😱Did You Lose Someone to Conspiracy Theory?

Ever had a perfectly normal coffee turn into a TED Talk on how cannibals run the world? Same. ☕🌀

My new newsletter is a field guide to the conspiracy slide—how a chat that starts with “sugar is bad” ends with “the lizard people are late to the meeting.”

Inside the piece:

• The Black-Hole Effect: How five “wellness” videos become ten anti-vax rants and—boom—global cabal. (Scroll = rocket fuel.)
• Spot the Tells:
  “You’re being manipulated.” ✅
  “I have underground sources.” (Hi, Fred2009$.) ✅
  “Mainstream media? Sad.” ✅
  When you hear these, you’re entering 🧟‍♀️ territory.
• My Playbook (tested in the wild):
  1. Find one sane island (“Yep, sugar is bad”).
  2. Redirect like your life depends on it (cat UTI > cannibals).
  3. If it loops back, graceful fade—no debate club, no heroics.

Why this matters: Beyond awkward brunches, this is about critical thinking, relationships, and democracy. If the algorithm can hijack smart people, none of us are untouchable.

If you’ve navigated one of these conversations, I want your best moves: What actually works without blowing up the friendship?

👉 Read the full piece: [link]
 #Leadership #Communication #CriticalThinking #MediaLiteracy #DigitalWellbeing #Relationships

Peggy Van de Plassche is a value creation strategist and senior advisor with over 20 years of experience in private equity, financial services, healthcare, and technology. She works with investment firms, boards, and C-suite leaders to accelerate portfolio company performance, drive operational transformation, and unlock long-term value. Peggy specializes in the execution of complex value creation plans—spanning capital allocation, digital enablement, transaction advisory, and leadership alignment. Her work consistently bridges strategy and implementation, helping investors and operators maximize EBITDA and enterprise value. A founding board member of Invest in Canada, she also brings deep expertise in public-private partnerships and institutional capital deployment—critical levers for competitive advantage in today’s global landscape. Her clients have included BMO, CI Financial, HOOPP, OMERS, GreenShield Canada, Nicola Wealth, and Power Financial. Learn more at peggyvandeplassche.com.

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