Confronting a Conspiracy Theory
Rebels attack Moses in this week’s portion with the most reckless verse in the Torah. “Is it not enough that you have taken us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to die from wandering while you lord yourself over us” (Num. 16:13). Egypt is not the land flowing with milk and honey. The spies, not Moses, cause the people to wander-to-death. And Moses is the most humble, not the most arrogant. This single-verse contains claims that aren’t merely false. They’re the total-opposite of what’s true.
Why then do they succeed in mounting the best known revolt in the Torah? Because they begin with a statement that’s true. “All the people are equally holy, and God is in their midst” (Num. 16:3).
Every conspiracy theory includes at least one thing that’s true. For example, there are legitimate uncertainties about a single-assassin of JFK. Particularly when the accused was himself killed before an evidence-clarifying trial. And it’s the true claim that sustains the conspiracy claims.
How then can conspiracy theories be confronted? First, isolate and extract the true statement. Second, affirm its validity. Next, wade into the groundless assertions. Pick one. Ideally not the most outrageous one. Why? Because, even if disproven, it would leave other false claims to be reckoned with. Also, it might suggest these other claims aren’t as weak as they are. Lastly, ask open-ended questions about the chosen wrongful claim. Like, “Tell me how you came to believe this? How have you verified it?” Stick with it. Expect the same rigor that accompanied the validity of the first, true claim.
To be clear, it’s most unlikely you’ll be persuasive. But you will slow them down. And sometimes the best you can do is make conspiracy-theorists encounter more velcro than teflon.
What ultimately quiets the revolt isn’t violence. Its fragrant steadiness. It’s Aaron’s priesthood at its best. Loving peace, pursuing it. Seeing the best-side of people and making them feel God’s Torah more intimately (Pirke Avot 1:12).
