'Friend' with extreme views

[MrTiddlesTheCat]

Would you maintain a frienship with someone who expressed extreme/conspiracy theorist views?

I have a newish friend/acquaintance who I'm struggling with because of some of her views. Mostly she's lovely, friendly, popular but every now and again she drops into conversation with me something that horrifies me. In short, she thinks Ukraine is Russian and Putin has every right to do what he's doing. She believes all the nonsense about secret nato biolabs and genetically engineered mosquitos etc.

Until now I've brushed it aside as just being a bit batshit and best ignored as we are both studying fulltime and in the same, small class together, so need to get on. But over the holidays she's started sharing Russian propaganda on Facebook. The last video had a tagline about the anglo-american empire being the ultimate evil and was a massive anti west rant by someone else from her country. I don't know, but I'm guessing she thinks I wouldn't notice as it's all in her native language, but my phone automatically translates Facebook posts to English, so I couldn't miss it.

So now I've gone nuclear and blocked her on everything but I'm feeling so guilty and dreading start of term next week. I'm autistic and have no clue how to handle this situation going forward.

What would you do?

I couldn’t be friends with someone who supports Putin, no. Even if she thinks Russia has a historical claim to Ukrainian land, how can she justify Putin’s bombing of maternity hospitals and use of torture? How can she exercise her right to freedom of speech and choose to live in the West but spread propaganda for a regime that throws dissenters out of windows and poisons opposition politicians?

(Don’t discount the possibility that she is one of the many people paid by Russia to spread their propaganda in the West.)

I’d say to her look I am really uncomfortable with you spreading propaganda for Putin when he tortures and murders so many people, if you like Russia so much why do you live here?

Dh's decision. Totally justified. He's a 40 year old man not a teenager

Im autistic. So called friend is using you because you can help her through the course and to spread her message. If she only sits with you as the last remaining option, you’re better off out of it.

You've completely made up your own little story there!

I couldn't be friends with someone like that, my tolerance for bullshit is very low.

This has nothing to do with you OP. You are picking up on her inconsistencies as a friend and either these things are ok and you can tolerate them or they ring louder alarm bells for you. I know someone like this, I am attempting to back away from her as I never know where I stand with her and I find it unnerving.

I have a longstanding friend who tends to go a bit down the then Twitter covid conspiracy theory rabbit hole - calling covid vax 'juice' and having a periodic rant to be about 'the upper class elites want us to x y and z' - somewhat ironic as she works for the ultimate upper class elite family.

I just nod, say uh huh and change the subject. @Grimchmas has it right - she's an acquaintance - unfollow her and tell her you don't want to hear it. If you're not a recpetive audience at some point she'll wander off and find another one.

I was friends with someone with a whole range of conspiracy views until she lost her shit at me for not agreeing with her, and no longer acknowledges I exist.

I now think when someone who has got into this conspiracy works that it has gone way beyond just having ‘different views’. It’s more like an extremist cult which controls their minds and which seeks to convert others. There is a reason so many people with these views lose family and friends.

I would not develop a friendship with someone with these views again.

There's having different views, and then there's sharing Russian propaganda.

There is no rationality to the views of those with conspiracy theories. My former friend was really anti-war, really angry with the western media for spouting propaganda for ‘them’ ( some mysterious world order seeking to control us), didn’t believe anything in the western media at all, yet hugely supported Putin and his claim to Ukraine, was furious with people for supporting Ukraine. Despite Putin being a war monger who controls the Russian media and suppressed all dissent. Go figure.