If you have been listening to my show for an extended period of time, you know that I do not like to provide information that is not based in scientific fact, unless I am just providing my opinion, which I always preface with adequate notice. Thus, I have been reluctant to answer the question, "can you change a conspiracy theorist's beliefs?"...up until now that is. It turns out, a worldwide study on this very topic was performed just five years ago, at the start of King Trump's reign of orange terror. The study is done by Frontiers in Psychology and utilized scientists from the United States, the UK, Hungary, and Germany. It involved using common conspiracy beliefs and then trying to sway conspiracy theorist's away from their prior held biases so that they could see the error of their ways. Three techniques were utilized to sway conspiracy believers: empathy, ridicule and rational argument. While there has been much talk online about the "power of positivity" or "how empathy can change people's minds", empathy was the only method that failed every single time. This may be surprising to you, but it should not be. Conspiracy theorists are conceded people who believe they know everything and that no one else, aside from the people they respect, can know anything. This is where rational argument comes in. Rational arguments which demonstrate to the conspiracy theorist that they are incorrect work, but only if the conspiracy theorist respects the person making the argument. If they do not respect you, they will ignore you or try to change your mind. You will make no progress if the conspiracy theorist considers you a bad source of information, even if you are presenting correct information. This brings us to the last, and my personal favorite method of changing conspiratorial views, ridicule. By satire and parody and just plain mockery we can create an environment where certain beliefs are unacceptable and not tolerated. This may sound harsh, but we already do this with other anti social behaviors such as groups that promote eating raw meat or not bathing. We can and should do the same with white supremacy, flat earthers, Q-Anon, Incels and more. Sometimes, intolerance is the answer, not the problem.