On deradicalization
If you want to help deradicalize someone going down a misinformation/right-wing rabbit hole, remember two things:you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. you can get them to see and maybe respect a different perspective for what it really is, but it’s up to them to actually decide what to believe.
You are probably not going to get them to do a complete turnaround. A better goal is to make them less certain and dismissive. That could mean the difference between them choosing to fire off a bunch of talking points later or choosing to stay quiet and think, potentially preventing them from radicalizing someone else.
My goal when attempting deradicalization is almost never to “persuade” someone that i am right and they are wrong: it’s to get them to be less dismissive of my view, burn the strawmen, and get them to be less certain of theirs. The rest is up to them, or to a future encounter they have. At the very least, it reduces the odds of them recruiting more to their cause.
Oh, and it only works if you’re sincere and approach them with respect.
