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.

I also have an intelligent and well-educated friend who believes in aliens and all the theories about the US government covering stuff up 🤣🤣

Tbh that's something I do stop and think 'hmmm, might be something in it'.

I think a lot of the QAnon crackpottery in American flourishes for various reasons such as lack of mental health services, social isolation, evangelicism etc.

Thank you I'll take a look.

I'm sorry, that sounds really tough.

Thank you for replies...so sad reading thr impact this has had for people and relationships lost. I think we could maintain the friendship if they would not rant and seem not to be able to respect that we do not want to hear it. Fed up of the sheeple comments and being told to 'do my research'. The far right stuff is so shocking...Oklahoma bombing caused by government, Epstein killed by government, shooting of black people by police a hoax....just upsetting stuff that is difficult to move past .We don't even live in the states!!

I’ve cut off anyone who believes in this crap.

I can’t be doing with them all, I never brought up covid or the vaccine around these people but they alwaysss turned the conversation to that subject because i got all my jabs.

It’s a self fulfilling prophecy where they tell you to do research, so you do research but it’s all fake apparantly. They’ll never see sense.

Are you my friend? 😁

Honestly, whilst I don't go around 'spouting' things, I do think the vast majority of the public have zero idea what is actually going on, and are far too trusting of things that they are told.

Maybe your intelligent friend actually has a point? Maybe she's thinking you're actually a bit thick dismissing it all out of hand, give as you say she's intelligent and well read.

I wish his partner would call out some of this stuff, but she seems to go along with it as doesn't want to isolate him further....most friends have already been pushed away. I worry about her being sucked into his views....I don't know how you can maintain a relationship with someone like this unless you have also had 'an awakening'. I feel sorry for the kids.

Not conspiracy theories as such, but I'm very low contact with SIL who is very far left (Corbyn was OK, but the Guardian is too right wing) and who can drag politics into any discussion about any subject. Thankfully we in the south of England and she's in Scotland.

A parent. They are extremely poorly educated and very naive - prime cult follower criteria really. None of us can bear to spend any time in their company any more, although things have eased off and they keep quiet more now it doesn't take a lot to get their latest rubbish download. There is no happy outcome from this sadly.

@PamelaPamela

That’s very rude and often people down some of those rabbit holes don’t see the contradiction that they themselves are trusting of content without critical thinking.

I follow American politics a lot, have read tons about QAnon etc. and don’t believe what mainstream media come out with. Do I think Hilary Clinton is part of a paedo ring satanic cabal. Err no.

I'm vaccinated and she makes it clear that a) she looks down on me for it and b) that it's going to 'catch up' with me in years to come and I will develop serious illnesses as a result.

She wouldn't be a friend any longer. That's some cruel BS.

You can't. My parent has decided my decision to vaccinate my child has caused their autism and speech delay. You have to walk away from them.

I don't know who graham Hancock is so I would need to research his work. What you said about conspiracy theories in the past is true. So many things that were once conspiracy theories such as mk ultra have now been declassified so I would say there must be a few that will prove to be true in the future. Which ones I would not have a clue because I don't know about many.

That has nothing to do with conspiracy theories.

Gowlett Our friends exactly the same! Really upsetting ,have known them for years .Husband friends with DH, and I got on really well with the wife. However she spends all day "researching " as well! Doesnt seem to realise that we may not agree and dont feel Trump is "The answer to every thing"! No reasoning sadly

Yup. During Covid. A lovely intelligent female friend was/is convinced that the jab had monkey DNA in it, and this would destroy humanity. I am still gobsmacked by the stupidity

Not lost, but taken a massive step back from: a highly educated former medical professional who went full-blown anti-vax, anti-mask, 'there is no virus', refused to believe that Covid was actually causing any excess deaths over and above normal winter flu, and refused to vaccinate her severely asthmatic child. All this came from a highly dodgy alternative practitioner she'd been seeing - she hangs on his every word, despite the fact that the condition she first went to see him about is actually no better at all after about five years of taking all manner of supplements he sells her. She was always so sensible until he got into her head.

You don't believe Britney Spears is alive?

A friend's sibling joined a cult and his family paid to have him grabbed off the street and deprogrammed. And it worked. But that's what would need to be done to QAnoners. All the logical chats in the world trying to make them see reason will do jack shit.

I don't think she will walk away...which makes me concerned she'll get sucked in as well as I don't see that there can be a middle ground. I'm so sorry for what happened with your parent.

Hence my opening five words.

Still totally irrelevant to the thread...

Yes. To be honest I have walked away as have most of their friends and family. I wasn't all that close to them as they were more a relative of a good friend who I met regularly but it is scary to see what she posts on facebook pages of her relatives.

I’m pretty certain that statistically it’s educated people with above average IQs who get sucked into cults. And probably conspiracy theories as well. Naivety is definitely a factor though.

I think people need to understand this more. It’s stops the comments like « I thought she was intelligent… ». Well yes, she probably is intelligent, and therefore more susceptible to these things.

@SlicerAndEcho I agree that often intelligent people do get sucked in, but they are clearly lacking in one area of intelligence, critical thinking - they show poor judgement. So in that sense, they are not intelligent. So I don't think it's cut and dry in that respect.

I have plenty of friends who are intelligent in certain ways but downright idiotic in others. The result of that being that the latter in some ways cancels out the benefits of the former, at least in certain situations.