11 Annoying Things Conspiracy Theorists Do

Trying to have a rational discussion with people who are obsessed with conspiracy theories can sometimes feel like trying to play a game of underwater whack-a-mole while blindfolded. Following are some of the things that conspiracy theorists will often say or do in an attempt to prove their point, while simultaneously turning your mind into a pickled pretzel.

1. They will leap at the chance to cite a source that supports their position, including expert, official and government sources. But as soon as you provide a source that disputes their claim, they will tell you the source can’t be trusted because all official sources of information are untrustworthy, wrong, lies or attempts to confuse and manipulate you.
2. If you don’t accept whichever particular conspiracy theory they’re currently espousing, they will accuse you of therefore being a blind sheeple who accepts anything the government tells you.
3. They will take partial truths (for example, politicians are often corrupt) and extrapolate these out to the most extreme conclusions (governments around the world are all conspiring together in a massive diabolical effort to sicken and depopulate the planet).
4. They are often contrarians who will have a tendency to assume that whatever the official, mainstream story is about anything, the opposite or at least something else is probably true. I.e. if the government says that the sky is blue, then that must mean it’s actually red, and we only think it’s blue because a…