The Dangers of Groupthink

What will you find at the bottom of an internet rabbit hole?

"Cyclops groupthink." by gak is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

(I am publishing this column and the next one on Thursdays instead of Saturdays)

Imagine something goes wrong. You fall hook, line and sinker for an appealing narrative from a guru, con artist or denialist. You decide to join an online community that nurtures and protects the narrative that this person is selling. What can you expect to find at the bottom of the rabbit hole?

Successful groups will have discovered what works through a process of trial and error. You probably won’t see sophisticated arguments to defend the narrative in question. Instead, the first thing you will see will be Mark E. Smith’s version of the three Rs: Repetition, repetition, repetition. The believers in the narrative will repeat key themes endlessly.

The second thing you will see is a concerted effort to help you build an identity as a believer in the narrative. Other members of the group will become your friends. They will invent nicknames for the vast majority of the world who don’t accept the narrative.

The third thing you will see is extreme gatekeeping. You will be told that the mainstream media and possibly the medical establishment are corrupt and cannot be trusted. You can only trust content from other members of the tribe.

The combination of repetitive themes to support the narrative, the creation of an in-group and out-group identity and gatekeeping your sources of information are all designed to hack your cognitive dissonance. As you will remember, this is the uncomfortable feeling that we all experience when our identity is contradicted.

People who buy into extreme versions of groupthink – defined by the dictionary as “a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics” – will be particularly susceptible to cognitive dissonance. When faced with contradiction, fanatical group members will be even more likely than others to double down on their starting position instead of rethinking core assumptions.

You can expect that any holes in the narrative will be covered up by conspiracy theories. We have already seen that conspiracy speculation can act as a bodyguard to protect failing ideas from contact with cold, hard reality. If you are unlucky, conspiracy-mongering will soon put you in touch with the anti-globalist community. The example of yoga practitioners distrusting the media and doctors who fact-checked some of their wilder claims and then being drawn into the world of Q-Anon conspiracies is a case in point.

What should you do if this has happened to you? If you found yourself in a closed room, with stale air, you would open the window. Do the same. Let in some fresh air: Take the repetitive themes and actively look for inconvenient facts that undermine the narrative. Check everything.

Meanwhile, re-establish contact with friends and family outside the in-group. Maybe make a self-deprecating joke or two if you previously blocked them on social media when they questioned your new identity.

How can you avoid falling victim to groupthink in future? The first and most important step is to suspend judgement when you come across a narrative that resonates with you. Check it carefully. It is always best to resist building your identity around one-size-fits-all narratives.

You should read several news sources from across the political spectrum on a daily basis so you get used to dealing with cognitive dissonance. Take an interest in science. Why not follow some scientists and science publications on social media? Ask yourself what scientists and experts think of a black-and-white narrative that has caught your attention. Good luck!

Sharpen Your Axe is a project to develop a community who want to think critically about the media, conspiracy theories and current affairs without getting conned by gurus selling fringe views. Please subscribe to get this content in your inbox every week. Shares on social media are appreciated! If this is the first post you have seen, I recommend starting with the critical-thinking rabbit hole.

[Updated on 10 March 2022] Opinions expressed on Substack and Twitter are those of Rupert Cocke as an individual and do not reflect the opinions or views of the organization where he works or its subsidiaries.