There are many messages that I hope people will take away from the reading of this book. The first, and perhaps most important, is a message of hope: people can escape the rabbit hole. We’ve seen the stories of several people who were once deeply convinced that the world was run by an evil cabal of conspirators. They all believed that the World Trade Center had been demolished with explosives planted by our own government. Some of them believed that people in power were spraying poison on us from planes, some believed that the murders of schoolchildren at Sandy Hook were faked, and one even believed that the world was flat.
All them have escaped the rabbit hole, and none of them believe these things any more. Some of them were down there for weeks, months, years, or decades. So if you have a friend that you consider to be lost to conspiracy theories, then take heart. These people all had friends that likewise thought they were lost. Some of their friends gave up on them, and some did not. Many of them were helped out by their friends.
While I only showcase a small number of people, thousands escape the rabbit hole every year. The US population is fairly evenly distributed by age, but surveys consistently show that the more extreme theories like Chemtrails have far more younger believers than older believers.1 Many people escape naturally, by the accumulation of genuine knowledge and life experience as they age. But many can be helped out quicker, and some may not be able to make it out by themselves.
Most people can escape the rabbit hole of conspiracy thinking because most people who get stuck down there are just ordinary people like you and me. They are not, as a rule, any more or less crazy than the general population. People don’t get sucked into conspiracy theories because they are mentally ill or deficient, they get sucked in because they watched some videos at a point in their lives when those videos resonated. They stay down there because they lack exposure to other information sources. They lack relevant facts, they lack context, and they lack perspectives on, and other ways of thinking about, the issues. These are all resources that you can bring to them.
The most effective way to bring that information to your friend is with honesty and with respect. Mocking and harsh criticism do not work because people push back when they feel threatened. Even if you feel their position is ludicrous, respectful disagreement works better than derision.
Understanding is important. The most effective debunkers are those who were once down the rabbit hole themselves. Your friend may initially reject any criticism from you until they recognize that you show some genuine understanding of their position. If you’ve already been down their rabbit hole it gives you a head start. If not, then the more you can learn about their conspiracy, the better.
Where they draw the demarcation line is important—both for understanding them and as a tool for focusing your debunking efforts. A small shift in where the line is drawn can result in a profound change in perspective, and the start of a slow drift in the right direction. This is especially true if you can show them that their sources of information are now on the other side of the line.
Helping a friend break free from the spiral of conspiracism is not easy and it will take time. No matter how politely you do it you are still challenging some fundamental aspects of their identity. They will push back, and they may fight you.
But it is an immensely valuable thing that you are doing for them. Freeing their minds from the burden of conspiracy theories and letting them see and participate in the world more as it really is. Do not give up. The stories in this book prove that people do get out with help. Maintain an effective dialog, supply them with useful information, give it time, and you too can help your friend escape the rabbit hole.