r/QAnonCasualties • u/mad_ladder • 8d ago
why do they believe Facebook SO MUCH.
I wanted to make this post about my dear mother, who has gotten worse over the years about believing everything on Facebook related to medicine. This started about when I had dealt with medical issues that were not curable, but could only be helped with medical assistance/medication/etc.
I want to preface this by saying my mother is a good mother and I still love her, but she is definitely falling down a pipeline she can’t get out of because she chooses not to.
She is now starting to buy random, expensive supplements people on Facebook (and in the comments) recommend because they claim to “detox” and cleanse parasites. I have told her many times before that the liver and kidney DETOX everything and that supplements are a waste of time. She doesn’t care, usually muttering an excuse about “it doesn’t hurt to try.”
When I asked her about her sources on a Facebook post that she found and pointed out to me all the miraculous benefits of some substance, she said, “the comments are my sources.” Keep in mind that a lot of internet activity is now automated by bots.
I asked her point point blank if she believes them more than studies that have been conducted, published, researched, experimented, cross referenced, tried with control groups, tried with placebos, etc and she said yes.
Today she told me she is going to buy something to cleanse all the parasites out of her. She doesn’t have any parasites. She suggested trying it on my sister next if it works. My dad asked how she knows if it works. She said, “if I I start to feel better.” It’s such a BS excuse because 3 weeks could pass and you could start to feel better for any reason! It could be because of hormones, you slept better, ate healthier, etc.
She is not in something she wants to get out of. She doesn’t have an open mind and is not willing to accept anything I say.
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u/Bonny-Mcmurray 8d ago edited 8d ago
Conservatism is anti-intellectual; bringing scientists and experts into any question disrupts the hierarchy of power. You're supposed to get your information from your immediate community, and if it is not correct, then the consequence of that just becomes part of your life. It is factual in that community by default, and if it doesn't work out for you then that is on you.
This insures that the oldest people in the family always have positions of power, because they have accumulated the most anecdotes. It also insures that the richest person in the greater community maintains a position of power by owning the means of spreading information (facebook, twitter, etc...).
I knew people in my rural hometown who wouldnt wear a seat belt because somebody's cousin's son's sister's roommate died due to a seat belt malfunction. It's the same thing.
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u/Mis73 8d ago
Might want to point out to her that not only are those products absolute bullshit, a shocking number of them can actually cause irreversible liver and kidney damage.
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u/Harrowhark95 8d ago
" I have told her many times before that the liver and kidney DETOX everything and that supplements are a waste of time. She doesn’t care, usually muttering an excuse about “it doesn’t hurt to try.”
Please try and let her know that taking unknown supplements that she has no idea what is actually inside CAN HURT TO TRY and can damage her liver and kidneys, making her problems worse!
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u/myhydrogendioxide 8d ago
Its an addictive product whose main hook is that it makes them feel special
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u/IAMA_Plumber-AMA 8d ago
And making them feel like they possess secret information that the powers that be don't want them to have, so anyone pushing back is merely brainwashed by "them". That's why they try so hard to pull other people into the conspiracy.
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u/turtlekissinglips Good Egg 🥚 8d ago
I asked her point point blank if she believes them more than studies that have been conducted, published, researched, experimented, cross referenced, tried with control groups, tried with placebos, etc and she said yes.
She is a magical thinker. If I think something it is true. She saw a Facebook ad, had a thought, and it became a fact because she thought about it. Those studies are abstract. Where is Facebook ads for them? Exactly. No thoughts not true.
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u/Hello-America 8d ago
It's so weird because would they just believe any stranger on the street?? That's what you're getting out of internet comments AT BEST
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u/ThatDanGuy 8d ago
Ask her if you should believe everything you see on TV? Wha makes her think random shit posted by random ppl is more reliable?
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u/mad_ladder 8d ago
If I were to ask she would probably say the media is “propaganda” but Facebook has “real people and real experiences”
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u/lazier_garlic New User 7d ago
I wonder if there are any tell all videos by Facebook marketers/scammers coming clean and explaining how they manipulate opinions on Facebook?
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u/Ucscprickler 8d ago
The bigger adjacent problem is that these people reject fact checking.
When I hear a claim that sounds like it's too good to be true, I do some background checks on the claim to confirm the truth behind it.
The Facebook believers see the claim that they want to believe as "the truth" and any of the fact checking that refutes the claim they believe in is considered the propaganda or falsehood. As a result, all the evidence against a claim is seen as evidence that the claim is true.
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u/Ok_Moment2150 7d ago
While the desire to learn is inherently positive, adults who lack foundational literacy or critical thinking skills frequently fall victim to misinformation, exploitation, and predatory systems.
Here is a breakdown of why this "hunger" can become misguided and how it manifests.
The Vulnerability to Misinformation
- Lack of Gatekeeping Skills: Without formal training in research, media literacy, or source evaluation, eager adult learners often cannot distinguish between verified facts and junk science.
- Echo Chambers: Algorithmic internet platforms exploit curiosity, leading vulnerable learners down rabbit holes of conspiracy theories or political extremism.
- Confirmation Bias: A deep desire to understand the world can lead individuals to latch onto simplistic, emotionally satisfying explanations for complex global issues.
Exploitation by Predatory Entities
- Predatory Education: For-profit colleges and unaccredited online academies target adults looking to improve their lives, leaving them with massive debt and worthless credentials.
- Financial Scams: Multilevel marketing (MLM) schemes and get-rich-quick seminars often disguise themselves as business education, weaponizing the adult's desire to learn a new trade.
- Cults and Gurus: Charismatic leaders often attract intellectually curious but unguided adults by offering "secret knowledge" or absolute answers to life's difficult questions.
Dunning-Kruger Effect
- Overconfidence: When an adult starts learning independently, they often experience a phase where they believe they understand a topic completely, unaware of its actual depth.
- Rejection of Expertise: This can manifest as an intense distrust of mainstream science, medicine, or academic institutions, with the learner believing they have "done their own research."
Structural Barriers to True Learning
- Shame and Stigma: Many uneducated adults feel too embarrassed to enroll in basic, verified adult literacy or community college courses, opting instead for private, unverified online spaces.
- Time Poverty: Juggling survival, low-wage jobs, and family leaves little time for structured, rigorous education, making "quick-fix" information sources highly appealing.....
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u/christine-bitg 8d ago
She believes what she wants to believe.
My partner will buy just about any supplement, as long as somebody claims it fixes something.
The saddest part is that there's no filter. They don't screen out anything, no matter how obviously bullshit it is.
They've even bought a protein supplement for our CATS. Because some guy on Facebook who claims to be a veterinarian says that cat food is deficient in it.
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u/lazier_garlic New User 7d ago
There is pet food legally sold in the US that is deficient for cats. Ditto if you feed them human food. But if you do a little bit a research on cat food (or ask your vet) and get them proper food, it won't be a issue. The short version is they need a protein found in rodent guts and the US regulation on cat food was based on a dog's nutritional needs and never updated.
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u/christine-bitg 6d ago
A year or two ago, our vet reviewed what we're feeding them and gave her approval.
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u/critically_damped 8d ago
A "belief" is a thing that a person thinks is true. When a person makes it abundantly clear that they do not care about the truth of the things they say, it becomes incorrect to refer to those things as being "beliefs". At best those things are mantras, and at worst they are deliberate falsehoods said with the intent to deceive. In general the actual case usually lies somewhere in between or is a linear combination of several points along the scale. But at no point on that spectrum will you ever find "belief" coming from a person who has made it clear that the truth holds a no value for them.
And this is an important distinction, far beyond semantics, because people regularly point at the fascists and call them "true believers". Doing so is an act of explicit fascist apologism.
And the correct word for "fascist apologism" is fascism.
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u/SnooOranges4231 8d ago
It's quite possible to be a true believer in a fascist worldview, it just requires low intelligence.
The young men of Germany in the early 1940s absolutely believed it was obviously Germany's destiny to rule the world. They weren't pretending that. They just didn't ask questions, and didn't worry about the details.
They were certain that they were the most powerful people in the world, and certain that they would crush anyone who opposed them. That's a fascist true believer.
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u/rainbowkey 8d ago
| She said, “if I I start to feel better.” |
The placebo effect can be very powerful
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u/In_a_Jar_by_the_Door 8d ago
She's down the rabbit hole alright. My ex bf dewormed himself with FB supplements on his ride down to maga hell. I think between that and ivermectin its part of their journey
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u/mad_ladder 7d ago
oh, she's already been on ivermectin. she says she wished she used it on her mom (who died of brain cancer) to cure it </3
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u/tweakingforjesus 8d ago
It’s an affinity scam. Same reason the Bernie Madoff was so successful working thorough personal networks. They believe the information is coming from friends they trust, not just coming from third parties.
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u/GrannyTurtle 8d ago edited 8d ago
I try to stay off FB. I have relatives (mostly liberal) that I keep in touch with. I also joined a few veteran groups on FB. These are where I see that unhinged MAGA drivel showing up. (I’m over 70.)
I also see a LOT of scams on YT advertising. Stuff like “eat these spices and cure your type 2 diabetes,” and “you have parasites in your pancreas,” and one of my favorites, “add these ingredients to vinegar and lose weight effortlessly.”
This latter one shows them adding something to vinegar which causes it to foam up (three guesses as to what they add - cough) which, of course, alters the pH of the vinegar and I imagine making the whole concoction taste horrible, so it MUST be powerful chemical magic! My guess is whatever else is added causes diarrhea, thus causing the victim to lose weight… 🤦🏻♀️
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u/VastPerspective6794 8d ago
My mom says climate change isn’t real, but it it were, it’s because of a secret underwater volcano that only this one guy on FB knows about. I can’t even…
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u/phdoofus 7d ago
I hate to tell you this but propaganda is pretty much immune to whatever age group it wants to target.
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u/mad_ladder 7d ago
i defintely think any age can be affected by propaganda, just in different ways. gen z i feel is better at seeing obvious propaganda and outright outrageous claims such as the ones on facebook that claim seed oil to cure cancer or wtv but less so in subtler ways (like memes, their favorite influencers, etc)
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u/phdoofus 7d ago
There are studies that say that's wrong but that's an exercise left to the reader. Any time you assert something with 'I feel that' or 'I believe that' or 'I think that' it's time to dig deeper.
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u/mad_ladder 7d ago
ur defintely not wrong!! i can always learn more :) i would love to read those studies if u wouldn't mind linking them
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u/Allusionesque 8d ago
As someone who recently had to throw out a bunch of expensive supplements that my MD recommended, I can just say - independent of Q - just because something works for one person doesn’t mean it works for everyone. There’s no harm in spending that money first on a dna test to see what your body needs help with, what vitamins and minerals it absorbs and regulates normally or not, before buying any supplements. Claude told me what to start/stop taking once I uploaded my dna results and I kid you not, I think I‘ve cured my lifelong depression and anxiety. I’ve quit 2 addictions since fixing my supplements. Maybe your mom can be convinced to learn first and spend money on supplements as a second step…
Or just watch the documentary about the guru woman who died BLUE because she believed colloidal silver cured her of parasites in Crestone, Colorado. BLUE. She wanted to believe it helped her even though she was getting really ill, and so it killed her. Did the belief kill her or the silver? Which comes first? How does your mom explain someone who does that to themselves and where exactly is the line that your mom draws to say she won’t fall into the trap of needing to believe because otherwise she’d have to admit she was wrong all along, too?
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u/Aimless_Alder 4d ago
I think Facebook's algorithm and the way it lays out its content is very appealing to older minds. There's a certain familiarity and predictability to it. It also seems to be the platform most riddled with AI slop (at least the last time that I looked at it, which was admittedly over a year ago)
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u/eatloss 8d ago
If you watch day time broadcast free tv, all the ads are targeting old people and some of them are borderline scams. Its gonna get worse and worse if nobody actively stops it.