With the foolish, you can’t have a discussion; their minds are at rest. Combating fake news only gives a platform to manipulation. The blame for how we got here rests on all politicians, all parties, and all institutions. The decent people who know what they’re doing are in the minority and, in any case, the circulation of elites doesn’t work. You can’t descend to the level of someone like Șoșoacă and her ilk.
At first glance, these seem to be measures of intellectual, moral, and social hygiene. In fact, they contribute to the perspective of a tribal society, where the tribes are so identifiably different that every debate becomes ideological.
The problem arises when there's a political stake at play. This year, we're electing our parliamentarians, president, European deputies, and mayors. The stakes are high, as is the quantity of conspiracy theories, fake news, and political maneuvers designed to press on the atavistic emotions of already fertilized tribes, where adherence to phenomena of collective hysteria/anger is the next step.
Is it healthier electorally to isolate and avoid science deniers, anti-vaxxers, pro-Russia enthusiasts, anti-Europeans, pro-Șoșoacă and pro-AUR supporters, or will that lead us to a catastrophe from which Romania won't recover, similar to the way the U.S. struggled during Donald Trump's presidency (the one that ended, because the prospects are even bleaker for a potential second term)?
Let's remember that the rapid development of AUR, directly into Parliament, after a first electoral test, seemed surprising.
But if we believe that people, even those seduced and confiscated by twisted theories and messages, are recoverable, how do we do it?
That's a question Lee McIntyre, a researcher in philosophy at Boston and ethics professor at Harvard (Extension School), analyzes in a book that cannot be read in a facile manner – "How to Talk to a Science Denier: Why Some People Believe in Conspiracy Theories and What You Can Do About It" (Humanitas, 2023).
He takes an additional step: stepping out of his comfort zone and intellectual space hygiene, where scientists are precisely those willing to debate their conclusions and even modify them if science provides new evidence, and goes to one of the Flat Earth Conventions. This is quite a sizable sect, with adherents from all social and professional strata, some surprisingly well-equipped in terms of logic and critical apparatus when, of course, it's not about the curvature of the Earth.
Thus, he can directly confirm the five characteristics of those willing to adhere to conspiracy theories, no matter how absurd they may be. Indeed, the more absurd, the greater the rejection of any counterargument and the treatment of it in the zone of attacks on personal identity, meaning the belief system that gives membership to the tribe – in this case, the tribe of those who believe not only that the Earth is flat, but in the flat Earth.
The biased selection of evidence – only those confirming the belief/conclusion;
Belief in conspiracy theories – this involves distrust in institutions, politics, mainstream media, and the belief that "you're being lied to, manipulated";
Appeal to false experts (and denigration of the real ones) – for example, Dan Puric and other retrograde figures, who have become specialists in Romanian history. Unlike Lucian Boia, who, working with demystification, isn't a true historian but, of course, part of the conspiracy;
Committing logical fallacies – for example, Ukraine stole Northern Bukovina from Romania, when in fact, it was the USSR, to which Ukraine was a victim as well;
Creating impossible expectations for scientific results – if the Earth is curved, why don't we see the curve? Where's the direct evidence? Of course, for false/conspiratorial beliefs, evidence isn't needed. For example: Ukraine deepened the Bîstroe canal and destroyed the Danube Delta, a nationalist cradle; if it's not true, why didn't Minister Sorin Grindeanu come out to announce what and how much was measured when he went to the canal with sails up?
However, why some people adhere to conspiracies and are convinced by fake news isn't just about ignorance and lack of education. It would be simple if it were, then logical counterarguments would work. The explanations are more psycho-social.
At the Flat Earth Convention, the people McIntyre talks to have all gone through a traumatic moment, which they all summarize similarly: "Since then, I woke up. I started to understand." Thus, conspiracy theories represent (and) a way to cope with anxiety, fears, generally things that are unfamiliar.
When we feel socially hopeless, writes McIntyre, marginalized, it's easier to join a group that identifies a common enemy and proposes to believe in something common on our behalf.
When it comes to discussing with them, on their own turf or on common ground, through people who can reconstruct the real story without stigmatizing them for choosing to believe lies and manipulations, it's a theory. You let them show themselves, at least, to understand the dimensions of the danger, because in our case, it's about four rounds of elections that can isolate Romania: instead of just one tractor in Constitution Square, which we would laugh at, let's go into an AUR brotherhood, where we might be shocked to find many people who function very well logically, as long as it's not about their beliefs.
Politically, however, things could be simpler, as long as honorable parties work with real, sociological data about the electorate and their expectations, offering solutions for their fears, even if, at the office, those fears don't seem worthy of a political offer."