You might be hoping that a constructive conversation will end with some kind of epiphany over Christmas pudding – but don’t bet on it.
For those who have fallen deep down the conspiracy rabbit hole, getting out again can be a very long process.
”Be realistic about what you can achieve,” psychologist Jovan Byford warns. ”Conspiracy theories instil in believers a sense of superiority. It’s an important generator of self-esteem – which will make them resistant to change.”
Misinformation is false information that is spread either by mistake or with intent to mislead. When there is intent to mislead, it is called disinformation. Misinformation has the potential to cause substantial harm to individuals and society. It is therefore important to protect people against being misinformed, either by making them resilient against misinformation before it is encountered or by debunking it after people have been exposed.
Misinformation can be sticky!
Fact-checking can reduce people’s beliefs in false information. However, misinformation often continues to influence people’s thinking even after they receive and accept a correction—this is known as the “continued influence effect” 1. Even if a factual correction seems effective—because people acknowledge it and it is clear that they have updated their beliefs—people frequently rely on the misinformation in other contexts, for example when answering questions only indirectly related to the misinformation. It is therefore important to use the most effective debunking approaches to achieve maximal impact.
Prevent misinformation from sticking if you can
Because misinformation is sticky, it’s best preempted. This can be achieved by explaining misleading or manipulative argumentation strategies to people—a technique known as “inoculation” that makes people resilient to subsequent manipulation attempts. A potential drawback of inoculation is that it requires advance knowledge of misinformation techniques and is best administered before people are exposed to the misinformation.
Debunk often and properly
If you cannot preempt, you must debunk. For debunking to be effective, it is important to provide detailed refutations 2, 3. Provide a clear explanation of (1) why it is now clear that the information is false, and (2) what is true instead. When those detailed refutations are provided, misinformation can be “unstuck.” Without detailed refutations, the misinformation may continue to stick around despite correction attempts.
För en produktiv stollekramare och -spridare är det en fördel att inte veta eller förstå nämnvärt av ämnet. Det ska helst vara komplicerat, gärna med en fantasieggande förkortning av namnet samt viss anknytning till militär.
High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, HAARP, fyller dessa förutsättningar med råge.
HAARP is a magnet for the conspiracy theorists who claim it can control the weather, create earthquakes, disrupt worldwide communications and control peoples minds. So how did a research project into the ionosphere turn to this super machine?.
Avsides beläget i en skog (Gakona i Alaska)
Massor med antenner (från 2007 12 x 15 st)
‘Frekvenser‘, gärna ‘höga’ (3 – 10 Megaherz)
Effektslukande (3.6 Megawatt)
Namnet, med ‘active‘ inbäddat!
Den som redan är slutsåld på HAARP-konspirationerna kan hoppa vidare. Det blir gott om halv- och helkomplicerad fysik och om du anstränger dig att greppa något av den kommer din hittillsvarande uppfattning av HAARP att lukta rutten fisk. Och det vill du kanske inte?
För intresserade finns massor att lära, till exempel
varför man använder så många fasta antenner och ändå kan rikta radiovågorna.
varför effekten som når målområdet ibland anges med gigantiskt stora tal (ERP uppåt 5.1 Gigawatt!)
hur man kan sikta på speciella höjder i atmosfären
vilka de ‘höga frekvenserna’ är och varför man väljer just dessa
vad radiovågorna kan göra
ungefär hur stor effekt som når en viss yta eller volym av målområdet
ungefär hur HAARP:s effekt på en kvadratmeter i målområdet är jämfört med Solens på samma yta