Conspiracy theories have become a prevalent and harmful part of our culture, online and off. They promote the spread of misinformation and utilize fear-mongering tactics to breed distrust in institutions, and should therefore be considered extremely dangerous. That is, except for the one about Avril Lavigne dying in the early aughts and being replaced by a body double, because that actually makes a ton of sense to me, personally.
I mean, let’s be honest, they kind of hit the nail on the head with that one. Her music was just so different after 2003!
Of course, conspiracy theories should be actively dismantled to prevent the spread of toxic misinformation, but even a broken clock is correct twice a day, right? In this case, it’s right about Avril Lavigne having a replacement doppelganger who has been living her life in her stead these past two decades, and about Let Go being the last album the real Avril ever wrote.
That theory just scratches an itch in my brain, so I’m rolling with it.
Do most Americans believe in the JFK assassination conspiracy theory? Yes! Is that all part of the harmful rhetoric of institutional distrust proliferated by conspiracy theories? Yes! But is the Avril Lavigne case completely separate from that and pretty much reliant on premises that are basically just fact at this point? From the many blogs I’ve read about it, I think so, yeah.
We should all do our part to stop the spread of conspiracy theories before they have the chance to morph into something more insidious. And, beyond that, we should all do our part to expose Avril Lavigne’s record label for covering up her untimely death and seamlessly replacing her with someone who looked and sounded exactly like her.
And if you’re thinking, “That’s insane and there’s absolutely no way to even begin proving that” just listen to all the subliminal messaging in Under My Skin and you’ll totally see where I’m coming from. Yes, conspiracy theories can be very harmful, but in this case, there’s no such thing as a coincidence.
