes that were unaffected. It’s sombre viewing. However, almost immediately, we get Shane and the gang making coy, obviously pre-rehearsed remarks: “it’s so crazy, this house is just gone but then not even 10 feet away, that house hasn’t even been touched… what does that mean?!”

Well, apparently, it could mean: the government used directed energy weapons to start the fires in order to distract us from something bigger or it could be that homeowners started these fires as insurance scams. At one point, Shane says he talked to an unnamed expert in home insurance claims and says he will act out the conversation he had with them for the camera. Seems legit.

Is this a conspiracy theory? Yes. Was this claim investigated in a balanced way? No. There is no attempt made to explain the fires with the official scientific explanation that has been provided, which also explains the supposedly ‘selective’ nature of the fire. The fact that Shane signs off with “hopefully we’ll have answers soon” is just the spit-in-your-face that follows the kick-in-your-crotch that this whole segment was. Also, Shane doesn’t comment at all on the harmful nature of these specific conspiracy theories or their origins being linked to climate change deniers and right-wing extremists who think any disaster that involves liberals was orchestrated with actors (e.g. Parkland shootings, Sandy Hook etc). That attempt to handle this sensitively was a guaranteed fail when Shane made zero effort to educate himself about the conspiracy theories he was going to be investigating.

So, to sum up, the first instalment is a real shit show of misinformation and no real attempts are made to present information with any kind of objectivity.

Dawson had an opportunity here to create something meaty and something that would have been so very relevant. We live in an era where conspiracy theories are rife — often being given the label of ‘fake news.’ Dawson could have properly investigated why someone might have an agenda to hide the truth but also why someone might work to create conspiracy theories that try to distort the truth too. Instead, he does what most fake news propagators do which is to only provide his audience with half-truths and by doing that, he does them and their intelligence a massive disservice. If this man is ever allowed to produce a documentary series, we should all be worried. The only talent he has demonstrated is the ability to fully lean into confirmation bias with the help of emotionally manipulative editing techniques.