How to Communicate With COVID Conspiracy Theorists According to John Oliver
In no small part, thanks to COVID-19, we have entered the golden age of conspiracy theories . With so much still unknown about the new coronavirus, whenever we add a piece to the pandemic puzzle through evidence-based medicine and research – especially if new information conflicts with our previous understanding – it’s understandable why some people question it. To complicate matters further, we have all suffered from initial mixed reports of wearing masks, not to mention confusion over the purpose of the quarantine and the timing of the various locks, reopening and now re-closing . This is all to say that given what we know about COVID-19 is changing so quickly, it should come as no surprise that it can be difficult to know what to believe.
In the Sunday edition of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, John Oliver addresses COVID conspiracy theories directly, including suggestions on how we can most effectively communicate with people who believe them. Here’s what you need to know.
Ask yourself these three questions about your information
Before trying to convince someone that we are wrong, Oliver recommends asking ourselves three questions to make sure we are critical of our own information. “We, as individuals, will have to try to stop these theories and be skeptical about them before we believe or even disseminate them,” he explains. Here’s what we need to consider:
- Is there a non-conspiracy rational explanation?
- Has this been confirmed by experts, and if so, what did they say?
- How plausible is this conspiracy from a practical point of view?
In the episode, Oliver goes into more detail, answering each question and giving examples:
Use empathy, not shame
Now suppose that your own belief in something as fact passed the three-question test above, and you meet someone who is genuinely convinced that a conspiracy theory is true. If you’ve tried these conversations before, you know that it usually does n’t end with the other person changing their minds and thanking you for enlightening them .
While talking intelligently with someone who doesn’t find science compelling can be a challenge, Oliver says that at this point, we can at least give it a try. “You cannot connect with everyone, but you can reach some, and now more than ever it may be important for you to try, which is clearly not easy,” he says.
Oliver stresses that the way you approach this person is incredibly important as well; namely, you need to communicate using empathy, not shame. “Experts say the most effective way to approach someone is not to shame them for believing in something or suppress them with counter-evidence, but to try to show empathy, meet them where they are, and induce think them a little. more critical, ”he explains.
Is it your job to personally seek out people who believe everything they saw on Plandemic, or what 5G causes the coronavirus ? Absolutely not. But if you happen to get to know / love / meet someone who might be a COVID conspiracy theorist or just aren’t sure which news sources to trust, Oliver’s methods could potentially make a difference. If not, he also recruited trusted celebrities such as Alex Trebek, Catherine O’Hara, Billy Porter, Paul Rudd, and John Cena to record short commercials on the importance of critical thinking, which can be found on TheTrueTrueTruth.com .