When Pinocchio chose to live with truth he was transformed from a puppet into a "real boy." But when that process is reversed, human beings who embrace the lies in a conspiracy theory transform themselves into puppets for the author of those lies.
In The Reverse Pinocchio Effect, a computer forensic investigator describes four mistakes he has observed people making that place them fully under the control of a propagandist, who then manipulates them through those lies.
This book provides a detailed description of the internal workings of The Reverse Pinocchio Effect and how to unravel it, including:
The First Mistake, in which people blind themselves to information, causing themselves to become robots for the propagandist.The Second Mistake, in which the embracing of lies reverses Pinocchio, placing people at the end of a propagandist's puppet strings. The Third Mistake, in which anger unlocks people's willingness to self-destruct in the service of the propagandist.The Fourth Mistake, which fundamentally transforms people into clones of the propagandist.The central focus that distrust plays in the operation of conspiracy theories, and how it can be unraveled.The theory of the Ornamented Tree of Emotion that underlies the thought processes of an affected individual.The steps and guidelines that can keep a discussion on track when conspiracy theorists try to derail it.How to manage details when combating conspiracy theories.How the absolute power of the voter is stolen by conspiracy theorists and how to return that power to the voter.
It is important that we act to reverse the negative impact of The Reverse Pinocchio Effect so that our society will become immune to conspiracy theories, and thereby can move forward into a new age of sanity and cooperation.
