If anyone is struggling with a loved one who has fallen under the spell of conspiracy theories, anti vaccine misinformation, or any other dangerous online cult, this thread is probably the best resource I've read about how to try and reach out to them. https://twitter.com/dannagal/status/1347564138738946050

. @RachelLavin @ChristineBohan @Shayan86 and @mariannaspring are probably all aware of these tactics already, but this is a really succinct, & prescient thread, which deserves (& needs) to be seen as widely as possible.

This is a critical thing to remember. CTers don't *think* they are true, they *believe* that they're true. And you can't fight a belief system with facts. The best analogy is that conspiracy theorists groups resemble cults more than anything else) https://twitter.com/dannagal/status/1347564455329214465?s=20

Belief in CTs is an example of cognitive bias. Something hardwired into all our brains. We're biologically programmed to believe something that correspondents to our own preconceived world view. It's also why we're *all* susceptible to mis/disinfo that... https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-some-people-believe-in-conspiracy-theories/

... fits with what we already know. What's worse is we know that the more exposure people have to conspiracy theories the more inclined they are to believe them. We've known about this phenomena since 1995, and the film JFK in a study by Stanford University

As @dannagal explained, it takes an enormous amount of time, energy & effort to reach someone lost to this mindset. And there's no guarantee of success. This is why @donie was 100% correct when he called on countries to demand action from the SMPs https://twitter.com/artimusfoul/status/1348232557578616833?s=20

As home to the EU HQs of all the major SMPs (YouTube, Google, Facebook, Twitter) Ireland is uniquely placed to implement effective regulation of SMPs. But we are failing *badly* in our duty as good global citizens in the fight against disinfomation. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/minister-urged-to-set-up-committee-to-examine-social-media-regulation-1.4295595