Conspiracy theories & how to combat them.

An old friend of mine, who was always fairly anti-establishment, has recently started losing the plot a bit. She is subscribing to a lot of conspiracy theories, and doing it very publicly online through Facebook etc.

The thing is, she’s creating an online echo chamber; it’s almost to the point that there’s no room for rational discussion. And, TBH, she is starting to make herself look like a complete pillock.

The latest one, for purposes of example, is that the United Nations ‘Agenda 21’ agreement on international development and humanitarian infrastructure (Yes; I have read all 71 pages) is actually a covert agenda to depopulate the planet by 95% before 2030.

Rational argument is met by ‘It’s not my job to educate you. You need to become aware’ type responses, despite the complete absence of any credible facts, statistics or sources. She’s been utterly brainwashed.

More worryingly, in my opinion, she has self-elected to be brainwashed.

Any thoughts on this? In general?

Cheers. M

Rational argument is met by ‘It’s not my job to educate you. You need to become aware’ type responses, despite the complete absence of any credible facts, statistics or sources. She’s been utterly brainwashed.

Start a thread on Lyme Disease or vaccinations.

😆

Don’t worry, she’ll be one of the first of the 95%

Tell her she shouldn’t worry anyway, humans won’t depopulate the planet on purpose – we’ll end up coming to a bitter end Battlestar Galactica style – being chased through space by pissed off at being invented, genocidal robots that are trying to understand the meaning of life. Our dying last communication in the vast, dead emptiness of space will be a mind uploaded Trump connected to a ships intranet version of twitter.

Standard fare for conspiracy theorists. They tend to believe outlandish claims made in online documentaries by non qualified people but then refuse to read (or believe) academic studies or reports from professionals and adopt the fingers-in-ear approach when an opposing view is backed up with fact.

Simple solution is to unfriend on FB.

she’ll be one of the first of the 95%

You may joke, but when I challenged her, her response was “if you’re not with the programme, maybe you should join the 95%”.

Seriously folks, this is a good friend of mine, a real person who I care about.

Please don’t be excessively flippant.

I’m very interested in approaches to combatting the self affirming ‘circle think’ of conspiracies.

Simple solution is to unfriend on FB.

If only it were that easy. She’s an actual person in the flesh who I care about. But ‘yes i agree’ to the rest of your comment.

Combat it by putting her on ignore on FB.

A girl who was a good friend of mine for 12 years voted Brexit because…working rights will be improved… and she previously got aggressive about autism and vaccines. These people are just loons and best avoided or at least openly mocked until they learn some self doubt.

No time for these types of people now, life on this planet is relatively short.

You’ll never change their minds. A couple of my friends for many years have become increasingly tin foil hat wearing nutters on FB – everything causes cancer, Monsanto is the cause of all evil in the world and 911 was a false flag excercise and do on. Just work out if you can accept them having these views whilst not agreeing with them and still be mates. If you try and represent any rational evidence based argument you’ll just be accused of being one of the ‘sheeple’ media manipulated masses!

she’ll be one of the first of the 95%

You may joke, but when I challenged her, her response was “if you’re not with the programme, maybe you should join the 95%”.

Seriously folks, this is a good friend of mine, a real person who I care about.

Please don’t be excessively flippant.

Fair enough, and good on you for caring. But really what can you do if she’s determined to follow the ‘mad /implausible’ and is immune to rational argument? You can take a horse to water etc

Has anything happened in her life to trigger this? Bereavement, loss of job, split from BF etc? Does she need to see a GP and could she be persuaded to?

Yeah, throw loads of anti-psychotics at them. That’ll educate them.

Nahhh what they need is some kind of prison sentence, where they are continually lectured and derided by dozens of experts in various fields – until they finally embrace that suppressed niggling part of their brain that knows they are thick idiots with less control than they think they have over their lives.

bodgy – Member
Simple solution is to unfriend on FB.
If only it were that easy. She’s an actual person in the flesh who I care about. But ‘yes i agree’ to the rest of your comment.

Okay, lets ignore the statement that she is making herself look like a complete pillock for a moment.

Is she unhappy? is she single (that’s not an offer)? Is there something missing in her life? Is this just her online persona and she is the same person in real life?

It may also be a passing fad.

Send her this book?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_True_Believer

Conspiracy lunacy is a mass movement in of itself.

I think that there have been many historical and self compounding reasons why she is angry with the world, and I’m not going to explore them with the wider community. But, yes, there’s history.

But that’s missing the point; I’m interested in damage limitation now.

Facts and rationality just seem to get brushed aside. Being reasonable brings a fleeting glimpse of perspective, but as soon as she hangs out with co-conspiratorial mates in the flesh or online any efforts evaporate.

Difficult to know how to combat such self satisfying theories? Does that make sense?

I might have to read that myself, Tom.

Seriously, buy her a copy of the above book. One day, she’ll get it.

2016 was the year we forgot the lessons of a global bestseller written in the 50’s.

“fact-proof screens between the faithful and the realities of the world.”[13]

That book makes the world appear like a broken record.

Sounds like mental health difficulties might involved. Personally I would just ignore the FB stuff and speak to her normally about normal stuff

Like Tom here with his closed and inflexible mind she will not listen

Sounds like an interesting book.

Sounds like mental health difficulties might involved

Yeah, just think TJ – she may even have BPD – so according to you we may as well write her off as untreatable, despite the weight of evidence proving otherwise! You fon’t operate on oersonal prejudice, no sir, not at all. Note one bit.

😆

Honestly they believe it because they want to, it fills a void there.
An inlaw and her partner were well up on all of them. I was visiting not long after Fukashima where all sorts of outlandish calims were being made, even after a long conversation about reactor design and how the core wasn’t melting it’s way through the earths crust etc. they were still sceptical about facts.

In a similar way another friend was at Glastonbery where he went to see the greenpeace stand, their claims were the windscale fire was still going – despite my mate having been in the building in question 2 days before it was simply dismissed as being part of the conspiracy.

Once a conspiracy has been decalred then it’s off and running. It’s not about rational thought

Is she causing harm to herself or others ? Not mental harm but physical ?

If it ain’t physical then really what can you do ? If bombarding her with “rational” thought messages won’t get through, why stay friends ? One day she’ll come round, but sometimes people need to go through this very kind of indoctrination to enable them to see clearly again.

Sounds mental; I’d tap it. 🙂

You know, not all conspiracy theories are fake…

You can’t really. A close family member of mine is a bit like this, I refuse to engage, won’t talk about them, or engage in any discussion regarding them.

Set out why, and how they effect you, agree with your friend that they are off limits, if the friendship is worth anything to her, she’ll agree, if not…

This was the start of the end for Facebook for me. quite a few close family members were constantly doing this. I muted them, then more started, then I closed my account. It’s just like all those religious nuts, they are free to believe what they like but don’t try and force it on me.
I’d mute her on FB (or maybe it’s time to close your account too?) and try to change the subject if she brings it up in conversation.

Typing:
Attraction of conspiracy theories

Into google brings up articles based on psychology from scientific mags with a bit of substance behind them, but of course, if there is that degree of mistrust it would be easy to construct a theory about these as well!

Well done for not giving up on a friend…

You have jivebunnyjive on your Facebook ?

Be a friend in real life. Talk about real issues. Experience real emotions and feelings together.

People retreat into this kind of online pseudo-existence to compensate for a void in their real lives.

I have a close friend who is schizophrenic who is heavily involved in theories like these. My response is always, what can I do and what effect will my actions have? I get accused of being a tourist of my own life, but I argue if I can’t change something, I’m better off not knowing.

Interesting choice of words OP, “combatting”. Seems as futile as the political rhetoric used for the ‘war on drugs’ or ‘war on terror’ and just as aggressive.

We can’t change others, only our own reactions. As a friend, you will be able to accept them for who and what they are and believe. If you find yourself unable to do that, that’ll be a clue or two for you.

Although acceptance of and for others is a rare thing on here, so maybe you knew the answer you wanted to hear anyway?

Conspiracy lunacy is a mass movement in of itself.

This…

I must admit I quite like a good conspiracy theory, but I think of it as fiction, produced by mildly disturbed people intended to sway the impressionable…

It’s also worth examining those behind much of it, there seems to be a bit of a “Conspiracy cartel” of middleaged to older men, often a bit on the fringes (many with wacky beards and ponytails), sort of outlier narcissist types… Usually with a book to sell.

FB and the rise of YouTube “documentaries” has made all this stuff more accessible too. But in the absence of any moderating influence or counter-examination, people can start believing any and everything…

Plus it’s a reaction to the real world; politicians are widely mistrusted, our news is full of negative stories, climate change, the growing gap in wealth, etc, etc, it’s no wonder increasingly disenfranchised people want to blame the Lizard people…

The best thing you can do is be a rational sounding board for your friend, let her know you don’t want to argue or mock her, but if her beliefs can’t stand up to rational examination by a non-malicious skeptic, then perhaps she should consider their basis again…

Makes you think…..

Treat it as a sport and just out-loon her. Whatever outlandish thing she posts, expand on it with some more extreme made-up craziness of your own and a smiley.

When, eventually, she baulks at your belief in lizard overlords at the WHO pushing death vaccines, you can tell her it’s not your job to educate her. 🙂

When, eventually, she baulks at your belief in lizard overlords at the WHO pushing death vaccines, you can tell her it’s not your job to educate her.

Not lizards…… Devils.

They fly business class around the world disguised as paper clip salesmen.
They need to wear orthopaedic shoes to disguise their cloven hooves.

Makes you think.

Used to work with a guy that was really into the whole contrails theories, an intelligent guy and a nice fella too. He would sit every lunchtime and watch whatever youtube threw at him, theory after theory – he wanted to believe.

I honestly think he was either just bored, or had something missing from his life, either way, there was no way he would listen to reasoned argument without getting quite animated. Guys who tried just gave up in the end, and didn’t bring it up.

This happened to my sister. I tried reasoning with her over several months about her failed logic and “alternate facts” but as she had other issues, yes mental health and drug abuse. She just kept spouting the same old shit and shutting down and refusing to see point blank how insane her arguments were. It even got to a point that she was so paranoid she wouldn’t leave the house and it started affecting her kids.

Fortunately shes off the drugs and getting help for the issues but she still believes in the same rubbish. However I recently saw one of the posts on Facebook her closest friend posted, something regarding the government using ELF weaponry (Extremely Low Frequency) to control the population anywhere from Paranoid to Cancer…where do they get their ideas from?

Cant believe how many shills there are on the board, some of you need to get more woke

They fly business class around the world disguised as paper clip salesmen.
They need to wear orthopaedic shoes to disguise their cloven hooves.

Makes you think.

Seriously, paper clip salesmen? I don’t believe there’s any such thing these days. FAKE NEWS!