Activity 3 - Explain to me why! - How to escape the rabbit hole?

What is the “rabbit hole”? In the words of Mick West: “The phrase comes from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. Alice enters the bizarre Wonderland by following a white rabbit down a hole.
In recent times a more specific usage has arisen, derived from the 1999 film The Matrix, where at a crucial point Morpheus offers Neo a choice. He can either take the blue pill and return to a normal life, or take the red pill and “see how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Neo, of course, “takes the red pill,” and the “rabbit hole” leads him to discover the true nature of the world. He “wakes up” from his programmed illusion of comfortable, bland monotony into a brutal yet genuine struggle for existence, a messianic battle against evil, manipulating overlords. This terminology has been directly adopted by various conspiracy communities. The rabbit hole is seen as a good place to be, a place where the true nature of the world is revealed.

Beliefs in different conspiracy theories tend to reinforce each other, cutting a person off from other people, until they surround themselves with a like minded crowd. This has been a well-known fact for a considerable period of time. What is more problematic, however, is the fact that social media tend to produce a very similar effect for any kind of strongly held belief.

So how to help people out of the rabbit hole, if almost everyone is stuck in one?

There are a few steps that could help, although no universal solution is available. The decision in what kind of theories to believe is ultimately a personal one – no amount of external pressure could force a person to change their convictions. The role of an external person – a friend, teacher, youth worker, parent – can be only one of a partner. We can listen, discuss, provide information, reach out a hand – but it is up to the other person to take it.

Below you will find a list of training activities you can implement with your class/young people with the purpose of gaining knowledge and abilities dealing with various aspects related to conspiracy theories.

This activity is an example of combining spotlight and floodlight debunking techniques.

Spotlight debunking is a technique that is intended for conspiracies based on a single fact. If you manage to disprove that fact, the whole building will crumble. Let’s say that the person you are speaking to believes that many foods, drugs, and even everyday items contain dangerous toxins and the only way to preserve one’s health is to buy natural products that are safe from them. In order to help this person, you need to help them discover whether ‘toxins’ really exist and whether they do what they think they do. Easier said than done, however. Such undertaking would require a basic understanding of chemistry, or instance. A more practical approach would be undermining the concept of “natural ingredients”, showing that they also contain chemical compounds, which, under certain circumstances, might also be dangerous.

In many cases conspiracy theorists are immune to a ‘magic bullet’ – a single fact that will make them reconsider their beliefs. They might subscribe to several theories, each of which based on several facts. In that case, the only solution is to address all of them. Every single one. Because even if a single argument remains valid, they may retain their beliefs, which is much easier psychologically than changing them.

Is recommended that the trainer tries to find out some information on the conspiracy theories included in the activity on:
https://www.metabunk.org/home/

In this activity, learners have to find their own resources in order to debunk one particular claim of a conspiracy theory.

After completing this activity, learners will:

become familiar with a variety of information sources on different aspects of conspiracy theories
practice research skills
gain insights into critical thinking
be able to construct convincing arguments
be willing to confront misleading claims;

1 set of printouts of conspiracy claims
a computer or laptop for each participant (or a pair of participants if there are more than 8)
projector
whiteboard

105 min.

4 - 16 person

Intermediary (independent research skills required)

Since the activity makes use of different conspiracy-related claims liked to the Covid-19 pandemic, a good start would be to ask the participants about any strange or suspicious explanations they have heard themselves. It does not matter if they believe there might be some truth related to the claims, or if they sound completely unreasonable. After all claims are collected, the group might decide to include one or two of them to the other claims contained in the activity.

1. Present participants with the handouts containing different claims related to the Covid-19 pandemic - including the extra ones shared during the introduction if relevant. One claim per participant (or per pair, if you decide that working in cooperation would be more effective).
5 min.

2. Learners get to research their own sources on the claim and explain to the group what they consider to be the truth on the matter. They can use any resources they wish. The result should be a short presentation aimed at their peers.
60 min.

3. Learners present their findings to the group using the projector and whiteboard. Other participants are encouraged to ask questions and to put the sources used in doubt.
30 min.

Learners can vote on which presentation they found more convincing, and why they think it was the most effective. They can share tips for discovering interesting resources and how to present them in an engaging fashion.
10 min.

Since all the research happens online and the presentations can easily be shared with other participants, this activity can be delivered in an online setting without modifications.

You can find other conspiracy theories in the Critical Balance Conspiracy map and use any of them as a basis for a modification of the activity.

COVID: Top 10 current conspiracy theories by Marc Lunas. April 2020: https://allianceforscience.org/blog/2020/04/covid-top-10-current-conspiracy-theories/

Metabunk:
https://www.metabunk.org/home/

West Mick (2018). Escaping the rabbit hole: how to debunk conspiracy theories using facts, logic, and respect. Skyhorse Publishing, New York

CONSPIRACY CLAIMS

What is a conspiracy theory?

The information bubble

Why do we believe in conspiracy theories?

Fact checking

What is critical thinking?

How to escape the rabbit hole?

How to escape the rabbit hole?

Activity 3 - Explain to me why!