GhostlandHum OP t1_iynwn2f wrote on December 2, 2022 at 8:12 PM

Reply to comment by notapunk in I’m Colin Dickey, an author who’s made a career out of collecting unusual objects and hidden histories from all over the country. My latest book, Land of Delusion, a Scribd Original, digs into the dangerous world of conspiracy theorists. AMA! by GhostlandHum

Yeah, absolutely--I always think that the way we normally think of combating conspiracy theories ("just beat people over the head with facts and truth") doesn't work that well because what conspiracy theories are doing is solving a psychological need first and foremost. So the better way to combat them, I think, is to figure out what that psychological need is, and address that--it's sort of like a methadone treatment, where you kill the need for the drug, and then they abandon the drug and the conspiracy theory on their own.

BenjaminHamnett t1_iyr3i68 wrote on December 3, 2022 at 2:45 PM

Great answer, but I feel like I’ve seen a few real-time examples of core devotees seeing this coming from a distance and using this as the inverse of “lack of proof IS proof” trope. They are hyper aware of anything that’s taking attention away from their cult and say “see, they know were onto them, so they’re trying to distract us with staged events that take the wind out of our sails and make us look silly”