Ep. 25 - Finland Doesn't Exist
In the Cold War era, Japan and the Soviet Union supposedly shared a secret about a stretch of the Baltic Sea between the Soviet Union and Sweden. Around the mid-20th century, the two nations collectively spread the idea that there was a landmass known as Finland on that stretch of ocean, to keep the good fishing between themselves. The Japanese were free to fish as much as they liked there without worrying about international laws, so long as they give a share to Russia. The company of Nokia is actually owned by the Japanese and is used to hide the shipments from this secret fishing industry in the guise of hardware. To get all this food across the continent, the trans-Siberian railway was built for this express purpose.
This is the conspiracy theory that surfaced in 2015 on an unassuming Reddit thread. Not long following, it went viral, traveling across social media and taking on a life of it's own. The fallout was fast and fierce. While many responded jokingly or dismissively, some responses were highly critical, and even outright insulting. Understandably, some Finnish users within Reddit were offended that such a claim was gaining traction. And traction it saw. Spreading across social media sites such as Tumbler and 4chan.
The question remains, what made this amusing conspiracy theory resonate so well with the public? Why did it capture our imagination, inspire discussion and spur debate? Is it due to some internet "law" that speaks to parody and sarcasm, or is it rooted in something more substantial in literature, like the concept of satire? Why does it speak to us? We try to tackle this issue on this episode of Conspiracy Theoryology.
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Music is by adamhenrygarcia.bandcamp.com
Links:
http://yourbrainonfacts.com/
http://turnofphrases.com/
https://explorefinlandpodcast.com/
https://truecrimefinland.squarespace.com/
https://inktank.fi/podcasts/
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xyd48w/this-dude-accidentally-convinced-the-internet-that-finland-doesnt-exist
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/finland/articles/does-finland-exist-many-dont-think-so/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2qjohv/what_did_your_parents_show_you_to_do_that_you/cn6pn30/?context=8&depth=9
https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=362104126089102077125098103024071124050050034063008064066127015031027097112117071089098124053005104010109116078101117081119071104015058046044076005011115077027011064090081060009019103123026083118095091029113076094006066024126126099098024124026086119091&EXT=pdf
https://www.reddit.com/r/finlandConspiracy/comments/2y0oog/the_finland_conspiracy_and_all_you_need_to_know/
http://www.bodahub.com/does-finland-exist-conspiracy-theory/
http://www.stat.fi/tup/satavuotias-suomi/suomi-maailman-karjessa_en.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/12/safe-happy-and-free-does-finland-have-all-the-answers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.bing.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1065&context=srhonorsprog
https://thetowerphs.com/2015/12/arts-and-entertainment/satire-influencing-audiences-through-emotional-appeal/
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/finland/articles/podcasts-to-help-you-understand-finland/
CT019 - The Day Belief Persevered (Flat Earth Theory Pt. 2)
CT018 - The Day The Earth Fell Flat (Flat Earth Theory Pt. 1)
CT017 - The Day We Went To War With Christmas
CT016 - The Day Fluoride Controlled Us
CT015 - The Day The Polygraph Lied
CT014 - The Day A Psychic Detective Cracked The Case
CT013 - The Day Exorcism Gave Us Control
CT012 - The Day Alien Abductions Took Us into the Unknown
CT011 - The Day Bodies Were Buried in the Hoover Dam
CT010 - The Day Q Clearance Went Top Secret
CT009 - The Day Carl Jung Analyzed a Crop Circle
CT008 - The Day Ghosts Started Photobombing Our Selfies
CT007 - The Day Bacon Wrote Shakespeare
CT006 - The Day New Coke Fizzled
CT005 - The Day Area 51 Joined the Narrative (PART 2)
CT004 - The Day Area 51 Joined the Narrative (PART 1)
CT003 - The Day Paul McCartney Died
CT002 - The Day Bigfoot Stepped Into Scene
CT001 - Welcome to Conspiracy Theoryology
PILOT EPISODE - The Moon Landing Hoax
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