When researchers trolled conspiracy nuts with random false info, they bought it every time

[HuckleB]

http://deadstate.org/when-researchers-trolled-conspiracy-nuts-with-random-false-info-they-bought-it-every-time/

"Looking at the social media habits of people who subscribe to chemtrails, 9/11 trutherism, reptilians and the Illuminati, a team of Italian and American researchers found that these people rarely engage with social media pages that challenge their views, encapsulating themselves in a self-affirming bubble of misinformation.

Social media proved to be the flashpoint of this phenomenon, since it perpetuates misinformation and allows it to be shared and amplified at a rate not seen before the rise of the Internet.

...

“These posts are clearly unsubstantiated claims, like the undisclosed news that infinite energy has been finally discovered, or that a new lamp made of actinides (e.g. plutonium and uranium) might solve problems of energy gathering with less impact on the environment, or that the chemical analysis revealed that chemtrails contains sildenafil citratum (the active ingredient of Viagra),” the researchers said.

...

The researchers also made sure to point out that “cognitive resources” were wasted when people who reject conspiracy theories took time to engage in disputing the unscientific “troll” claims.”


In other words, there is no way to help those who will do whatever it takes to keep believing something, no matter how much the evidence goes against their beliefs.

Oh, well, then...