A global cabal of celebrity pedophiles? Trafficked children being sold online through a furniture website? And Donald Trump about to rescue us from it all?
These QAnon conspiracy theories are so outlandish — not to mention demonstrably untrue — it feels like the natural response … is laughter and mockery.
But according to documentary filmmaker Kirby Ferguson, that’s the opposite of what you should do. Dunking on fools may feel good, but humiliating QAnoners risks driving them further down the rabbit hole. And you should care because you might have a QAnon believer among your friends or family — and on Nov. 3, it’s possible several will be elected to Congress. Q is not going anywhere soon. So what can you do?
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Valentina Giorgi:
Ashia:
halneufmille:
- Abraham Lincoln
Rosanna Flores:
George Carlin-
Lander Reyniers:
Gregor Meisen:
tucciproducer:
Jainish:
-hats aren’t real, they are projections by NASAs on people’s heads
-Owls are a hoax perpetrated by the democrats, do you really think a bird can turn its head by 180 degrees
- also if 15 is bigger than 5 why does it start with 1, something is fishy
Adrian:
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Dori C:
He goes into the mindset of these consperacy theories and why trying to disprove them it a fool's errand. The people who believe these things aren't looking for facts, they're looking for confirmation.
Quan Nguyen:
rob beach:
‘But what about dinosaur bones?’
‘God put them there to test our faith’
Religion. The original conspiracy theory
David Kile:
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sunnylilme:
Mister Mister:
I'm afraid when someone else fights to prevent admitting they're wrong despite the objective evidence and it at one point makes you question reality
Jason Caputo:
Also, I find it most productive to be clear that our conversations are not about changing each other’s minds. Rather, it is simply for each of us to understand why the other believes what they do. This allows a less confrontational opportunity for both to understand t]and scrutinize their own reasoning, and a chance to discover our own faulty reasoning.
A final note is that, i think if either party gets exhausted by the conversation, there is a real,danger they will retreat to just ignoring what was said and just say, “well whatever” and re-embrace their former conclusions. So I try to make sure:
- we do not discuss at times when we are likely tired
- I try to take bite sized topics
- discuss one topic at a time without ping-ponging
- let the discussion end before either of us is exhausted, so a little post-Convo growth can happen for both of us.
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Brian Beeler:
as a force to be defeated, look at them as fellow flawed humans you can positively influence. This isn't some contest you need to win. Anons are just people like us. They're not mentally ill. They're not beyond redemption."_
Former NY Times Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Hedges has been saying this for years about the majority of Trump supporters. They're folks that have been "left behind" in this ever changing world, lost without a purpose and are seeking meaning. Unable to accept change and adapt to the world as it is they retreat into "magical thinking" and religious beliefs that strain credulity. Shunning them and ridiculing them will only further alienate them. They must be reintegrated into society.
QAnon followers can be reintegrated into society by helping them to connect with their neighbors. I use to live in a city where people were free [without permission or permit] to open a cafe, bodega, etc. in their home. Every morning I met with a few of my neighbors at a cafe one block over for coffee. We just chatted about life. We need the same here in the States. A way for people to connect in real life and not just through a keyboard.
MrNoobomnenie:
Putting Anarchism in a same league as QAnon is just peak liberalism. "Never worker anywhere ever"? Tell this to a Ukrainian Black Army. Or revolutionary Catalonia. Or Zapatistas. Or Rojava.
Adian Chowdhury:
1: There is nothing disproving my claim, so it must be correct
When you make the claim, you supply the proof. If somebody claims that he saw a unicorn, you don't go out of your way to prove him wrong. You ask, where is the photograph, or video, or any other reasonable evidence
2: Coolrolation DOES NOT equal causation. Just because two things happened in a certain time frame, it doesn't necessarily mean one caused the other. They could have happened together out of coincidence, or they can be caused by something different. It's like saying that since you ate chips and then you tripped on your shoelaces, that the chips caused you to trip.
99% of conspiracies rely on these two fallacies, and they are the conspiracies' weaknesses.
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...But we should basically treat them like they are mentally ill?
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Eggy Patrick:
Edit: great video by the way
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Oliver Quach:
A lot of people still don’t understand this. I’ll be sharing this video around! Thanks for making this.
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Consider re-posting this with the title “What Q-Anon gets right”
It would be a Clickbait version of the title, but more welcoming to those who need to hear it most, and representative of the reasonable evenhanded tone called for.
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NEW YORK TIMES = OPERATION MOCKINGBIRD
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juan vazquez:
I hope people who have a broader perspective about life and society understand that how important it is to not just make fun of the "anons".
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Sarah Bethea:
I do think Qanon is much more serious, much more dangerous, than other conspiracies.
Many, but not all, Q followers have violent ideations or intent, some of them have commented on my videos on this subject that people on the left should be imprisoned or put in re-education camps, and in their forums I have seen much talk of “bullets not ballots”, and the need to overturn democracy. This stuff is also rife with antisemitism and racism.
It’s clear we have a major epistemological crisis, where people cannot agree on what is true. It’s going to be hard thing to fix.
Again, great video NYT
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Julien Caesar:
I'd like to add best thing we can do is be kind and share information and remember the goal shouldn't be to always win an argument or prove your right.
The goal should be understanding of the truth.
Frank O: