Had some fun with this. Rules:
- When a tankie post comes up, post a legitimate, fair argument. Do not argue in bad faith. No matter how nasty the post may be. Legitimately combat the disinformation there by going into their bubble and posting a sane response.
- Watch the responses come in. Especially if the post is on the tankie triad.
- Don’t feed the trolls. Don’t respond to anything, unless there is actually a legitimate attempt to have a legitimate discussion. Otherwise, start a game of tankie bingo to help prevent yourself from responding to the madness.
Suggestions for expansion welcome.
It’s relevant in this case because the tanks in the tank man picture were leaving Tiananmen Square and the whole event here is a reaction to a thread where some user kept insisting the tanks must have either killed tank man, some other protesters, or tank man himself was executed. It’s definitely useful to point out how this doesn’t line up at all with any historical account of the event, even if it means being a bit pedantic about where the actual killings took place.
I agree that sometimes it can be unhelpful if fellow travelers say inaccurate or dishonest things just for effect, though.