Conspiracies and pseudoscience: how “crunchy” ideals can go hand-in-hand with right-wing politics
The term ‘sheeple’ has become popular within many communities to denote groups who are seemingly “brainwashed” by any large institution. But who really are the “sheeple”? And what are they expected to believe when they “wake up”?
According to psychoanalyst Manfred Kets de Vries, “Sheeples are commonly docile, compliant, easily persuaded, and inclined to follow the crowd.” In his article “Are You a Sheeple?” he explains how in times of perceived danger, human brains are wired to imitate those around them rather than seek out the best course of action as an individual. Moreover, he details how easily this phenomena can be taken advantage of. Many leaders have gained power by exploiting this knowledge, and are able to convince millions to believe in conspiracies and propaganda. These theories can gain traction at an extreme rate before they are able to be debased or flagged for misinformation. A 2018 MIT study found that false news is 70% more likely to be retweeted than factual news. But even if they are flagged, there are still believers who may think they’re on the ‘fringe’ of society and know the truth, unlike everyone else.
The fringe often represents extreme far-right beliefs, ranging from things that are generally considered conspiratorial or pseudoscientific, to outright white supremacy and radical misogyny. A Southern Poverty Law Center article states, “The Alternative Right, commonly known as the ‘alt-right,’ was a set of far-right ideologies, groups and individuals whose core belief was that ‘white identity’ is under attack by multicultural forces using ‘political correctness’ and ‘social justice’ to undermine white people and ‘their’ civilization. The movement adopted the ‘alt-right’ label to strategically soft-pedal their racist and antisemitic beliefs.” Within alt-right fringe groups on the internet, there is a vast spectrum of beliefs, and differences in what these groups actually distrust. The term ‘crunchy,’ which may seem like a banal internet term, is often associated with mommy bloggers who reject processed food and screen time in favor of “natural” lifestyles for their children. Yet in the same breath, these parents denounce hospital births and medications, promote drinking raw milk, and often endorse restrictive homeschooling. Crunchy Tiktok has become an ecosystem in which health influencers are truth-tellers, while doctors and scientists are trying to keep secrets from the public to make you sick. In this realm of the internet, ‘Big Pharma’ is the enemy, and holistic remedies (often extremely expensive and dangerous) are the key to health, no matter the severity of the issue. These creators say that they are leading the best possible lifestyle for their and their children’s health. They believe that they’ve awoken and emerged from the supposed herd mindset that is the canon of science and healthcare. But by their own logic, these creators may too be victims of the ‘sheeple’ mentality.
For Tiktoker Laura (@iamlevelingup), who has made many different videos on the dangers of the “crunchy cult,” it was all too easy to go from wanting the best for your children to supporting fringe conspiracies. She explains how she fell into the crunchy movement and describes the anxiety she felt as a new mother in a state of uncertainty: “You start looking for these accounts that have the tagline and you don’t necessarily recognize any of the dog whistles,” she says. “And then it goes from cloth diapering to toxins, and before you know it, you’ve ended up at flat earth theories.” She is also outspoken about how inaccessible the crunchy lifestyle is, stating “And this is a sticking point for me because the crunchy lifestyle is so rooted in being white. If people of color did not take their kids to the doctor and didn’t vaccinate them, CPS would be there. But white people are getting away with this every single day.”
The target for much of the content is the vulnerable, as Laura showcases in her account. It’s no coincidence that these conspiracies are often perpetuated by mothers, who genuinely believe that they are doing the best for their children. What began as a push for a toxic-free lifestyle has spiralled into the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. This slogan comes from Trump’s Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the Department of Health and Human Services, a well-known conspiracy theorist. His target audience and biggest supporters consist mainly of mothers, many of whom consider themselves “crunchy.” In an interview with the Guardian, Mikayla Page, mother to a three-year-old, explains “It’s nice to have somebody backing you up, especially a male [such as Kennedy], because I feel like sometimes men take longer to catch on to these things since they don’t have a maternal instinct… it’s nice to have someone like Robert Kennedy and Trump to see these issues.” Despite his track record of promoting conspiracy and pseudoscience, including outlandish claims that a child’s gender identity can be impacted by chemicals in the water, fearmongering surrounding the evils of food dye, the necessity of more organic ingredients, or erroneously claiming that manufacturers are “poisoning” the nation’s children, continues to appeal to crunchy moms and anyone questioning the medical field.
The term ‘sheeple’ is often overused in the media (ironically and unironically) to refer to anyone adhering to mainstream political beliefs. But “waking up” from so-called government brainwashing only to fall into fringe Facebook groups and influencer pyramid schemes isn’t the act of individualism or health awareness that people think it is. Just because the majority of scientists believe something, doesn’t make you a critical thinker for believing the opposite. Truly “waking up” is forming your own opinions and beliefs that are based on engaging with research from reputable, non-biased sources, not baseless social media posts. The fact that the hashtag #MAHA has been used in over 224 000 Tiktoks is extremely concerning, and it indicates a worrisome growth in conspiratorial beliefs. This paradigm of the herd mindset only leaves the sheeple more vulnerable to looming predators.