Thanks for that article
@Poundwise. There's certainly a range of different approaches in this thread from cutting out, ignoring, and trying to help them "see the light".
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Engage with the person. Appear curious about their beliefs and how they were introduced to them. Ask what person, social media post or video first got them interested and what led them to take it more seriously. Connect with the person by focusing on shared interests and experiences. This is important, because it will help remind the person who they were before getting hooked into the cult. It's also important to keep the conversation positive, because developing rapport and trust with warmth is a key to engaging and getting people to interact with you similarly. They have been indoctrinated to think you have been brainwashed by the likes of the pedophile traffickers, so it's important that they see you as a real person.
Don't judge. Don't insult the person or try to argue against their beliefs. Don't talk down to them or call them names. Instead, act genuinely interested in what they understand the group and its beliefs to be. Don't use terms like "conspiracy theory" or "brainwashed." That could cause the person to avoid you entirely, spend more time online and slide further down into the QAnon world.
Appeal to their sense of integrity, reason and conscience. Orient the QAnon believer to the idea that if something is true, it will stand up to scrutiny. Talk about the value of research, which has to include reading what critics and former QAnon members have to say, not only believers.
Suggest alternative information sources. Redirect the person toward legitimate news sources, social psychology research and other sources of reliable information about how the mind works that shed light on some of the topics QAnon uses to draw people in, such as child trafficking. (This is especially important because QAnon followers have hijacked a movement to stop child trafficking.) My book on cults explains this process in more detail.
Intelligent people can fall prey to cult tactics, which work most effectively on those who don't understand how they work. This could be you.
Create a team of trusted allies. You're just one person against a large community of cult influencers. To bolster critical thinking and independent decision-making, talk to the QAnon follower's friends and family members and encourage them to reconnect with their loved one. The more time the person spends with others and away from the QAnon chat forums, the better.
Now that QAnon is becoming a global phenomenon, with Trump and others in positions of power promoting it, there's a lot at stake. As we approach the presidential elections, Russia and the Christian right are promoting QAnon theories, while the cult's leaders are calling for followers on Twitter to prepare themselves for an armed civil war. We have to be vigilant and do what we can to learn about the dangers of QAnon so we can protect ourselves and those we care about — as well as our democracy — from this cult."