Red Pill, Blue Pill: How to Counteract the Conspiracy Theories That Are Killing Us

Summary

Conspiracy theories are killing us. Once confined to the fringes of society, this worldview now has adherents numbering in the millions—extending right into the White House. This disturbing look at this alt-right threat to our democratic institutions offers guidance for counteracting the personal toll this destructive mindset can have on relationships and families.

Author David Neiwert—an investigative journalist who has studied the radical right for decades—examines the growing appeal of conspiracy theories and the kind of personalities that are attracted to such paranoid, sociopathic messages. He explains how alt-right leaders are able to get such firm holds on the imaginations of their followers and chronicles the destruction caused by the movement's most virulent believers.

Colloquially, this recruitment to alt-right ideologies is called "getting red-pilled"—a metaphor for when believers of conspiracy theories become convinced that their alternate universe is real. Uniquely, and optimistically, Neiwert provides a "blue pill toolkit" for those who are dealing with conspiracy theorists in their own lives, including strategies drawn from people who counsel former far-right extremists who have renounced their former beliefs.