Before vaccines were available, he refused to quarantine himself to see his granddaughters even though they have existing respiratory issues. He regularly fights with my sister on the phone, mocking her for wearing a mask and social distancing and "hiding in a corner" instead of going to a birthday party on one side of the family. She has been in and out of hospitals since she was a toddler. I remember him back then, doing what a good parent does, tearing out carpets, making sure she got her breathing treatments, and checking on her through the night.
Today he claims 600,000 people have not died. He has taken up the past time of walking in to businesses that require masks without one to fight for his "freedom." The kicker is that he has been hospitalized before for asthma related issues, twice in the year before pandemic hit. Thankfully one of his doctors convinced him to get the vaccine.
I am concerned about what he thinks and does, which is why I won't allow him to see my daughter anymore. She's too young for a vaccine, and he still belittles me when we talk on the phone for believing the news about the delta variant.
Before the election, he told me, it was to smear Trump, and that if Biden won, all of the COVID news would disappear. Now the delta variant is a conspiracy to smear Republican governors. The constant stream of disinformation that he consumes is endangering his life, and if I'd let him, it would endanger the lives of my infant daughter, myself, my wife, my sisters and nieces... it's fucking heartbreaking.
Intellectualize and rationalize if you want to. But the capital was stormed on the day Congress was certifying the election. There are people dying of COVID at this very moment who don't believe it is a real disease. Disinformation is real, it is dangerous, and we need to pay attention.
Storming the Capital, loss of faith in our election system, believing vaccines & masks are a personal choice that doesn't affect others, a loss of common beliefs in America, etc - those seem like rather undesired changes in belief/behavior because of bad information.