this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2025
88 points (98.9% liked)

Ask Lemmy

36125 readers
2321 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

For those who aren't familiar with the term, it means believing something that probably shouldn't be believed, or being influenced to believe something that's not necessarily in your best interests.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 29 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

I was raised insane and religious and ended up listening to Alex Jones every day for a year or two in highschool. I was also insufferable about it.

[–] Maestro@fedia.io 19 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

How did you escape? Because it seems a lot of people can't

[–] ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 17 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

No useful tips for deprogramming, I'm afraid. The two most critical things was an honest desire to know the truth / challenge my own beliefs, and learning empathy which helped a bunch. The rest was part of a larger shift in my life.

(Edit: Not being entirely isolated in the crazy is probably the most reproducible aspect. Gaining contact with people outside of that sphere was important, though my motivations can't be replicated...)

Paragraph 2 from the long version AKA my life story and shift to the left

As a teen I was big into Alex Jones and conspiracy theories to the point of losing friends before it was cool (pre-maga). Unfortunately for him, I took his advice and “did my own researcher”; becoming more disillusioned with his bullshit the more I learned. For one example, there was a great analysis paper on the sorts of energies and temperatures involved in 9-11, whose models perfectly matched the real world structural damage: no thermite or lasers needed. I bought into the h1n1 vax hoax from Ventura after I had the shot and thought I’d be crippled when then turned on the signal or whatever… But I wasn’t. Same with the Fukushima disaster Alex fearmongered about; turns out we’re not in a radioactive apocalypse. Retrospectively: he had a terrible track record for predictions.

But I also fell in love with a cute lefty boy around the tail end of my Alex Jones phase of life, which certainly spurred a lot of change and self-reflection... I had already started cutting through a teeny tiny bit of the bullshit myself, but that really pushed things along and on a grander scale.

[–] compostgoblin@piefed.blahaj.zone 7 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Have you ever listened to the podcast Knowledge Fight?

[–] ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 3 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

No I haven't. Since AJ, the only podcast I've watched has been LinusTechTips' WANshow (and Level1Techs [prev. Ten Syndicate] very rarely). I've never really been big into the format.

I watch Belle of the Ranch for political commentary, news, and anything that matters. Vaush, SomeMoreNews, and a bunch of urbanist channels like Not Just Bikes for pol / pol-adjacent entertainment.