What to Do If Your Loved One is a Conspiracy Theorist

More or less, we all have them. That family member, friend or mere acquaintance who believes everything they read without checking the facts. What’s a person to do when they know a conspiracy theorist? I have one main suggestion.

For starters, take everything they say with a grain of salt. Even if it’s false information, treat them with respect. There are times when belief in conspiracy theories is wholly unintentional, yet they do not know their truth is, in actuality, a conspiracy theory. If a person you know says something you may or may not believe, do your own research. Find trustworthy sources that you can base your opinions.

As I’m writing this blog post, I’m sitting at West Point University, trying to solve the issue of media and public opinion in a time of polarization and revisionist powers, which is a big task to undertake. In order to reduce the amount of misinformation, which includes conspiracy theories, we agree that one of the most impactful solutions would be to increase media literacy in generations to come.

That being said, one of the biggest ways to help a conspiracy theorist is to provide them with sources that are factual, because they may not be familiar with identifying truthful sources. At the end of the day, you can provide someone with as many resources as are available, but it is up to them to actually read and use that media. That is why it is important for younger generations to become familiar with trustworthy sources, because they will create healthy habits that can last a lifetime.

Some may say that the older generation is a lost cause. To some extent, I agree. There’s an old saying that goes, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” While that may be true, I believe there is still hope for this age group. If you try hard enough, you can teach an old dog new tricks. It may require more effort than you are willing to put into the cause, but I truly believe in the cause.

Not only does the belief in misinformation and conspiracies bring tension into an otherwise calm situation, it can drive a strong wedge between society as a whole. A study by CNN shows that the growing polarization between Americans can lead to a decline in the trust of the democratic system, because half of the population may believe the other half is completely idiotic and incorrect for believing in what they believe.

Regardless of your stance on conspiracy theories, everyone has been affected by them. Former President Trump truly believes that the 2020 election was stolen from him, leading to the riots on Jan. 6. The people who participated in those riots are proof of the harm of spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories, because they fully believed a conspiracy theory was the truth.

This poses the question, who is truly to blame? Is it the person, or persons, who spread these conspiracy theories? Or is it those who believe them? Perhaps, it could even be the education system for not making mandatory requirements on educating media literacy. If that were to occur, we may be living in a different society where misinformation is rarely spread because people are educated on how to spot fact from fiction.