I feel like an important point to make around these parts, since there seems to be a lot of heated discussion going on here.

If there is an effort to undermine this subreddit, the best way to beat it is to not be affected by the those that desire to undermine it.

The best tactic to undermine such a forum is to use anger and insecurities against their members. For example, a Top Minds subreddit member may link a thread or attack a user here, a user here may also directly be attacked by a reply, but the question is - why are they attacking you and why does it bother you?

First of all, the attacks are either done by people that are usually themselves experiencing cognitive dissonance and are usually confused, insecure, angry, afraid and in some form of suffering. Even the paid "shills" (God I dislike that word) are not a happy bunch. If you have people that actually agree to being paid to disrupt a forum and the truth and alternative news from coming out, you can be sure they are themselves afflicted by some form of inner turmoil and suffering. Ultimately they are human beings and must be seen as such, not simply avatars on the computer screen.

So what can we all do?

First of all, practice compassion and by doing so, forgive whoever is attacking you. This may seem simplistic, but it is the core tenet of all high level conversations. If someone is attacking YOU, then they are usually suffering themselves. I can tell you from personal experience that I have always lashed out only when I was suffering some form (and I still do whenever I'm not in a good mood). So step in their shoes and try to understand them, have compassion and empathy for them. Things aren't easy for people spreading pain. They are usually in pain themselves.

If they are attacking your argument and not you specifically, then the best way is to simply agree to disagree. You don't have to identify with the position you are holding and if you are offended when someone says your beliefs are stupid or bullshit, its time to reconsider whether you are identified with them too strongly. If you are identified with your beliefs that doesn't make them untrue of course, it just causes you pain when someone attacks them. It feels like they are attacking you, but they aren't.

This does not mean you shouldn't defend you position - in fact you can defend it much more easily if you are not emotionally invested in it, if you don't have your identity invested in it.

So simply take a few deep breaths and become aware that you are more than your beliefs, you aren't a conspiracy theorist, first and foremost you are a human being (and possibly more if you subscribe to any spiritual/metaphysical perspectives of reality).

Take a few deep breaths and relax. Conducting conversations with anger and hostility helps nobody, it definitely doesn't help spread truth, in fact it hinders the spreading of it.

Let go of your identification with your beliefs, with your identification as a "conspiracy theorist", with any such identity you may have (even "left" or "right" wing). See the other as another being, not a set of belief systems.

Look within and see why the other person is triggering you. If you want to save humanity by spreading the truth, spreading it through hostility will do you no good. The person that is not emotionally defensive of their beliefs is usually the one that is seen as "on to something" as their reality cannot be so easily rocked. But don't fake this, be this.

If someone is doubting you, let them. They aren't attacking you, they are attacking a mental position. You are not your mental positions - realize that. They are simply thoughts and beliefs in your mind. You are becoming emotional about them because you feel they are you. Notice this and let it go.

State your arguments and if they try to continue to bait you in a way you feel is unproductive to the conversation or you simply wish to end the conversation because you have no time arguing - then do so. You don't lose an argument this way. And if you are worried how you will appear to newcomers, then don't. You can't really convince people that are totally asleep anyway, they have to wake up themselves. Every good argument made without a defensive/reactionary emotional charge lends to waking them up. Defensiveness makes you look weak in comparison (but again, don't fake being internally strong, look within, let go and become strong instead).

I know this can be hard and I in no way say that I am perfect in this in my many discussions both offline and online, but to at least start moving in that direction is already a great start and is something that gives enormous benefit to you personally, as well as everyone else (including everyone on this sub, everyone searching for truth, and the whole of Earth at large).

Stay well my friends.