a question on conspiracy theories and how to deal

[Diana]

WAR IS PEACE (without war there is a lack of social cohesion, so war creates unity)
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY (slavery creates actual freedom as you abdicate responsibility to a higher authority)
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH (strength is drawn from avoiding the confusion stemming from ones own incompetent ideals)

Yeah, your recall of 1984 is a little off.  In 1984 the slogans derived from the STS authority which kept everything in check and stable in an STS-type world. So, War Is Peace, was not to create unity, but to create a system of continual lack of resources to keep the masses under control, for example. I have read that book several times, but I only read it when I am in a very stable frame of mind because it is so depressing. I will say however, that Orwell certainly nailed a lot of societal trajectories in a spooky way.

In the book, it's quite uncanny the way Orwell reveals at the end what those slogans really mean, and from an STS perspective they make sense. As far as any reference to this existence, I can't see by any stretch that they would apply to an STO perspective beyond intellectual gymnastics. Certainly from an STS perspective, they work to advantage.