I've had several interesting experiences this week interacting about Trump and the election with people with whom I have long-standing connections. There is a seemingly impenetrable wall to real dialogue which I have struggled to understand. A fellow named Seth Abramson (you can google him) has a helpful insight.
Abramson begins with QAnon, the conspiracy theory that Trump is using and building on. QAnon is an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) that attracts followers because it offers them an alternate reality ("alternate facts"!) in which to live. These folks are not interested in actual reality, accurate news streams, or the real meanings of words like "communism" and "socialism." What they care about is escaping from reality by means of the ARG, where words can mean anything the game makers say they mean, and where real understanding is irrelevant. When they enter the game they become action role playing figures (heroes) in real life without realizing that they are living in a make-believe world. Presenting them with accurate information doesn't help; in the Game, it's all, by definition, Fake News.
Abramson goes on to say that the ARG is dangerous in the real world, as we saw on January 6 in the Capitol. Although I never played Dungeons and Dragons, it's as if the QAnon/Trump election denying crowd really believe that they are living out a Dungeons and Dragons scenario in their daily life because it enables them to escape a reality that is very unpleasant and uncomfortable for them. It's a brain program that will continue to run and govern their beliefs and actions until its costs outweigh the benefits for them. The impeachment of Trump and the identification, arrest, and punishment of the insurrectionists by our justice system will hopefully bring that about.
