Has anyone lost a friend to conspiracy theories?

[MerryPerry88]

....and what was the outcome? The covid pandemic really did a number on a close friend of mine....and anxiety fulled paranoia has meant that they have gone down a rabbit warren of conspiracy theories. It started off with the Great Reset stuff, but now has gone full blown into Chem trails, Flat Earth, Royal Family are lizards...you name it. They have pushed everyone away with how aggressively they air their views, and cannot be reasoned with at all. They are still holding down a responsible job, but colleagues have been making comments, as they air their views forcibly at work. My partner does not want to see this friend anymore, as their views have also gone into right wing US republican territory. I'm also good friends with this friends partner, and our children are all friends. It's such a sad situation as our friendship has gone down the pan. I'm still meeting up with friends partner and the kids, but it feels awkward. The partner to some extent is pandering to a lot of these views. I don't know how to put it nicely but they are a bit of a push over and have put up with a lot in the past from this friend. Sorry there's probably a lot of background stuff I've missed out....I guess I'm interested to hear from people that have experienced the same, and whether friendships have ever recovered. I'm struggling to see how we can repair things unless they have a massive reality check, but I'm not sure how that is going to come about so feeling a bit hopeless.

Ps . I sometimes wish there was a conspiracy and I was in on it . So I could shut him up with a tranquilliser dart.

One of the Guys I work with is a bit like this, he’s not fully gone but he does worry me some of the things he comes out with. He’s obsessed with propaganda, very far right wing stuff, not the racist kind, more government conspiracies and such… worst thing is he talks about it in front of customers.

Yes. Very quickly in first lockdown, went deep into all the really fringe stuff, and refused the vaccine, masking, etc. She died last year - of covid, which was a gut punch. I was devastated, felt like I could have done more to try and pull her out of it (not that being vaccinated would necessarily have stopped her getting that ill as she had other health conditions that made her vulnerable but it could have helped). But at the time she was so unwilling to listen and genuinely obsessive that I had to stop seeing her because it was like talking to a robot, except that she'd get HUGELY angry if you tried to change the topic or disagree. It was chilling watching how quickly she went down the rabbit hole.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35411684

I read this article at the time (2016, so well before Covid) and it kind of stuck with me - that the higher the number of people involved in a conspiracy, the quicker someone will, deliberately or accidentally, let the cat out of the bag. And for a worldwide conspiracy, there would have to be a very large number of people involved.

I think both "they genuinely believe they need to try and 'save us'" and "they seem to love the superiority of it/having special knowledge that they can see but none of us poor sheep can" are in play (but obviously from different people.

And neither type can be reasoned with. The 'save us' theorists are akin to the missionaries of old, and religious fervour doesn't play nice with being questioned. The 'I know stuff' theorists are just patronising gits I wouldn't care to be friends with any more.

I have no intention of dropping my friend but he is anti covid vaccine, thinks it leads to Aids (seriously) also . . .
Extinction Rebellion are Govt funded and Govt sanctioned

Yes, my best friend fell went down the Qanon hole during furlough, trying to sell me on Pizzagate. She and her DH post occasional right wing US anti Biden Pro Trump which get no response from any of the FB friends. I love her and I've left it to agree to disagree which is OK. It's her right to think those things and it's mine to not.

I have had exactly this with a close friend. I bumped into her in town recently and she followed me round from shop to shop saying the exact things you mention.
She had a young child ( not her own) asleep in a pram and said she has convinced the parents not to vaccinate her now. She was very proud of this.
I escaped only when the child woke up. I've now blocked friend on everything.
She looked unhinged as she ranted at me.

@MerryPerry88
Part of the problem is their have been a number of what was conspiracy theories back in time that then were proven Eg J Edgar Hoover operations etc.
These days who really knows what's true or what's someone's conspiracy etc

If you got paid on sick on covid you looked down on people who didn't following the rules

All along I just got on with it as I'm not fat and unhealthy

You what?

There's evidence of 40 years of police and state infiltration of the Green movement and environmental protest groups in the UK and across Europe. That's just established fact, not conspiracy. Why would Extinction Rebellion be any different?

Means people who got paid sick or could work from home placed themselves on such a high order

Amazed me seeing so many unhealthy people getting up tight about shielding

@Gymgo are you okay?

Well they're not fat or unhealthy so I guess they're fine...

How did you feel about eg people with cancer having to shield @Gymgo ?

Of course people who have under lining health conditions need to isolate/ protect them selves and loved ones

The point I'm making is if you didn't get sick pay basically you had to get on with it

The thing about conspiracy theories is that we know there are conspiracies.

The speed at which the trans movement gained such a prominent place in Western politics has spawned a number of conspiracy theories. Some of which might well be true.

The war in Ukraine is messy, with multiple alliances between elements with their own agendas. That too has spawned many conspiracy theories, most of which have kernals of truth.

I'm often called a conspiracy theorist, because I dont believe 9/11 happened the way they said it did, and I dont believe that Britney Spears is alive, well and living her best life.

Flat earth, lizards and adrenochome are waaaay out there, but ya'know, things quite often just arent as they seem.

100% this
I'd imagine any not uncovered in the 2010s green movement will have just flowed into XR/Insulate Britain etc.

Our local anarchist social centre was founded by an undercover cop. Genuinely.

I've lost my dad due to this.
It's actually heartbreaking when I think about it.

That's the thing, if we could study all the files in the various intelligence services, about various human history events, can you imagine just omg at the actual truth.

Good friend, exactly as OP described. Her husband & kids have had to go along with it. They almost broke up, but have lost all of their friends / family instead.

Very active on social media. She seemingly spends all day “researching” so she can share it with us “sheeple” so we can “educate” ourselves...

Who is 'we'?

History is written by the victors, to an extent, but alternative contemporary accounts still often exist.

Yes, but I haven’t lost her, she’s just a bit annoying.

My friend has been into New Age/hippie stuff for as long as I’ve known her. She believes in Reiki and crystal healing, but is very anti-vax and also believes in conspiracies surrounding Covid. When she’s telling me one of her conspiracy theories, she gets a strange look on her face that’s partly hard and defensive and partly a smug smile. She thinks I’m a brainwashed sheep, although to be fair she wasn’t quite so blunt about it.

I had to bite my tongue when she said she wouldn’t get vaccinated because “I’m not putting chemicals in my body”. It was another friend’s birthday meal, so not the time for an argument. Ironically, she suffers from fatigue due to Long Covid, but said she’d rather have that than the vaccine because “it’s natural”. I think she gets most of her news from social media then “fact checks” it, by finding another source of the story.

Yea, classed as conspiracy theories etc, the we is the general public based on the "true supposed history" that's the current versions.

Graham Hancock is a intriguing author with different articles, books ect

Agree that loads of things aren’t what they seem, and worthy of discussion / investigation. And of course there’s media / govt agenda.

But my friend would ruin interesting conversations by ramming her ideas down my throat / ranting at me to “wake up”.