In the fight to improve critical thinking, organizations are highlighting the value of...
Blog
How to dodge fake news…
Fake news is a problem. It pervades our consumption of media, and we live in a society that...
February News Recap
Technology topped the charts of news in early 2023, with the grand reveal of Artificial...
We all need media literacy, more than ever!
50 years ago, “media” comprised the regular newspapers as well as selected radio and TV...
Thinking outside the box – developing deeper thinking in schools
Authored by John Snell, Open Minds Education Expert, & UK Head Teacher and Education...
Lower ability in the classroom – fact or fiction?
Authored by John Snell, Open Minds Education Expert Having worked in schools for over 25 years,...
Are algorithms affecting how we think?
It is no secret that the majority of modern media platforms exist and operate thanks to...
Art or lies? Does television contribute to misinformation?
One television programme coming under fire currently is The Crown on Netflix, which taps into a...
Is modern media killing critical thinking?
Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, we can now see exactly how many hours and minutes we...
Supporting children with their wellbeing
Authored by John Snell, Open Minds Education Expert There is a wealth of information and data...
Tackling the rising tide of misinformation
In a world where the 2016 Oxford Dictionaries word of the year was “post-truth” pertaining to...
Critical thinking: simple strategies promise significant gains
[Opinion piece] There is growing research supporting not only the personal value of improved...
The power of lateral reading
How we consume and read content has changed, in large part because the way that content is...
A license to kill people socially
Authored by Patrick Haeck [This blog provides an update to Patrick's previous experience in a...
The meaning between the words
When considering our tendency to “Truth Bias”, it is no surprise that what people say, and how the...
The role of “illusory truth” in misinformation
Building on the notion of truth bias, the illusory truth effect (ITE) demonstrates the crucialness...
Why we believe in truth and honesty, even when we shouldn’t
There is a phenomenon called “truth bias” which leads us to believe people are telling us the...
Jehovah’s Witnesses appeal: shunning is a crime
Following success in the courts of Belgium in getting religious shunning recognised as a crime, a...
Critical thinking: is Estonia offering a model education system?
Authored by Educational Leader John Snell, UK Headteacher, & advisor to the Open Minds...
Do you know the signs of gaslighting?
If a friend, colleague, or family member starts to change their behaviour, then it could be a sign...
White Supremacists on Trial: racial radicalisation in the US
On 11 August 2017 the “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally began in Charlottesville,...
That statistic: is it true?
Authored by Victoria Petkovic-Short When you see a claim backed up by statistics, how do you know...
The problem with statistics…
A statistic is defined as “a fact or piece of data obtained from a study of a large quantity of...
The key to eliminating coercion, lies in critical thinking
Author: Richard Kelly | January 2022 The mission for the Open Minds Foundation is “to create...
Critical thinking: a practical group exercise for the classroom
Tackling the challenge of classroom groupthink One of the core challenges of working with young...
Coercion at its Worst: Religious Mandated SHUNNING
By Patrick Haeck | January 2022 One of the most onerous forms of coercive control is mandated...
What is confirmation bias?
Confirmation bias (also referred to as myside bias) is a broad term encompassing a number of...
Combatting misinformation with the rule of five
Hands up who has a favourite news resource that they refer to? It could be a news website, a...
Critical Thinking in Primary Schools
Authored by John Snell Developing critical thinking skills in primary schools can appear to be a...
The power of propaganda and how to fight it
Under scrutiny until at least January 2022, the oldest defendant to stand trial so far will be...
What is groupthink?
Groupthink occurs when a group of people reach full consensus on an issue or decision, without...
Welcome to Open Minds 2.0
Following our very gentle relaunch last week, we’ve been overwhelmed with the response, comments,...
Critical Thinking and Meaning while Dialoging with Groups Like Jehovah’s Witnesses
Article supplied by Robert Compton | June 2021 In this paper I want to reflect upon how we use...
Manipulation at its Best (or Worst)
Few groups manipulate their members to act against their own best interests more effectively than...
Teaching Teenage Students about Undue Influence
We are always on the lookout for best practice examples of educating teenage students about the...
Nothing but PRAISE for Educated
The New York Times Book Review proclaims, “Heart-wrenching…. A beautiful testament to the power of education to open eyes and change lives.”
Questioning our Unquestionable Assumptions
If we can be patient with our feelings of unease, and learn to question our assumptions, no matter...
15 Years Later – Undoing the Undue Influence
I was a Jehovah’s Witness from childhood to my late twenties. I officially disassociated myself...
The Overwhelmed Brain
I read Oliver Sacks’ seminal The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat in 1984. But, twenty or so...
Cognitive Dissonance, Revisited
Cognitive dissonance is perhaps the most fundamental concept for an understanding of undue...
The long history of undue influence
Undue influence has been recognized in law for more than 500 years. It is a legitimate legal...
When the Alarm Sounds
Imagine you are at work. You are sitting at your desk, engrossed in a task. Suddenly the fire...
Building a Life after Leaving a High-Control Religion
Amber Scorah’s “Leaving The Witness” A good writer can hook and hold you from start to finish with...
The Journey of the Lost
Many people leaving cults or high-pressure groups understandably say they feel lost. How could...
Cognitive Dissonance at Work
Knowing how cognitive dissonance works is the key to understanding why the human brain is so...
Potential Recruits for Authoritarian Groups
There is a general belief that only weak people are taken in by authoritarian groups, but this...
The Process of Undue Influence
The process of undue influence follows a predictable series of steps. First comes contact. This...
No Safety in Numbers with Undue Influence
Any examination of history shows that people can be brought to believe almost anything. So,...
Our Susceptibility to Undue Influence
It is not just the Internet that is rife with scams. Trickery is an aspect of human nature, and it...
How Easy is it to Trick the Brain?
Psychological studies have repeatedly shown how easily rational thinking is bypassed. Our...
Conformity
Open Minds would like to give a shout-out to bestselling author Cass R. Sunstein and his new book,...
Faith-based Medical Neglect and Undue Influence
With more than 8,000,000 purported members, it is likely Jehovah's Witnesses are the foremost...
The Paradox of Undue Influence
The great problem with undue influence is that it has a before and an after, but no during. While...
Are You Being Misled Online?
Have you ever been misled online? If so, you are not alone! It’s not easy to discern fact from...
Developing Your Own Fact Detector
"Fake news" is one of the biggest concerns of our time; and with good reason. If people can't get...
News: Fake or Real? Try the Scientific Approach
As you scroll through your social media wall you encounter an article someone shares that sends...
Ukraine is Educating Students to Identify Fake News and Propaganda
Learn to Discern - Media Literacy Training On March 22, 2019, NPR published this article,...
Techniques Used by Authoritarian Groups – New Mini-poster
Manipulative, authoritarian groups can be found in many varieties - from destructive religious...
Combating Cult Mind Control – The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults
If you're reading CCMC for the first time, please know that you've found a safe, respectful,...
Terror, Love and Brainwashing – Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems
Written by a cult survivor and renowned expert on cults and totalitarianism, Terror, Love and...
Inside Out – A Memoir of Entering Into and Breaking Out of a Minneapolis Political Cult
A gripping literary memoir of life inside an extremist political group. "If you want to know how...
Opening Minds – the Secret World of Manipulation, Undue Influence and Brainwashing
Opening Minds by Jon Atack shows how we can be cajoled into accepting unethical, uninvited and...
Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky
Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky: the new, unexpurgated, unabridged version of the...
Foucault’s Hair – Part Two: Cults and Multiculturalism
The reduction in slavery, exploitation, abuse, humiliation, and physical and psychological...
Foucault’s Hair – Part One: Two Frenchmen
If I said that the thing I most appreciate about Michel Foucault is his hairstyle, surely someone...
In Loving Memory of Laura Ann Gracey – A Father Remembers
My darling daughter Laura Ann Gracey was born on July 17th, 1972, in Orange, California. My wife...
Saving a Thousand Lives a Year: Reforming Watchtower’s Policy on Blood – Part Two
The Watchtower strikes back To counter the mounting criticism concerning internal judicial action...
Saving a Thousand Lives a Year: Reforming Watchtower’s Policy on Blood – Part One
A brief history of Advocates for Jehovah's Witness Reform on Blood (AJWRB) and Watchtower’s Blood...
Fifth: “Thou shalt not kill” – The dark side of faith
You're walking along the railroad tracks when you see a runaway trolley barreling down. It is...
Cult, Gang, or New Religious Movement?
The Open Minds Foundation is not a counter-cult group, though totalist cults are part of our...