9 votes

Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

Posted by mycketforvirrad
Tags: ask.discussion, recurring.weekly, offbeat fridays, offbeat

Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like infowars, framework.laptop 13 and web.small. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was studious.

But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!

6 comments

  1. skybrian
    Link
    Do People Sincerely Believe Conspiracy Theories That They Endorse?

    Do People Sincerely Believe Conspiracy Theories That They Endorse?

    [...] In a survey of 1,044 Australians, we found that endorsement of six pre-existing conspiracy theories ranged from 10% to 19%, and that 7% of participants endorsed two that were clearly contradictory together. In addition, 10% of participants endorsed a highly bizarre raccoon army conspiracy theory that we invented, which we interpreted as evidence of insincerity. Endorsement of this conspiracy theory was a strong predictor of endorsing the pre-existing conspiracy theories, including the two contradictory ones together. Moreover, at debriefing, 13% of participants reported that they had responded insincerely in the survey, and this response was also a strong predictor of endorsing the pre-existing conspiracy theories, including the two contradictory ones together. Overall, our results suggest that surveys can produce inflated estimates of the prevalence of belief in conspiracy theories, which raises serious questions about how research on conspiracy theories—and misinformation more broadly—has frequently equated endorsement with belief.

    5 votes
  2. [3]
    mycketforvirrad
    (edited )
    Link
    Millwall considering legal position after children’s book depicts KKK figure wearing club badge The Athletic – Tom Burrows – 23rd April 2026

    Millwall considering legal position after children’s book depicts KKK figure wearing club badge

    Millwall say they are “considering their legal position” after the club’s badge was placed on a photo of a Ku Klux Klan figure in a children’s educational book.

    The image appeared in a booklet called ‘The Paul Canoville Story’, written by Peter Daniel, an education and interpretation officer at Westminster City Council.

    Canoville was the first Black player to make an appearance for Chelsea, in 1982. He endured horrific racist abuse during his career and later battled drug addiction.

    The educational booklet about his life has been issued in schools, as part of an anti-racism programme.

    The Athletic – Tom Burrows – 23rd April 2026

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      ThrowdoBaggins
      Link Parent
      I’m also interested in the Berlin rubbish pick-up program, so please post that as well, but you copied the wrong link here

      I’m also interested in the Berlin rubbish pick-up program, so please post that as well, but you copied the wrong link here

      1 vote
  3. [2]
    jredd23
    Link
    Hairdryer or lighter? Polymarket is out of hand, I started to follow since the soldier who got caught on betting on Maduro. I am just stunned someone is willing to take the bet on, just crazy!

    Hairdryer or lighter?
    Polymarket is out of hand, I started to follow since the soldier who got caught on betting on Maduro. I am just stunned someone is willing to take the bet on, just crazy!

    Weather enthusiasts speculate that a battery-powered hairdryer may have been used to tamper with the sensor, French newspaper Le Monde reported.

    2 votes
    1. rich_27
      Link Parent
      This one's great. I wonder how many temperature sensors they tried before coming across the one that influenced the data the bet was against. It's wild to me that temperature readings aren't...

      This one's great. I wonder how many temperature sensors they tried before coming across the one that influenced the data the bet was against. It's wild to me that temperature readings aren't redundant in some way and that data isn't taken from multiple sensors with outliers flagged and disregarded - or maybe it is and this was a coordinated sting that hit a bunch of sensors at the same time!

      1 vote