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thinkinginpictures
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07 Mar 2021, 3:09 pm

Even when presented with strong evidence that something is a lie, they still want to believe in the lie, and reject whatever evidence there is to whatever truth there is to the opposite. No evidence is ever good enough for the lie-believers.

How to deal with such people?

Example:
Take Flat-earthers and QAnon believers for a start.



Fnord
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07 Mar 2021, 3:13 pm

Simple Answer: People believe in lies because rejecting information requires more cognitive effort than simply accepting that the message is true.  It is easier for a person to believe a simple lie, than to have one's mind changed by information that is new and novel.

Simpler Answer: They are lazy.

Complex/Detailed Answer:
 HERE 


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roronoa79
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07 Mar 2021, 3:34 pm

Conspiracy theories are appealing to people with less nuanced understandings of the world around them.
QAnon and other Blood Libel type conspiracies appeal to those confused by the world around them, those who reject conventional narratives for one reason or another, and those who suffer from black-and-white thinking. Another element is the appeal of being different from the mainstream. It is an easy way to convince yourself you're a free thinker and everyone else is a sheep if your worldview is based on the idea that there is a grand lie or scheme that only you and a select few have noticed.

Also: antisemitism--conscious or unconscious--plays a part in just about any conspiracy theory. If there's supposedly a shadowy cabal controlling society, chances are Europeans are going to assume it's the Jews doing it. As they have for thousands of years.

People latch onto these beliefs for those reasons and find it hard to let them go for numerous reasons. Doing so would take away part of their perceived identity. It would require they admit they were wrong; the more wrong someone is, the harder it is to realize or admit it; the more insane the conspiracy theory, the less likely someone is going to figure out that it is nonsense and the more likely it would be humiliating to own up to being wrong about it. Even if it isn't conscious. Our egos and our need to protect them helps most of us believe lies even if we unconsciously know they are false.

Tldr: People want scapegoats and easy explanations for why the world does not match what their pre-existing beliefs tell them it should be.


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shlaifu
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07 Mar 2021, 8:16 pm

good lies have some kernel of truth in them which is absent from the socially accepted and shared lie we call "the Truth". After all, conspiracies do exist. And a good conspiracy theory is often more straightforward than the truth, even if it is very convoluted - at least, you won't have to get a college degree for it.


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Brictoria
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07 Mar 2021, 8:34 pm

thinkinginpictures wrote:
Even when presented with strong evidence that something is a lie, they still want to believe in the lie, and reject whatever evidence there is to whatever truth there is to the opposite. No evidence is ever good enough for the lie-believers.

How to deal with such people?

Example:
Take Flat-earthers and QAnon believers for a start.


You could also add the "Very fine people" lie for balance...



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08 Mar 2021, 12:44 pm

Gullible, ignorant or lazy.


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blazingstar
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08 Mar 2021, 1:21 pm

I am not ignorant or lazy, and I hate to use the word gullible, but I didn't realize people lied, seriously lied, until I was in my 50s. Or maybe later.

That doesn't mean I believe the alternate reality and alternate facts that are being promulgated. But I sure believed individual people.


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ezbzbfcg2
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08 Mar 2021, 7:50 pm

Because "accepted truth" or truthiness is often a social construct. Sometimes, it doesn't matter what the truth is, but rather who relays a message. NTs will often put more clout in the inaccuracies from an authority figure than from truth out of the mouth of some random Joe.



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08 Mar 2021, 7:56 pm

The "random Janes and Joes" often have it more right than the "leaders."

Many "leaders" I've known have been better at delegating than actually doing.



xenon13
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08 Mar 2021, 8:17 pm

Because it's fun.



Jakki
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08 Mar 2021, 8:44 pm

:?: fun :?:


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blackicmenace
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08 Mar 2021, 10:14 pm

It's about confirmation bias, people want to believe things that align with their personal belief system. It is easier to believe a convenient lie rather than accept an inconvenient truth.


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binstein
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08 Mar 2021, 11:32 pm

blackicmenace wrote:
It's about confirmation bias, people want to believe things that align with their personal belief system. It is easier to believe a convenient lie rather than accept an inconvenient truth.

Exactly.
Cognitive biases is the answer to the question and we ALL fall for that, even the skeptics.



Jakki
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09 Mar 2021, 10:21 am

This cognitive bias, is a mere convenience, people must struggle against these supposed apparent facts.
To get through to the truth of matters .


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thinkinginpictures
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09 Mar 2021, 10:45 am

To answer my own question, people lie because people are evil.



Fnord
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09 Mar 2021, 11:29 am

Everybody lies.  The only question is: "What are they willing to lie about?"


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