Tag: QAnon

He’s a former QAnon believer. He doesn’t want to tell his story, but thinks it might help.

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Jitarth Jadeja was already deep into conspiracy theories when he first heard of Q.

One day in December 2017, he tuned into Infowars, the media outlet run by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Two guests on the radio show were talking about the “calm before the storm,” a reference to an absurd theory that President Trump will soon wage a secret war against a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles and a slew of other evildoers. It’s one of the many tall tales believed by followers of the movement called QAnon, ranging from the false claim that the government created vaccines to track citizens to the ridiculous idea that Hillary Clinton and Katy Perry drink the blood of young children to gain eternal youth.

“It was pretty generic conspiracy theory stuff at the time, but because Alex had them on his show, it gave them an air of legitimacy with alternative media,” said the 32-year-old Sydney, Australia, resident in a phone call late last month. He was hooked. For the next 1½ years, he closely followed the movement, spending hours each day devouring as much Q-related content as he could find. Continue reading.

Facebook bans QAnon across all its platforms

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Facebook announced on Tuesday it would ban all accounts, pages and groups representing the fringe conspiracy theory QAnon from its platforms.

Why it matters: Facebook previously banned or restricted hundreds of groups, pages and Instagram accounts that “demonstrated significant risks to public safety” due to their ties to QAnon, but the latest update goes even further — removing all accounts “even if they contain no violent content.”

Context: QAnon is a sprawling, far-right conspiracy theory that falsely alleges a secret cabal of sex traffickers and pedophiles is waging a war against President Trump from inside the government. Trump has previously praised the group, which the FBI has deemed a potential domestic terrorist threat, saying that he understands its supporters “like me very much” and that they “love America.” Continue reading.

How QAnon’s Conspiracy Cult Promotes Anti-Choice Politics

On January 7, 2018, Cheryl Sullenger, the senior vice president of the radical anti-choice protest group Operation Rescue, posted an entry on her organization’s website entitled, “These people are SICK!” #QAnon Takes on Planned Parenthood.” The post included a statement from Operation Rescue president Troy Newman thanking the anonymous chan poster “Q” for linking approvingly to a Republican-led congressional investigation into bogus allegations that Planned Parenthood trafficked in baby parts for profit. The investigation was sparked by an undercover operation by anti-choice activist David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress, a group Newman co-founded.

“We are grateful to Q and the Trump Administration for taking the evidence against Planned Parenthood seriously and bringing it to the attention of an audience that may otherwise never have been exposed to the truth,” Newman said. “We hope the QAnon exposure helps wake up Americans to the barbarity of abortion.” In other posts, Sullenger elaborated on the conspiracy theory that Planned Parenthood traffics in human organs with the political protection of liberal philanthropist George Soros.

Sullenger gave Q another shoutout after the conspiracy theorists linked to remarks by Susan Hirschmann, the executive director of the conservative Eagle Forum, presented during Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 1993 Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Hirschmann accuses Ginsburg of being in favor of child trafficking because of a report Ginsburg co-wrote for the federal government; she was hired to review the federal code and flag everything sexist. One obvious candidate was the Mann Act, also known as the White Slave Traffic Act, which criminalized taking women and girls (but not men or boys) across state lines for “immoral purpose” a catchall that punished consensual sex between adults. Sullenger falsely claimed, citing Hirshmann, that Ginsburg sought to lower the age of consent to 12 years in order to facilitate sex trafficking. Continue reading.

Phillips Calls on Congress to Denounce QAnon Conspiracy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips took to the floor of the House of Representatives to call on his colleagues to disavow dangerous anti-Semitic conspiracy theories like QAnon that are weaponizing the political process.

WATCH: Dean Phillips speaks on the House floor

Remarks as prepared:

Thank you Mr/Madam Speaker,

“I rise today to urge a unanimous YES vote on Mr. Malinowski’s resolution.  EVERY ONE OF US here swore the same oath to defend our nation from enemies both foreign and domestic – and QAnon is a dangerous enemy lurking within our borders that must be forcefully and unanimously condemned.

Continue reading “Phillips Calls on Congress to Denounce QAnon Conspiracy”

Disinformation, QAnon efforts targeting Latino voters ramp up ahead of presidential election

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Disinformation targeting Latino communities is ramping up ahead of Election Day, when the demographic is expected to play a crucial role in key battleground states. 

Advocacy groups and election security experts alike say material is circulating on social media platforms and online messaging apps that pushes false conspiracies that echo larger disinformation campaigns in English.

The misinformation efforts, some of which reflect the QAnon conspiracy theory, are especially critical in Florida, a crucial swing state where polls show Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is running behind Hillary Clinton’s 2016 support among Latino voters.  Continue reading.

QAnon on the ballot: Six GOP-endorsed Minnesota candidates back conspiracy theory

The theory includes false claims that Satanists and pedophiles run the government and that COVID-19 is part of a plot to steal the election. 

At least a half-dozen Minnesota Republicans running for state legislative seats in November have promoted the sprawling, false QAnon conspiracy that claims Satanists and pedophiles run the government and that COVID-19 is part of a plot to steal the election.

Once a fringe fiction, QAnon is quickly seeping into mainstream Republican politics as scores of GOP candidates across the country express support for it. Among them are six candidates endorsed by the Minnesota Republican Party for state House and Senate seats from the Iron Range to the metro suburbs.

In some cases, Minnesota candidates have used official social media pages for their campaigns to post slogans in support of QAnon, which the FBI has warned is a conspiracy theory that could inspire domestic terrorism or violence. Some posts include references to a “Great Awakening” or “The Storm,” a prophesied reckoning in which elected officials, journalists and other members of “the Deep State” are rounded up for imprisonment or execution. Continue reading.

ICYMI: Six GOP-endorsed Minnesota candidates back conspiracy theory

New reporting from the Star Tribune has revealed the extent to which the QAnon conspiracy theory has permeated the Republican Party of Minnesota. At least six Minnesota Republican Party-endorsed candidates have professed belief in the deranged conspiracy cult.

The Star Tribune: QAnon on the ballot: Six GOP-endorsed Minnesota candidates back conspiracy theory

By Stephen Montemayor

At least a half-dozen Minnesota Republicans running for state legislative seats in November have promoted the sprawling QAnon conspiracy theory that includes false claims that Satanists and pedophiles run the government and that COVID-19 is part of a plot to steal the election.

Once dismissed as a fringe movement, QAnon is quickly seeping into mainstream Republican politics as scores of GOP candidates across the country express support for its ideas. Among them are six candidates endorsed by the Minnesota Republican Party for state House and Senate seats from the Iron Range to the metro suburbs.

Continue reading “ICYMI: Six GOP-endorsed Minnesota candidates back conspiracy theory”

The Destructive Cult That’s Eating The Republican Party Alive

For a certain kind of Republican, it is hard to imagine anything worse than the party founded by Abraham Lincoln transmogrified into the party of Donald Trump. Some of those Republicans have openly abandoned the once Grand Old Party, while others quietly await a reform or restoration. Only a few have acknowledged so far that the authoritarian and racist trends in their party cannot be blamed on Trump alone and were visible well before he took over.

Yet as awful and dangerous as Trump undeniably is, there may be something worse ahead for Republicans. That thing is called QAnon, the online phenomenon that has declared war on an international conspiracy of elitist pedophiles and cannibals, which, of course, doesn’t exist.

The burgeoning movement, supposedly directed by a mysterious government official known as Q, already has established itself as an alternative source of authority within the Republican Party. Congressional candidates who support or endorse QAnon, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia, are likely to be sent to Washington from solidly Republican districts where they won primaries. It is astonishing to realize that nearly 80 QAnon supporters stood for election in this cycle, nearly all of them Republicans. Continue reading.

2 QAnon Promoters Will Rally Voters For Trump At Official Events This Weekend

The Trump campaign is not requiring masks or social distancing at the events — but attendees must sign a COVID-19 liability waiver.

The Trump campaign is hosting events across the country this weekend to capitalize on whatever momentum the Republican National Convention created and mobilize the party’s base of voters to turn out in November. HuffPost found that official campaign events in Georgia and Nevada will be hosted by people who promote QAnon, the hateful conspiracy theory that the FBI recently flagged as a domestic terror threat. 

Neither masks nor social distancing appear to be mandatory for any of the gatherings — and they have not been required at numerous Trump reelection events over the past two weeks, where campaign surrogates and supporters have frequently crowded into relatively small spaces without proper protection. Attendees are required to waive their right to sue the campaign and the host venue if they contract the coronavirus at the event. 

QAnon adherents baselessly claim that the world is controlled by a cabal of satanic, pedophiliac Democrats and wealthy Hollywood socialites who run a global sex trafficking ring and feed on the blood of abused children. They claim that President Donald Trump is engaged in a secret battle against the satanists and their so-called deep state supporters in government. QAnon rhetoric is steeped in anti-Semitism and threats of violence, and the FBI has warned it poses a domestic terrorism threat. Continue reading.

Facebook removes QAnon conspiracy group with 200,000 members

Facebook has deleted a large group dedicated to sharing and discussing QAnon conspiracy theories.

QAnon is a wide-ranging, unfounded conspiracy theory that a “deep state” network of powerful government, business and media figures are waging a secret war against Donald Trump.

A Facebook spokeswoman said the group was removed for “repeatedly posting content that violated our policies”.

Last month both Twitter and TikTok also cracked down on QAnon content. Continue reading.