Escaping the Rabbit Hole

How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect

By: Mick West

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

The Earth is flat; the World Trade Center collapse was a controlled demolition; planes are spraying poison to control the weather; and actors faked the Sandy Hook massacre....

All these claims are bunk: falsehoods, mistakes, and in some cases, outright lies. But many people passionately believe one or more of these conspiracy theories. They consume countless books and videos, join like-minded online communities, try to convert those around them, and even, on occasion, alienate their own friends and family. Why is this, and how can you help people, especially those closest to you, break free from the downward spiral of conspiracy thinking?

In Escaping the Rabbit Hole, author Mick West shares over a decade's worth of knowledge and experience investigating and debunking false conspiracy theories through his forum, MetaBunk.org, and sets forth a practical guide to helping friends and loved ones recognize these theories for what they really are.

Perhaps counterintuitively, the most successful approaches to helping individuals escape a rabbit hole aren't comprised of simply explaining why they are wrong; rather, West's tried-and-tested approach emphasizes clear communication based on mutual respect, honesty, openness, and patience.

West puts his debunking techniques and best practices to the test with four of the most popular false conspiracy theories today (chemtrails, 9/11 controlled demolition, false flags, and flat Earth) - providing road maps to help you to understand your friend and help them escape the rabbit hole. These are accompanied by real-life case studies of individuals who, with help, were able to break free from conspiracism.

With sections on:

• The wide spectrum of conspiracy theories
• Avoiding the "shill" label
• Psychological factors and other complications
• And concluding with a look at the future of debunking

Mick West has put forth a conclusive, well-researched, practical reference on why people fall down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole and how you can help them escape.

©2018 Mick West (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Down Into the Rabbit Hole and Back Out

Great collection of conspiracy theories, why people accept them and how to politely and respectfully lead them out. Discovered some that I had never heard of previously such as chem trails. This does a great job with the type of questions one should approach everything.

The best section is on AI and social media. Scary to think that we will have more conspiracists after being fed a curated diet of progressive content. Instead of the internet being the path out, it will more likely make the rabbit hole the size of the Chunnel if more people don’t embrace a modicum of skepticism.

Useful debunking tips

The book has just the right degree of complexity for an audio book. Technical, but not hard to follow. I like the recommended approach for discussing conspiracy theories with their believers.

excellent and not condescending

great book for everyone. many debunking sources will go into a person being mentally ill go believe such things. this book is written for both a believer and non believe as far as tone. excellent points made and enjoyed the narrator.

Escaping the rabbit hole. A book for all

I suggest this book to everyone interested in conspiracies. The author explains very well and with a lot of real life experiences how to find out what could be wrong behind a conspiracy and how to better discuss this flaws with people who believe in it.
Always with care to be polite and respectful with the others.

Informative and relative

I got this because of my deep seated mistrust of the government and those in power. There are some "facts" that we're supposed to believe simply because the author says they're true, that I have seen with my own eyes to be false. Such as the 45⁰ cuts in the support beams of WTC. Overall it was a decently good read. I wasn't pulled out of the Rabbit hole.

Focused rabbit hole

If you’re looking to debunk flat earth, chem trails, or 911 this is the book for you.

Great but not comprehensive

This book is a great little course in American conspiracy theories. Though quite comprehensive for its relative brevity, Mick West steered clear of the segments of said theories that are motivated by and followed by Nazis and/or white supremacy e.g. Holocaust Deniers

very informative

The book covered a variety of conspiracies including chem trails, 9/11 truther and flat earthers.

My friend has a strong distrust for the medical profession. So, I was hoping to get some ideas on that issue. This book didn't cover this. The fact that is was published in 2018 when this was less of an issue may be why.

Excellent resource and strategy for rescuing a friend from conspiracy thinking

I have a friend who is deep down the rabbit hole of conspiracy thinking. I was initially attracted to this book because it has dedicated chapters addressing my friend’s conspiracy. As good as these chapters were, I found the greatest value of the book in the beginning chapters which lay out a strategy for engaging my friend in ways most likely to gain me a hearing. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a thoughtful way to engage a friend or family member who may be caught in conspiracy thinking.

Conspiracies

This book gives good methods for how to engage with someone in a respectful way. It doesn't really delve into epistemology or the psychology of belief, but it does walk through various 'conspiracies' and ways to engage with those. I appreciated the testimonies of former conspiracy theorists too.

The narrator was ok, but his voice is a little grating and 'tough'.