Even after more than 800,000 U.S. deaths and nearly 5.5 million deaths worldwide from coronavirus as of December 2021, there is still a stark divide among Americans regarding whether COVID-19 even exists. A 2020 worldwide YouGov survey found that 13% of us don’t believe the virus is real. We think it’s a myth or that it’s greatly exaggerated, and that face masks represent weakness and oppression.

How can we get through to family, friends, or colleagues who dismiss the seriousness of COVID-19? Below are five methods of communication that, taken together, can help us to find common ground while maintaining civility and preserving valued relationships.

6 Ways of Engaging a COVID Denier

1.  Understand their Skepticism.

Emma Francis Bloomfield, Ph.D., author of Communication Strategies for Engaging Climate Skeptics, and an assistant professor of communications at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, explains that most doubt concerning the pandemic stems from its politicization. “We’re substituting scientific expertise with politics,” and with disunity in messaging among party leaders, skepticism can result. 

These beliefs then become part of people’s group identities (groupthink), and any opposing views are seen as an attack against that group, explains licensed clinical social worker Mark Somerville, mental health director at Hackensack Meridian Palisades Medical Center. All of this is compounded by a sea of social media misinformation, which people take at face value without fact-checking, he says.

2.  Show You Care

Bloomfield advises starting a conversation by leveraging a close relationship with a COVID denier and telling them you care. “Talking about people and values you have in common can bring people to the table in a way that’s not patronizing.” For instance, both parties may have an aging relative in common they’d like to keep safe, or the mutual disruption to personal lives both have experienced from the lockdowns and economic fallout.

Somerville reminds us that COVID skepticism often stems from group identification. If that person knows someone on the other side genuinely cares and will be there for them should they change their mind, they may be more receptive to other views.

3.  Connect, Don’t Convince

Bloomfield says the way to get a COVID denier to reconsider is by not trying to convince them. An attitude of superiority will often cause people to become defensive. Instead, engaging with the person on a deeper level to understand how they arrived at their current beliefs can build empathy and a willingness to listen. Asking questions, such as what sources they’re using for their information, can help accomplish this while showing respect and genuine interest and can then give you an opening to share your point of view.

“You have to go after some level of connectedness that you’re in the same boat. At some point, you can decide that you value the relationship more than you value trying to convince someone of something that’s important,” Somerville explains.

4.  Recognize When They’re Right

When a COVID denier raises truthful points, it’s vital to acknowledge them. For example, it’s correct that there was inconsistent public health messaging regarding mask-wearing early on. Somerville says it’s important to admit we had a trusted source that gave us the wrong information. This understanding opens a window for relating new information: “Yes, the early information was confusing, but now we’re well into the pandemic and have a much better knowledge of how masks stop the spread of disease.”

5.  Use Data, But Personalize It

Used skillfully by putting them in a more humanizing context, statistics can be a fruitful way of engaging a COVID denier. For instance, reframe 800,000+ American lives lost as roughly the population of Charlotte, North Carolina. Further, “[r]emind them that each of those numbers is a person who had a family, who had hopes and dreams, and who is now gone,” advises Bloomfield. Recounting a story or two of someone’s personal loss can help bring home such big numbers.

Respect and Empathy Go a Long Way

While effective, sometimes, these communication tactics won’t work with COVID deniers. “[A] lot of it will depend on the person, the conversation, and the context,” says Bloomfield. Still, though minds may not be changed right away, seeds may have been planted that can start bearing fruit in a short time, particularly if the relationship has been strengthened by talking.

The key to helping preserve close relationships is to show respect and empathy for the other person, even if both parties can’t agree on an issue and have to set it aside to keep the peace. “Telling someone you care about them is a very different statement than saying they have to agree with you, and hopefully they feel the same way in return,” says Somerville.

*Sweet, J. (2020, December 4). How to Talk to a COVID Denier. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-talk-to-a-covid-denier-5089630

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.