Though the question sounds very narrow, I am actually trying to explore a theme. I was reading in a book about Brainwashing about how the Chinese Communists or Christian priests were trying to brainwash people who didn’t believe in their ideology. Protestants trying to convenience Catholics and vice versa. Kidnappers being successful in brainwashing Patty Hearst who being a victim of Kidnapping herself, went on to rob a bank for her captors willingly as she had now believed in their ideology. etc.,.
So, I was wondering, has brainwashing ever worked in reverse where a person who is supposed to be a victim of brainwashing manages to outfox their captors and manages to change the mind of their captors or break free? Maybe a protestant priest managed to convert a catholic priest? You get the theme.
He technically didn’t brainwash them into setting him free. He convinced the pirates to double his ransom and to let him walk free around the camp, where he often and loudly told them that he would come back and have them all killed, once his ransom was paid and they let him go. Then he did exactly that.
He did somehow convince them into letting him do all of this things though, and according to the source, it was because they thought he was just a weird harmless guy. So yeah. I guess not brainwash. Definitely trolled the shit out of them though