https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/nov/29/how-to-deal-with-a-conspiracy-theorist-5g-covid-plandemic-qanon

Fake authority

You may see articles by Vernon Coleman, for instance. As a former GP he would seem to have some credentials, yet he has a history of supporting pseudoscientific ideas, including misinformation about the causes of Aids. David Icke, meanwhile, has hosted videos by Barrie Trower, an alleged expert on 5G who is, in reality, a secondary school teacher. And Piers Corbyn cites reports by the Centre for Research on Globalisation, which sounds impressive but was founded by a 9/11 conspiracy theorist.

“pre-suasion” – essentially, removing the reflexive mental blocks that might make them reject your arguments.

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more on conspiracy theories in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=conspiracy

more on fake news in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=fake+news