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CONSPIRACY THEORIES ARE HARD TO COMBAT

  It started in 2020 as a lie, a false claim that the election was stolen. Since January 6, 2021, according to an NPR investigation, conspiracy theorists have taken the show on the roads. Four prominent purveyors of voting disinformation have crossed the country, speaking at over 308  events in 45 states and the District of Columbia. The highest-profile person they tracked is MyPillow CEO, Mike Lindell. They meet small audiences at restaurants, car dealerships, community centers, and churches and are changing minds to their way of thinking.  According to Chris Krebs a former Department of Homeland security official who oversaw federal election security measures in 2021, they work for changes at the lowest possible level. 

  Leaders who make false allegations  without credible evidence corrode American Democracy. Yet despite the January 6th committee investigations and efforts by officials in every state, the voices of conspiracy theorists are escalating. Their goal is to take back the country and ensure that it stays Christian and white. They never consider that they stole the Americas from indigenous people already on the land. 

  Despite the mounds of information proving that our election system works, those promoting the big lie, do it as a means of getting legislators to enact laws that make it harder for poor, minority, and marginalized people to vote. Carly Kopeks, who runs elections in Weld County, Colorado says that some people see it as a religious campaign and believe they are doing the Lord’s work. 

  How do you fight back against misinformation and outright lies? Yelling doesn’t work nor does appealing to empathy. Rebutting disinformation and conspiracy theories makes people dig their heels in more deeply. So what can you do other than throw up your hands and walk away? One thing for sure is that you can’t negotiate with someone who won’t sit at the table. 

  It is important to understand why these conspiracy theories work. According that Dr, James Giordano, Professor of Neurology and Biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center, "As stress levels get higher, we begin to fatigue not only biologically, but psychologically and socially, and we perceive the stress and perhaps the stressor as threatening. The more vulnerable we feel, often, the more volatile we become. That volatility can be a prompt to aggressiveness and violence.” Conspiracy theories bring peace of mind by making things black and white. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. They also provide a sense of community and a way to hang out with other people who share your conspiracy belief. Once in a community, it is hard to leave. People become  emotionally attached to their beliefs and develop relationships they don’t want to sever.

  According to Robert Kozinets, at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, social media is the major cuprite fostering stress by turning lies to the extreme. False news is emotionally arousing and more interesting than the truth. When presented by influencers, the more extreme the information, the more the brain is engaged. It doesn’t matter if the stressor is legitimate. Perceived threat is all that is necessary to instill a sense of dread that guides behavior. 

  Social media provides a validation feedback loop for scared people. When our minds are vulnerable and we feel uncertain, we look to others to confirm our worst fears and to show a way forward. They become vulnerable to influencers with special agendas, and are easily manipulated into their way of thinking. These influencers have been very effective in fanning the political divide. They understand the psychology of changing people’s minds and use this knowledge to move their political agenda forward.

  To combat conspiracy theories and open minds to fact-based thinking, stress hormones in the brain and negative emotions need to be low. In other words, the person has to“chill out” and feel respected. Only then is it possible to meet them where they are and ever so slowly bring them to rational thoughts. 

  Literacy in the scientific method and analytic thinking has to be introduced slowly. There are ways to do so, but you need patience. When presenting the facts state \key points without mentioning the person’s misconceptions because they will be better remembered. Don’t dwell on the conspiracy but once the person is relaxed and discussing something unrelated, chip at the conspiracy with an occasional comment that is likely to make the person think. Explanations need to be in harmony with the person’s preexisting beliefs. For example; climate-change deniers are more likely to shift their view if presented with pro-environment opportunities. Never argue, but tell stories with cause and effect conclusions. Ask for supporting data when someone presents a conspiracy that they consider accurate.

  George Layoff of UC Berkely came up with the truth-Sandwich Method. The idea is to debunk an inconsistency with a true factual statement that is repeated twice. An example is; “Let’s say someone you know believes that they don’t need the COVID-19 vaccine because the virus has a 99.9% survival rate (which it doesn’t). In that case, you should say: “The survival rate is high, but the virus is still incredibly dangerous. Even 1%, in a country of 328 million people like ours, would cost over 3 million people their lives. That’s why, even though the survival rate is high, the virus is still incredibly dangerous.”

  Another method is to mimic Socrates who engaged in back-and-forth questioning that pointed out inconsistencies along the way. Studies show that theorists don’t feel attacked by this technique since they are not being forced to change what they believe. The goal isn’t to convince someone they are wrong, but rather to help them to come to the understanding on their own. You may not succeed at first, but Socratic arguing is a step that may lead to change in the long run. 

  This is a long article, but I implore you not to give up. Practice patience and find a way to tune into their emotions so that you can open their minds to analytic thoughts. Democracy depends on people engaging with one another and not throwing up their hands in frustration.

References:

  Huang, L & Yu, R. ( 2020) How to (Actually) Change someone’s Mind. Harvard Business Review: retrieved from https://hbr.org/2020/07/how-to-actually-change-someones-mind

  Langrial, D. (2020)How Changing Your Mind Is Your Right and the Right Thing to Do. Positive Minds. retrieved from https://medium.com/positive-minds/changing-your-mind-is-your-right-5a3754dbf518

  Williams, M.(2021)  The science of changing your mind—and someone else’s/. Salon. retrieved from https://www.salon.com/2021/06/21/the-science-of-changing-your-mind--and-someone-elses/

  Siders, D. & Montellaro, Z. (2021) It’s Spreading: PHony election fraud conspiracies infect midterms.Politico. retrieved from  https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/20/election-fraud-conspiracies-infect-midterms-512783

  All things considered (June 30, 2022) Election deniers have taken their fraud theories on tour — to nearly every date. NPR. retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2022/06/30/1107868327/trump-election-fraud-jan-6

  Emerson,C. (2021) Conspiracy Theories: What can you do to Stop Them? Youth Engaged 4 Change. retrieved from https://engage.youth.gov/blog/conspiracy-theories-why-do-we-believe-them

Have you had success in changing a conspiracy theorist’s mind? If so, how did it go? Comment below.

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