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What can we do for friends and loved ones drawn in by reactionary conspiracy theories? (beehaw.org)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by friendly_ghost@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

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Someone I am very close to has become increasingly isolated. She doesn't want to do anything except watch "documentaries" like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfzupXBlrIU She doesn't want to socialize, because "no one understands what's really going on." She mentioned recently that she has a Telegram account, so I'm assuming that's where at least some of this garbage is coming from. I'm worried about her. Her life is already hard, and this stuff is making her paranoid and more isolated than she already was.

Is there anything that helps bring people out of this?? I have my own radical ideas, but they are about the need to abolish capital and the State. This person has never really responded to leftist politics when I've brought it up, but maybe I need to try again. Any help or advice? I really worry about her.

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[–] JuBe@beehaw.org 22 points 9 months ago (2 children)

One tip I heard was asking “how” questions as follow-ups, rather than “what” questions? It tends to encourage people to think through how the conspiracies might actually work, rather than just jumping from point A to point B.

[–] doolijb@beehaw.org 11 points 9 months ago

Great answer, what I'm struggling with is I just had a kid last year and my apathy for friends and family pushing conspiracies jumped to 100% real fast. I found it easier and less stressful to not bring them into my household, much less allow them around the baby.