That mumsnet is the quintessential example that brainwashing works

[BoiledFrog]

It's actually quite scary, it went from people attacking those who were actively preparing for a pandemic. Telling them that they were mental for stocking up, its just a flu blah blah. To castigating those going against any guideline.

and who do you think is doing the brainwashing?

Sorry, what?

That happened the world over. I don't think it's fair to blame MN

Before this point you didn’t believe brainwashing worked but because some different people have said different things on MN you’re now convinced?

The media, alongside repeaters who wouldn't know an original thought If it whacked them in the face.

Yep if mn didn't exist lockdown would never have happened.

Of course I don't blame mumsnet, it is useful to gain a rather middle class opinion though.

That’s not an example of brainwashing.
You can be both against panic buying and also agree COVID is serious so lockdown should be followed.

Now, the 5G conspiracy theory that resulted in towers being vandalised is an example of brainwashing.

What the what now?

if you are saying government used mn to gain opinion that is very different to brainwashing surely?

The 5g thing was just insane, didn't make an inch of sense.

I'm not saying that anyone used mn for anything, mn doesn't matter. Just that the attitudes expressed changed drastically in a, short period of time, which shows that public opinion is easily influenced

I feel like I'm speaking a different language sometimes

You're talking about groupthink, not brain-washing. There may be some groupthink on MN, yes. However, I don't find groupthink sinister in the same way as I find brainwashing sinister. Groupthink is surprisingly evolutionary (even if small-c conservative), and relatively consensual (though it may be influenced by incomplete or inaccurate information, so vigilance is necessary).

Brainwashing can be small-c conservative, but it can also be very radical, and the term brain-washing implies lack of consent.

Nah. Nobody believed it would get to this stage. Opinions change with knowledge. Mumsnet hasn't brainwashed anyone.

Do you mean brainwashing, or more herd mentality?

I agree about the latter, in general. But doesn’t “brainwashing” imply some “mastermind” behind things? Whereas what I see is a lot of people jumping on whatever the bandwagon of the time might be.

(I don’t really think the examples you give are so outrageous though, for what it’s worth.)

Oops, cross-post. The 5G thing is interesting. It reads very much as though someone hoped to start a craze, to make the idea go so viral it would become a matter of groupthink. However, the 5G-is-dangerous/causes covid19 message was fed by "alternative" sources explicitly as an anti-establishment message (even requires the existence of an official message to be opposed), which isn't quite the same mechanism as brain-washing.

Someone once said that anything done at the beginning of a pandemic looks like an overreaction at the time and an under reaction after the fact.

You do not make any sense.

Civilisation has been put on hold and for what. Just a flu. You have stripped supermarkets and terrified those of a nervous disposition.

Are you seriously claiming to be a free thinker.

Remind me what number coronavirus thread are you all up to now.

I get what you mean op and I agree.

Mind you most threads dont get past the point where the OP has the point lost in a barrage of inferred assumptions.

I remember some twit on daytime TV saying it was just flu about two weeks before it all kicked off. Everyone just dived in to agree. Laughing at the hysterical idiots. I bet they are now the same people saying people who go out to buy food are "murdering people by not staying in"

But I think most people have lost the ability to think critically and look for facts.

It would be interesting to know how many of the "it's just flu" brigade have turned into the Coronastasi, or if people who were disbelieving at the beginning are still the ones who think lockdown is an overreaction.

Aren't there several million registered users on here? That's a lot of people with varied viewpoints.

One of my favourite quotes is about how a wise man may change his mind, a fool never.

People sometimes take things others say onboard. It doesn't mean they've been brainwashed.

YABU.
This is not brainwashing.
It might be people being led by others' opinions but it's not brainwashing.

You're talking about groupthink, not brain-washing.

That's what I love about MN. People who know their groupthink from their brainwashing. First coined after the Bay of Pigs I understand.