My mother, born, raised, and still lives in Norway, was anti-mask during COVID and refused to take the vaccine because of micro-robots (and the scary 5G towers), so we all know where she stands in certain topics. She also believes that Zelenskyy is the reason for Russia invading Ukraine…
Anyhoo, I was talking to her then other day, and she told me that I need to stop reading anti-propaganda. I laughed and asked if she could explain it, which she, of course, could not, but she said it’s a wording being used online all the time. I don’t frequent the sites she does, and I’ve known she’s been reading conspiracies for at least 10 years, but anti-propaganda? Does words not have meaning anymore?
If you ask me, anti-propaganda is facts, but hey, I might be wrong, considering English is my second language.
I don’t believe most people that go down this road are going to listen to any logic. Trying to combat it by telling them they are wrong and why just makes them dig their heels in even more.
You can ask empathetic questions and try to learn what brought her here. A lot of people start a normal amount of right wing, and then the internet feeds them more and more far right stuff and this happens. There’s a sense of community and belonging to these spaces.
If you care about her and want to continue the relationship, ask that neither of you bring up politics and just talk about your lives, see if she has anything good going on, and encourage local activities if possible.
Channel 5 did a movie called Dear Kelly about a guy who went full conspiracy after losing his house and I believe custody of his kids. In the movie they talk about past trauma leading to this obsession.
Try to be compassionate if you can. It can be very difficult depending on the person and the existing relationship but I think it’s the only real way forward. Alternatively I also think if they are abusive or too over the top just cutting ties with them works too.
It can be very frustrating, but I hope it works out. Good luck!