“Why don’t you go film your hospital?”

No amount of proof would change their minds. Even if they were in the ICU seeing what was happening, the response would be “those are crisis actors.”
I say this because it’s sometimes tempting to combat the misinformation with their own line of thinking. In this case, any evidence you provide would further support their case.
“Is there anything you would have seen today that would have changed your mind?”

“It wasn’t the right conditions.”

“We saw things that validated it.”
Context ⬆️: That clip is from when I went to the Salton Sea with skeptics to show curvature of the Earth to flat earthers.

They chose the demos beforehand. We set it up. They actively participated in the experiments.

Nat Geo was there to film it.
Most of them were fine during one-on-one discussions so long as people were respectful. As a group, they were very hostile.
As things were wrapping up, I asked a small group of them a question. I can’t remember the question but it was innocent, non confrontational and not challenging their beliefs.

Immediately, the short guy in the highlighter shirt got in my face and said, “whose side are you on?”
In group vs out group is very real.

Also, conspiracy theorists have a particular mindset. There was no flat earther who was only a flat earther.

Within the group, there were antivaxxers, people who believed in the Illuminati, 9/11 theorists, and a Mandela effect believer.
Many of them live-streamed the weekend and followed up with YouTube videos and social media posts.

What I found most interesting was they collectively concluded that they had convinced Nat Geo that the Earth was flat.

Keep in mind that some of these folks have huge followings.
No matter how careful you are when you engage a true conspiracy theorist, any information you offer as a counterpoint to their beliefs will be used as proof to support their stance.
I feel bad. That hostility did not develop over night.

Prior to the weekend at the Salton Sea, a friend and I had gone to a flat earther meetup. We said we had not formed an opinion of the shape of the Earth.

They were welcoming and kind.
Each person had a unique story, but there were a few things that were consistent in the narratives:

-Initial “research” started on Facebook
-A specific YouTube video converted them
-At some point in their lives, they dealt with trauma or the loss of a significant person
The loss of support groups was a big one, too. When their immediate family members, friends, and colleagues no longer interacted with them, each person turned to the flat earther community. Social media is where they built their support network.
Some of the people at that meetup had drive up to two hours to be there...for a happy hour in Marina del Rey.

They didn’t subscribe to the same theory of flat earth. There was a lot of disagreement. In fact, some people cringed when asked about Flat Earth Society.
Thought I’d share those takeaways since I briefly this experience in one of my recent YouTube videos on the recent Film Your Hospital conspiracy theory. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYFl282IO9xn6kbdbzODDh_SOdKyUyXaT
I would absolutely love to do a video on this topic since I have access to a tremendous amount of footage from that weekend. Given the amount of hate I’m receiving on my FYH videos, I won’t be doing that right now. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYFl282IO9xn6kbdbzODDh_SOdKyUyXaT
Don’t live in fear of them repurposing your content, but you must be aware that it is happening.

It’s just getting started and they will look for proof that they are right that:

Hospitals are empty
Medical professionals have time on their hands

Therefore the pandemic is fake.
If you’re a content creator on TikTok and choose to continue making dancing videos in the hospital, I hope my previous thread provided awareness on the issues. Maybe it can help inform and improve your content. https://twitter.com/sarah_mojarad/status/1248670799537426432?s=21
Why should you care about what a bunch of conspiracy theorists think?

It isn’t just them. When people see their content and how they connect the dots, non-conspiracy theorists think to themselves, “well yeah, that’s plausible.”
Not only that, if one of these people sees your videos and decides you’re the kingpin on the whole operation, watch out.

I’m not saying that to cause fear. It’s an unfortunate reality.
Last weekend, a friend here on MedTwitter received a call on his personal cell phone from a conspiracy theorists. I won’t go into the details, but the person had somehow decided that my friend was covering up the truth from the public.
Just keep these things in mind. The entire country is online 24/7 right now. They are bored and cooped up at home.

Please remember that.

🧶
You can follow @Sarah_Mojarad.
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