thread 1/8: often hear from people asking for advice on what to do when a loved one or friend falls down the conspiracy theory / misinformation rabbit hole - so here's a list of pieces i've run featuring advice from experts, that may help:
thread 2/8: how to talk to people stuck in a conspiracy theory hellscape, with mick west - master debunker and creator of tony hawk pro skater: webworm.co/p/how-to-talk-…
thread 8/8: and finally, with the holiday season rapidly approaching (and dinner with that *one* uncle), a therapist’s survival guide to holiday hell: webworm.co/p/holidayhell
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1/10: i've been sent a cease & desist by chris patterson barrister on behalf of dr dan, the NZ doctor i wrote about who’d been posting about ivermectin. they want a signed apology & retraction by end of day. i will not be doing that, and this is why: webworm.co/p/ceaseanddesi…
2/10: at its most basic, the 3 page letter alleges the webworm i’d sent was defamatory (it wasn’t). it ended with the threat that if i didn’t sign the document “we reserve all of our client’s rights including his right to bring proceedings against you without further warning”
3/10: at this point i knew i would be writing a webworm about this, because i am sick of men hiring lawyers to shut me up. this usually goes on behind closed doors, but i’m kinda over of it by now, and want *you* to see how this process works
1/5: i wanted to explore the strong links between evangelical christianity & the anti-vax movement, so started by looking at new zealand's city impact church which recently held a 90 minute "special meeting", spreading conspiracy theories & misinformation: webworm.co/p/worshipping-…
2/5: i was alerted to this by concerned family members who have loved ones that attend this church. while destiny church gets a lot of flack, i'd argue city impact is much bigger & more dangerous - yet tends to fly under the radar (because, well: white. it's very fucking white)
3/5: from there, i spoke to a former evangelical christian who explains why this breed of christianity (pentecostal, charismatic, apostolic, evangelical - call it what you want) tends to embrace conspiracy messages. in fact, it's practical unavoidable:
"the price of being a deranged conspiracy theorist used to be higher. conspiracy theorists themselves risked social ostracism. now the most famous conspiracy theorist in the world is the most powerful man in the world" webworm.substack.com/p/why-saveourc…
2/5:
"promoting conspiracy theories doesn’t isolate you anymore. it pushes you into a welcoming community. when people can acquire power and find companionship despite professing counterfactual claims about the world, don’t be surprised when bullshit becomes more popular"
3/5:
good thing to point out to the qanon crowd:
"despite the fact they fancy themselves “researchers” & defenders of children, they’re useless. the person who helped uncover the facts about epstein that led to his 2nd arrest wasn’t the collective of qanon followers on twitter"
thread 1/5: back in 2018, i went to ireland to do some filming with @romero, one of the john’s behind DOOM, wolfenstein 3D and quake. basically invented the first person shooter. this is me, john, and john’s wife @br who also develops games! both are so kind and cool!
thread 2/5: i was developing a documentary idea about the two john’s who changed the course of video game history. no fortnite, halo or pubg without these lads! (the subject of a great book btw, “masters of doom”)
thread 3/5: but... the other john (@ID_AA_Carmack) is at facebook now and didn’t want to take part. but... this week he’s hinted he might return to the games that made him famous. for members, i’ve written it all up here: webworm.substack.com/p/the-story-of…