I recently read this article about conspiracy theorists who don't believe the Sandy Hook massacre was real. It's quite long, but also quite eye opening about the type of people who believe and spread those kind of conspiracy theories:
slate.com
I thought this part was interesting:
People who embrace and defend “antisocial” conspiracy theories like Sandy Hook and QAnon often exhibit traits that psychologists call the “Dark Triad”: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, meaning the willingness to manipulate others to gain a certain result. Once isolated, now they bond online, deriving enhanced status and self-esteem as social media rewards them with likes, shares, and more conspiracy content. The survival of these virtual communities depends on their members’ defending these falsehoods, sometimes with confrontation and violence.
Ultimately it seems they live for being proved right and will never change their mind regardless of how much evidence they're presented with.
A Woman Who Spent Years Telling Sandy Hook Parents Their Kids Were Never Killed Explains Why She Did It
“Prove to the world you’ve lost your son,” she wrote to one parent.
I thought this part was interesting:
People who embrace and defend “antisocial” conspiracy theories like Sandy Hook and QAnon often exhibit traits that psychologists call the “Dark Triad”: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, meaning the willingness to manipulate others to gain a certain result. Once isolated, now they bond online, deriving enhanced status and self-esteem as social media rewards them with likes, shares, and more conspiracy content. The survival of these virtual communities depends on their members’ defending these falsehoods, sometimes with confrontation and violence.
Ultimately it seems they live for being proved right and will never change their mind regardless of how much evidence they're presented with.
