Losing a friend to conspiracism creates a gap no common argumentative ground can bridge.

Evidence

For those who think there is no evidence to show that Hillary Clinton is given to violent criminality, to learn that a friend thinks she ran a pedophile operation would alter the relationship, if not destroy it. There is no common ground on which a conspiracist and a disbeliever can stand to argue about the matter. To discover that a friend subscribes to the QAnon conspiracy, to which we turn shortly, is to see an abyss open up between you. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 299

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Conspiracist beliefs cannot be corrected by contradictory evidence or argument. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 315; Abandoning conspiracist belief carries a reputational cost among the group — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 342; Epistemic closure makes conspiracists unable to be true skeptics — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 272 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Conspiracist beliefs cannot be corrected by contradictory evidence or argument. #corroborates (0.95) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 315
• Over-elaborating a conspiracy produces an undefeatable adversary #expands (0.80) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 1070
• Epistemic closure makes conspiracists unable to be true skeptics #expands (0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 272
• Abandoning conspiracist belief carries a reputational cost among the group #qualifies (0.72) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 342