Escaping the Rabbit Hole

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What to expect

The Earth is flat, planes are spraying poison to control the weather, actors faked the Sandy Hook massacre, and Elvis is alive and living on an island.

All these claims are bunk: falsehoods, mistakes, and in some cases, outright lies. But many people passionately believe one or more of these conspiracy theories. They consume countless books and videos, join like-minded online communities, try to convert those around them, and even, on occasion, alienate their own friends and family. Why is this, and how can you help people, especially those closest to you, break free from the downward spiral of conspiracy thinking?

In Escaping the Rabbit Hole, author Mick West shares over a decade’s worth of knowledge and experience investigating and debunking false conspiracy theories through his forum, MetaBunk.org, and sets forth a practical guide to helping friends and loved ones recognize these theories for what they really are.

Perhaps counterintuitively, the most successful approaches to helping individuals escape a rabbit hole aren’t comprised of simply explaining why they are wrong. Rather, West’s tried-and-tested approach emphasizes clear communication based on mutual respect, honesty, openness, and patience.

West puts his debunking techniques and best practices to the test with four of the most popular false conspiracy theories today, providing road maps to help you to understand your friend and help them escape the rabbit hole. These are accompanied by real-life case studies of individuals who, with help, were able to break free from conspiracism.

Included are sections on:

The wide spectrum of conspiracy theories,

Avoiding the “shill” label,

Psychological factors and other complications, and

A look at the future of debunking.

Mick West has put forth a conclusive, well-researched, practical reference on why people fall down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole and how you can help them escape.

Critics Review

  • “West demonstrates with exquisite style, wit, and insight how those three rare and valuable species, Fact, Logic and Respect have in harness the power to shine light into darkness and dispel the miasma of bias, superstition and balefully proud ignorance that is threatening to poison our age.”

    Stephen Fry, award-winning actor and New York Times bestselling author

  • “Mick West explains in clear terms not only how people get into conspiratorial beliefs but how to disabuse them of those same mistaken ideas.”

    David Pakman, host of The David Pakman Show

  • “Conspiracies do happen—Lincoln was assassinated by a cabal, World War I was triggered by a conspiracy to kill the Austrian Arch Duke, Watergate was a cover-up, there were no WMDs in Iraq—so some skepticism about conventional explanations is warranted. What we need is a conspiracy detection kit, and Escaping the Rabbit Hole is precisely that, arming readers with the tools they need to filter all the conspiracy craziness bombarding us daily. Read this book, which belongs in every newsroom and congressional office.”

    Michael Shermer, publisher, Skeptic magazine, and monthly columnist for Scientific American

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