FACE MASKS
Sorry for all the Narnia stuff in the video but Youtube’s AI is aggressive about what they consider disinformation and the channel has already had a strike, so I need to be euphemistic, here is the sane version
In a calm, soft, interested voice, what exactly do believe about face masks ? Most likely they will say they wear them to protect others, because that’s what the propaganda says. Ask them if there are any other reasons. I’m almost sure, many people still think they are protecting themselves because you can see fear in their eyes, so clarify this one. Say “do you think they protect you as well?”
Next ask why they believe masks protect themselves and others? What was the process, that lead them to this conclusion? Say “Some people believe they work, others don’t, what was the process that lead you to believe face masks work?” Great question because it contains implicit doubt. Be gentle here, people can get defensive and when that happens we get the backfire effect. You must avoid that, so say “If you are right, then I should probably wear one, so what was your thought process in coming to this conclusion?” This is devastating because this is when some people will realise there wasn’t a thought process, they were merely fed a claim which they just swallowed. If you are sure that’s the case and they confirm it, you’ve gone a long way to shattering that former certain belief. Ask “What evidence would persuade you that perhaps another viewpoint was more accurate?” You can introduce some counter information at this point, but maybe they say “I saw the PM and some scientists on the BBC saying so and that’s an authoritative source”
“Okay let’s test the assumption that the BBC is authoritative source and let’s check the record of the medical establishment. If they pan out, I’ll put a face mask on” So you could say “well the BBC reported the PM of the day saying we had to invade Iraq because the dictator, Saddam Hussain had WMDs and the wider media told us Brits were 45 minutes from doom. Was any of that true?”
Ask if the person has any evidence, other than what someone said on the BBC that these things work? Burden of proof lies with the person suggesting an idea, we do not have to debunk anything. If I said to you that smearing yoghurt on your head kept you safe from Covid, you wouldn’t have to debunk it, I’d have to prove it.
“How about the scientists? Perhaps Neil Ferguson ignored his own advice for some adulterous fun, so we may wonder how seriously he takes it, but has he made wild and over the top immunological predictions previously?” His worst was the idea that 200 million people could die worldwide from bird flu, only 282 did
LOCKDOWNS
What exactly do you believe ? “I believe lockdowns work and prevent the spread of infection, I believe we all have to do our bit, I believe we have to protect the NHS”
Okay, thanks, now why do you believe that? What was the thought process behind you arriving at that conclusion? Again, generally, there won’t be much of a thought process with most people, they’ll just have been told this and accepted it.
How did you come to the conclusion that these sources of information were trustworthy? What would it take for you to begin to doubt the conclusion?
We can talk about the BBC saying things which turned out to be blatantly untrue like Iraqi WMDs or the 2011 case where they falsely accused Primark of using child labour, or in 2010 when they accused the Band aid Trust of raising money which was spent on weapons, Here’s a list, you can see they can and do get it wrong. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_controversies
So they might say “Okay I don’t believe the BBC but lockdowns must work they make sense intuitively” Ask for evidence, the burden of proof does not like with us to disprove something, proponents of an extraordinary measure are required to produce extraordinary proof. Yet there is none and they won’t be able to produce any. At this point, don’t go straight to countries which didn’t lockdown, ask instead “What evidence, if it existed, might persuade you otherwise?” This is a great question because people can either express their doubts, revealing the holes in their logic, or show themselves as closed minded. Most people want to avoid the latter. If you need to coax them, say, would information showing international comparisons be useful? How can anyone say no to that? Then show some info from different American States. As I’m sure you know, the non-lockdown or weak lockdown states faired best.
Remember, be gentle, don’t be triumphal, coax someone out of their delusions
VAX
I’m doing a video on vaccinations but it’s a complex field. It will be up in a week or two.