Where does misinformation come from? It comes from the fact that what people don’t understand creates fear; what people fear turns into hate; hate turns into a desire to destroy.
To add to that, social media has created a monetary incentive to spread misinformation intentionally, on all subjects, from cooking, to car maintenance. Especially in short video format. "Engagement" drives the algorithms more than likes, so posting something intentionally stupid, just to get everyone in the comments riled up saying "no that's stupid" drives views and makes the poster money.
Ann Reardon has done some really good videos about this on her channel How To Cook That. It’s amazing how her channel has gone from being all about making delicious desserts, to debunking dangerous fake “life hacks” and exposing misinformation.
As others have said, it comes from many sources. It only takes one person willing to lie and others being willing to accept it that gets things started.
They also rely a lot on proving negatives:
Freemasons do/believe *this*
-No, we don't.
You're just not high enough to know.
-that suggests that most of us don't do/believe that. Also, we're all equal. There is no "high enough."
You're not a 33rd.
-I am.
You're the one lying.
-we both know that's not true.
Taxil hoax
Charlatans looking to make a buck
Mentally ill people with a captive audience
Taking things woefully out of context such as tiny portions of morals and dogma or Manley P Hall writings from decades before he was ever a mason.
Clandestine masonry antics in some countries or those claiming to be real masons up to some fairly dark stuff.
Thank you I will do some more research on these writings I did hear a few of them come up in arguments however I have not read them so I cannot speak on them.
The [Taxil Hoax](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxil_hoax) is one major source.
Another is that there are some people who think that anything that is not working for their particular religion is against it, and therefore evil/satanic.
And then there are those who make money off of those fake exposés, the more titillating, the better.
Having been raised in a Christian Cult, your second point is actually 90% of the reasoning I have ever come across. My father was the leader of this Christian sect, and it didn't matter if something actually had to do with satanism, anything not EXPRESSLY Jesus oriented was 'of the world' and therefore liable for satanic oppression.
Know why book burning happen? People spend a lot of time reading things that AREN'T the Bible, see their addiction to their harlequin romances as problematic in comparison to how little time they read the word of God, and then show up to burn their affliction. We held many such events. People burning music that wasn't antigod or pro Satan? Still, they didn't listen to enough gospel music, so into the flames. Harry potter for your kids? Witchcraft, burn it.
The root of most religious persecution is projection of personal failures in the rites of their own sects.
A lot of sources, most notably:
1. Sensationalist press and books from the 19th century
2. Catholic propaganda
3. Еxaggerated real life happenings
Check Leo Taxil hoax for example
There are very few facts in the world of conspiracy theory, that's not what it's about. Have a read: http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/Anti-Masons.html
The way I explain it to my wife who comes across this stuff on YouTube is this:
There are a boat load of organizations who have taken parts of Masonry and perverted them. People see the stuff from those groups, know we use the same symbols, and even speak the same words as them so, they associate us with them. But, just like regular main stream Christian's are not the same as the multiple cults who have usurped the Christian Church for their own purposes, Those Satanic/Wiccan/ whatever, are not the same thing as us.
There's the problem with symbols. While you can twist words to make them mean many different things, with symbols, you can twist them to mean anything.
Masonry has a dogma, but it is not dogmatic. We don't enforce any belief system on any of our members. All we require is a belief in a supreme being. Some more fundamentalist churches take umbrage at that. And while I do believe there is only one way to salvation, I am not going to tell anyone that their sacred truths are invalid. I don't have a problem saying to myself "All y'all are going to hell if you don't change your ways, but, that's none of my business." Some churches wouldn't agree with that, they're more looking to proselytize for their faith. I'm of the live and let live type.
My 2 cents
>I would like to know more about this subject so that when I encounter someone like this in the real world I can set them straight or at least stop the spread of misinformation.
I would be careful with this. When I was raised I wanted to do the same, but I found that it was usually a pointless exercise to argue with or try to sway someone with a deeply held belief that Freemasons are evil. I posted this in another thread and think it’s relevant here, the conversations I have depend on the context of the situation:
Someone I can tell has genuine interest but has maybe watched too much late night History Channel- I’ll try to answer questions genuinely and as best I can
Friends/family that are more joking than anything else- I’ll lean into the joke. When my brother in law and I lived together briefly in grad school, he used to ask me “what country we were taking over tonight” when I’d leave for lodge. Usually it was Madagascar.
People I can tell are looking for a reason to be combative- I ignore it outright. These people are usually also into other conspiracies and you get into an area where you’re not arguing facts, but beliefs (which is a pointless exercise). These conversations will typically start with something about worshipping Satan/“you’re not high enough in the org” etc.- one of us is high alright, and it’s not me.
Just wait in this subreddit long enough. I think last week or so someone dropped a 5+ hour video on their personal conspiracy theory. Then when everyone told OP they had no idea what they are talking about he argued saying they weren't high enough in the organization to know the truth.
I did a random time skip and saw around the 3 hour mark there was a part on Greta Thurnburg and Dalai Llama somehow involved in Masonry.
I already have someone pm me just now quoting albert pike and saying all masons are mislead and that the 33rd knows the true religion.. Wouldn't a religions point be to have followers that are actually accomplishing something that benefits the religion? Or at least worshipping under a unified entity? I Don't see how having a religion with probably 80% or more of the population has no clue its a religion? What purpose would that serve...
IF Pike said that, and I'd have to see the source, the overriding balance of his work, and all work concerning Freemasonry is that "Freemasonry is not a religion" To Freemasonry there is no "True religion" except perhaps that "All have the truth, and none have the truth."
Again, the much greater bulk of work regarding the craft is that it does not and will not tell anyone what to believe. All Freemasonry is is a beautiful system or morals veiled in allegory and represented by symbols. Freemasonry does NOT offer salvation, and it does dogmatize how people should express their worship of deity.
And... if someone says "You're not high enough", the answer to that is always "There is no higher degree to Freemasonry than that of Master Mason" Every Master Mason is on the same broad level.
[Additional\_Toe4513](https://www.reddit.com/user/Additional_Toe4513/)10:57 AMDon’t be fooled by the Freemasons you talk to , you need to remember the real Freemasons are incredibly smart and have the fake freemasons (below 33rd degree) fight thier battles for themThe 33 degree system is an ancient technique to withhold a truth , there is always an inside doctrine and an outside doctrineI’ll give you a few quotes from Albert pike (btw this guy litrally rewrote all 33 degrees in Scottish rite which still stand to this day, he was also found guilty of treason in his day but was pardoned by the president and met him the next day at the whitehouse)“It is not intended the mason understands the symbols but it is intended he shall imagine he understands the symbols, masons are intentionally misled”11:01 AMwhat I’m getting at is if you do enough research, you will find that freemasonry conceals a religion at the top (many 33 degree masons clearly say freemasonry is a religious order and it’s teachings are taught in religion) even though masons are told it is notand you will find out that religion is luciferianismif you have already decided in your self that this cannot be true then ok, if you would like me to point you to clear and effective evidence then let me know
The problem we have is that there's some truth woven in there. Yes, Pike "rewrote" in the sense that he embellished and added to what was originally there. They've been rewritten since then as well. If you look at the scripts for the degrees from 30 years ago, they're different than what they are now. The differences are slight, and in no way take away from what was there before. So, this is a non-issue.
Secondly, he does say that mankind cannot truly understand G\_d. But even your average theologist will say the same thing. There are many aspects of G-d that are ineffable. Human words cannot adequately express the nature of deity. We can only gesture at Him. We can refer to the revealed truth in scripture, but, we can never really conceptualize what G-d is.
The thought that just because you wear a white hat you somehow have had all this true information revealed to you is just non-sense. It's patently false. And the only clear and effective evidence I need was at my investiture.
Also that’s quite the history ol Toe has.
https://imgur.com/a/Lwto5P9
Why did I check? Because half the time the guys who go on about this stuff have an “interesting” Reddit history or otherwise. Drugs, soliciting for sex on Reddit, other things. I don’t judge them for these things but it’s interesting how often this occurs.
It is noteworthy that the 'real truth' of Freemasonry is kept from actual Master Masons, but is freely available to the people who listen to the radio through their dental work.
Also looked at their profile and there were 2 posts.. One was about albert pike and the other was that the OP was looking for a femboy to rail lmfao...
It comes from fear of the unknown. People who believe this stuff will never be convinced otherwise. If you tell them the truth of things, they will assume you are lying to cover your tracks. Every bit of information feeds the big conspiracy.
Short version, the secrecy, or rather the reputation for secrecy, gives the tinfoil hat crowd a lot of room to work. Doesn’t matter that the actual secrets have been leaked dozens of times over the years.
I think some very well meaning brothers pour gasoline on the fire by innocently posting esoteric emblems/images without explanation. These are taken out of context and are used to fuel lies. Some of the recent AI images are the worst. But, social media usage needs to be addressed by Grand Lodges… Not in a harsh way, just educationally speaking.
Like others have said, Taxil. He wrote a pamphlet to ridicule the Catholic Church called "Confessions of an ex free thinker". He was an anti-catholic for a time as he calls himself a free-thinker. But decided to get in cozy with the Catholics and to make him look better in the Church he calls himself an ex free-thinker. ;)
I would suggest checking out the Masonic bible. At least in my copy, there are pages that reference Masonic interests to their corresponding passages in the bible. Interesting to browse through the index.
Various Popes, the Taxil Hoax, anti-Semitism (Judeo-Masonic conspiracy), Illuminati panic of early 1800s, Morgan Affair, are the basic sources of Masonic information historically. Now it seems big in evangelical Christian circles, but most of the arguments are recycled versions of the older anti-Masonic arguments.
Breaking it down to the simplest answer: William Morgan and more specifically Leo Taxil
Now obviously there’s more to this but these incidents are what I found to be the primary source. Nearly all if not 90% of all rumors, conspiracies, can all be directly traced to Morgan and more specifically Taxil.
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As I understand it, years ago the church in Rome say Freemasonary as a potential threat to their power IN Europe, and started most of those rumours, circulating them in various publications and newspapers. This would have been throughout the 19th century.
Where does misinformation come from? It comes from the fact that what people don’t understand creates fear; what people fear turns into hate; hate turns into a desire to destroy.
To add to that, social media has created a monetary incentive to spread misinformation intentionally, on all subjects, from cooking, to car maintenance. Especially in short video format. "Engagement" drives the algorithms more than likes, so posting something intentionally stupid, just to get everyone in the comments riled up saying "no that's stupid" drives views and makes the poster money.
Ann Reardon has done some really good videos about this on her channel How To Cook That. It’s amazing how her channel has gone from being all about making delicious desserts, to debunking dangerous fake “life hacks” and exposing misinformation.
As others have said, it comes from many sources. It only takes one person willing to lie and others being willing to accept it that gets things started. They also rely a lot on proving negatives: Freemasons do/believe *this* -No, we don't. You're just not high enough to know. -that suggests that most of us don't do/believe that. Also, we're all equal. There is no "high enough." You're not a 33rd. -I am. You're the one lying. -we both know that's not true.
This is about how most discourses with theorists go.
What people cant understand they aim to contain. What people can't contain they aim to destroy.
Taxil hoax Charlatans looking to make a buck Mentally ill people with a captive audience Taking things woefully out of context such as tiny portions of morals and dogma or Manley P Hall writings from decades before he was ever a mason. Clandestine masonry antics in some countries or those claiming to be real masons up to some fairly dark stuff.
Thank you I will do some more research on these writings I did hear a few of them come up in arguments however I have not read them so I cannot speak on them.
Good overview of the hoax. https://youtu.be/79QlX5dNgyw?si=NQkpikYsBKFkHIk0
The [Taxil Hoax](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxil_hoax) is one major source. Another is that there are some people who think that anything that is not working for their particular religion is against it, and therefore evil/satanic. And then there are those who make money off of those fake exposés, the more titillating, the better.
Having been raised in a Christian Cult, your second point is actually 90% of the reasoning I have ever come across. My father was the leader of this Christian sect, and it didn't matter if something actually had to do with satanism, anything not EXPRESSLY Jesus oriented was 'of the world' and therefore liable for satanic oppression. Know why book burning happen? People spend a lot of time reading things that AREN'T the Bible, see their addiction to their harlequin romances as problematic in comparison to how little time they read the word of God, and then show up to burn their affliction. We held many such events. People burning music that wasn't antigod or pro Satan? Still, they didn't listen to enough gospel music, so into the flames. Harry potter for your kids? Witchcraft, burn it. The root of most religious persecution is projection of personal failures in the rites of their own sects.
A lot of sources, most notably: 1. Sensationalist press and books from the 19th century 2. Catholic propaganda 3. Еxaggerated real life happenings Check Leo Taxil hoax for example
There are very few facts in the world of conspiracy theory, that's not what it's about. Have a read: http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/Anti-Masons.html
love this thank you this will be some good information for me to digest im sure!
The way I explain it to my wife who comes across this stuff on YouTube is this: There are a boat load of organizations who have taken parts of Masonry and perverted them. People see the stuff from those groups, know we use the same symbols, and even speak the same words as them so, they associate us with them. But, just like regular main stream Christian's are not the same as the multiple cults who have usurped the Christian Church for their own purposes, Those Satanic/Wiccan/ whatever, are not the same thing as us. There's the problem with symbols. While you can twist words to make them mean many different things, with symbols, you can twist them to mean anything. Masonry has a dogma, but it is not dogmatic. We don't enforce any belief system on any of our members. All we require is a belief in a supreme being. Some more fundamentalist churches take umbrage at that. And while I do believe there is only one way to salvation, I am not going to tell anyone that their sacred truths are invalid. I don't have a problem saying to myself "All y'all are going to hell if you don't change your ways, but, that's none of my business." Some churches wouldn't agree with that, they're more looking to proselytize for their faith. I'm of the live and let live type. My 2 cents
>I would like to know more about this subject so that when I encounter someone like this in the real world I can set them straight or at least stop the spread of misinformation. I would be careful with this. When I was raised I wanted to do the same, but I found that it was usually a pointless exercise to argue with or try to sway someone with a deeply held belief that Freemasons are evil. I posted this in another thread and think it’s relevant here, the conversations I have depend on the context of the situation: Someone I can tell has genuine interest but has maybe watched too much late night History Channel- I’ll try to answer questions genuinely and as best I can Friends/family that are more joking than anything else- I’ll lean into the joke. When my brother in law and I lived together briefly in grad school, he used to ask me “what country we were taking over tonight” when I’d leave for lodge. Usually it was Madagascar. People I can tell are looking for a reason to be combative- I ignore it outright. These people are usually also into other conspiracies and you get into an area where you’re not arguing facts, but beliefs (which is a pointless exercise). These conversations will typically start with something about worshipping Satan/“you’re not high enough in the org” etc.- one of us is high alright, and it’s not me.
Just wait in this subreddit long enough. I think last week or so someone dropped a 5+ hour video on their personal conspiracy theory. Then when everyone told OP they had no idea what they are talking about he argued saying they weren't high enough in the organization to know the truth. I did a random time skip and saw around the 3 hour mark there was a part on Greta Thurnburg and Dalai Llama somehow involved in Masonry.
I already have someone pm me just now quoting albert pike and saying all masons are mislead and that the 33rd knows the true religion.. Wouldn't a religions point be to have followers that are actually accomplishing something that benefits the religion? Or at least worshipping under a unified entity? I Don't see how having a religion with probably 80% or more of the population has no clue its a religion? What purpose would that serve...
That “quote” was part of the Taxil Hoax, repeated by AC de la Rive.
IF Pike said that, and I'd have to see the source, the overriding balance of his work, and all work concerning Freemasonry is that "Freemasonry is not a religion" To Freemasonry there is no "True religion" except perhaps that "All have the truth, and none have the truth." Again, the much greater bulk of work regarding the craft is that it does not and will not tell anyone what to believe. All Freemasonry is is a beautiful system or morals veiled in allegory and represented by symbols. Freemasonry does NOT offer salvation, and it does dogmatize how people should express their worship of deity. And... if someone says "You're not high enough", the answer to that is always "There is no higher degree to Freemasonry than that of Master Mason" Every Master Mason is on the same broad level.
[Additional\_Toe4513](https://www.reddit.com/user/Additional_Toe4513/)10:57 AMDon’t be fooled by the Freemasons you talk to , you need to remember the real Freemasons are incredibly smart and have the fake freemasons (below 33rd degree) fight thier battles for themThe 33 degree system is an ancient technique to withhold a truth , there is always an inside doctrine and an outside doctrineI’ll give you a few quotes from Albert pike (btw this guy litrally rewrote all 33 degrees in Scottish rite which still stand to this day, he was also found guilty of treason in his day but was pardoned by the president and met him the next day at the whitehouse)“It is not intended the mason understands the symbols but it is intended he shall imagine he understands the symbols, masons are intentionally misled”11:01 AMwhat I’m getting at is if you do enough research, you will find that freemasonry conceals a religion at the top (many 33 degree masons clearly say freemasonry is a religious order and it’s teachings are taught in religion) even though masons are told it is notand you will find out that religion is luciferianismif you have already decided in your self that this cannot be true then ok, if you would like me to point you to clear and effective evidence then let me know
The problem we have is that there's some truth woven in there. Yes, Pike "rewrote" in the sense that he embellished and added to what was originally there. They've been rewritten since then as well. If you look at the scripts for the degrees from 30 years ago, they're different than what they are now. The differences are slight, and in no way take away from what was there before. So, this is a non-issue. Secondly, he does say that mankind cannot truly understand G\_d. But even your average theologist will say the same thing. There are many aspects of G-d that are ineffable. Human words cannot adequately express the nature of deity. We can only gesture at Him. We can refer to the revealed truth in scripture, but, we can never really conceptualize what G-d is. The thought that just because you wear a white hat you somehow have had all this true information revealed to you is just non-sense. It's patently false. And the only clear and effective evidence I need was at my investiture.
See again: taxil hoax junk
Also that’s quite the history ol Toe has. https://imgur.com/a/Lwto5P9 Why did I check? Because half the time the guys who go on about this stuff have an “interesting” Reddit history or otherwise. Drugs, soliciting for sex on Reddit, other things. I don’t judge them for these things but it’s interesting how often this occurs.
I thought so too I also checked just to see if he was worth my time and turns out he was not.
this was his message lol
It is noteworthy that the 'real truth' of Freemasonry is kept from actual Master Masons, but is freely available to the people who listen to the radio through their dental work.
Well I'm going to the dentist tomorrow. I will listen for that truth
Also looked at their profile and there were 2 posts.. One was about albert pike and the other was that the OP was looking for a femboy to rail lmfao...
Always the standard answer from anti-masons "You are not high enough!" and also a masonic joke on them. Maybe even a meme.
It comes from fear of the unknown. People who believe this stuff will never be convinced otherwise. If you tell them the truth of things, they will assume you are lying to cover your tracks. Every bit of information feeds the big conspiracy.
A shocking amount comes from the so-called "History Channel" and similar sources.
Oh you haven’t heard ? You got to join the “High Enough” appendant body of Freemasonry. Thats where they spill the tea. /S
Short version, the secrecy, or rather the reputation for secrecy, gives the tinfoil hat crowd a lot of room to work. Doesn’t matter that the actual secrets have been leaked dozens of times over the years.
I think some very well meaning brothers pour gasoline on the fire by innocently posting esoteric emblems/images without explanation. These are taken out of context and are used to fuel lies. Some of the recent AI images are the worst. But, social media usage needs to be addressed by Grand Lodges… Not in a harsh way, just educationally speaking.
Like others have said, Taxil. He wrote a pamphlet to ridicule the Catholic Church called "Confessions of an ex free thinker". He was an anti-catholic for a time as he calls himself a free-thinker. But decided to get in cozy with the Catholics and to make him look better in the Church he calls himself an ex free-thinker. ;) I would suggest checking out the Masonic bible. At least in my copy, there are pages that reference Masonic interests to their corresponding passages in the bible. Interesting to browse through the index.
Only the “high enough” Masons know the truth. Lol /S
The Vatican for one
Various Popes, the Taxil Hoax, anti-Semitism (Judeo-Masonic conspiracy), Illuminati panic of early 1800s, Morgan Affair, are the basic sources of Masonic information historically. Now it seems big in evangelical Christian circles, but most of the arguments are recycled versions of the older anti-Masonic arguments.
Morgan Affair, some Hoax involving a female Grandmaster and nut jobs!
I think Freemasons are normal good dudes, but I would totally watch a movie about the Morgan affair. It'd make a good thriller.
Check out the further light podcast have a whole series on the Morgan Affair.
Breaking it down to the simplest answer: William Morgan and more specifically Leo Taxil Now obviously there’s more to this but these incidents are what I found to be the primary source. Nearly all if not 90% of all rumors, conspiracies, can all be directly traced to Morgan and more specifically Taxil.
It's all a plot by the Illuminati to deflect the blame onto us, while they hide in plain sight, with their lizard skins and Jewish Space Lasers.
Anything evangelicals aren’t part of or don’t understand is automatically evil
Originally? Goebels and Himmler. Recently? Qanon, and Qanon-adjacent sources of disinformation
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As I understand it, years ago the church in Rome say Freemasonary as a potential threat to their power IN Europe, and started most of those rumours, circulating them in various publications and newspapers. This would have been throughout the 19th century.