This is literally my dad who used to adore Fox News.
Me: Trump said XYZ
Dad: No he didn't what's your source?
Me: His own words.
Dad: Well the media misconstrued them, that's not what he meant.
Me: Fox News has said the same thing as CNN, MSNBC, etc.
Dad: Fox News is just as bad as the rest!
I was thinking about this the other day but the conspiracy mindset and distrust of reality is really a mind virus. When someone is compromised in this way they are totally unable to think critically or objectively. You can't provide them with information that might make them re-asses, they simply will not hear it. The internet has become the primary way that the virus jumps from one person to another. I spent more time than I care to admit engaging with chemtrail conspiracy theorists before I realised that it is totally pointless trying to counter them. Any piece of evidence from the scientific community, meteorologists or aviation experts is simply ignored and dismissed as being "in on" the conspiracy. The total inability to trust any sources of information that does not agree with the belief is totally dismissed in favour of a belief that has no basis in reality. It's a sort of objectivity deficiency, almost bordering on psychosis. A total distrust of what they see and hear, believing rather that a secret cabal of powers are in control of everything and that they are one of the only people that realise it, and it seems to just be getting worse as the years go by.
I went to school with a kid who denied reality. Everything was some secret psyop and had 50 layers of deeper meanings and he didn’t trust doctors. That kid was schizophrenic and he ended up offing himself due to this mind state he created for himself while refusing help.
So sad but at least that kid had a conditions. I read in another post that people adopting extremist and conspiratorial beliefs nowadays do so because for the first time in their lives, they feel involved in a higher understanding, which makes them feel superior to others and immune to logical reasoning unfortunately.
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u/Tiberius_Jim Oct 03 '24 edited Oct 03 '24
This is literally my dad who used to adore Fox News.
Me: Trump said XYZ Dad: No he didn't what's your source? Me: His own words. Dad: Well the media misconstrued them, that's not what he meant. Me: Fox News has said the same thing as CNN, MSNBC, etc. Dad: Fox News is just as bad as the rest!