Qanon / Conspiracy

[midcan5]

'Reason and rationality have never been more important than they are today.' From OP below

Qanon took a big hit, Trump lost. But consider too their many misses. So why do people still believe. I'll offer some thoughts on topic, included will be many sources for your analysis. Life often doesn't make easy sense, it seems too random, too confusing, too complex, so then why not invent a hidden conspiracy of planners and doers hidden but in control. You can name them too, they fill history. Spirits, ghosts, demons, witches, fill in your favorite foe and instigator. But but we know they are behind it all. It seems so simple, reveal them, but then what do you do? Lots of bad history here. And lots of evil which is often the bad part of conspiracy thought. Make sure you check out the 'Bad Thinkers' piece.

Bloomberg and others investigated Qanon founder, see YouTube below. I've included several detailed discussions for those who want to investigate the whys and hows of conspiracy thinking. A deep dive into topic.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...uts-down-after-n-j-man-identified-as-operator


'EXCLUSIVE: Failed Screenwriter from New Jersey Behind One of QAnon’s Most Influential Personas'

https://www.logically.ai/articles/e...ehind-one-of-qanons-most-influential-personas


'What Comes Next For QAnon Followers'

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-comes-next-for-qanon-followers/

'The QAnon Timeline: Four Years, 5,000 Drops and Countless Failed Prophecies'
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2021/01/29/the-qanon-timeline/


'How to Extract Adrenochrome from Children'

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4750


'How the QAnon Conspiracy Seduces Normal People'

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...qanon-how-conspiracy-can-seduce-normal-people


'Bad thinkers'

https://aeon.co/essays/the-intellectual-character-of-conspiracy-theorists


'Learning By Thinking, A Conversation With Tania Lombrozo '

https://www.edge.org/conversation/tania_lombrozo-learning-by-thinking


Bloomberg Qanon Investigation

'The gullible rarely believe they are gullible and the closed-minded don’t believe they are closed-minded.'

 

[Stone]

Boy....... a whole lot of this country's big players have invested a whole lot of time trying to discredit a little ole crazy conspiracy theory. Wonder why? Btw,....the discrediting didnt just start,....has been going on for well over 2 years.

 

[Stone]

I still dont think many understand. Thats because I am on Q..LOL and so many are still back on H so to speak. Hell, some cant even get off of A yet. To be clear....... It is about GETTING PEOPLE OFF THEIR ASS AND DOING THEIR OWN RESEARCH instead of just trusting WITHOUT EVIDENCE some main stream media propaganda shill with a PROVEN TRACK RECORD of LYING TO YOU.

 

[floridafan]

I still dont think many understand. Thats because I am on Q..LOL and so many are still back on H so to speak. Hell, some cant even get off of A yet. To be clear....... It is about GETTING PEOPLE OFF THEIR ASS AND DOING THEIR OWN RESEARCH instead of just trusting WITHOUT EVIDENCE some main stream media propaganda shill with a PROVEN TRACK RECORD of LYING TO YOU.

Its only the mainstream media who lie, not Breitbart, Newsmax or OANN? Not Hannity or Limbaugh?

 

[Trumpet]

Boy....... a whole lot of this country's big players have invested a whole lot of time trying to discredit a little ole crazy conspiracy theory. Wonder why? Btw,....the discrediting didnt just start,....has been going on for well over 2 years.

You need to take your meds for your mental illness.

 

[CASPER]

Its only the mainstream media who lie, not Breitbart, Newsmax or OANN? Not Hannity or Limbaugh?

While a valid point, the Q followers will simply discount that by stating that everyone lies, look at what they say when people point out that trump lies all the time, so that point will just bounce off them.

The truth of the matter is that Q followers think that they know the truth and everyone else are following Fake news and Fake facts and as such no argument or facts that you present will be acceptable because to them your argument is based on lies.

Just as with hardcore trump supporters the Q followers are fed lies and when presented with the truth and facts they simply discount them, sometimes they try to argue back using the same lies they have come to believe, or often simply discounting your argument off-hand and ignoring it

A Prime example was what happened on Jan. 6, why did that happen, was it simply spontaneous or was it based on false information about the election. They were told there was going to be massive fraud even before the election occurred, then when the results came in they were fed the "truth" that there was massive fraud and that they needed to "Stop the Steal". Then the trump camp doubled down with having lawyers filing case after case to make sure the message of fraud being committed and they were fighting it. All of this was believed and many still believe it even though every State and Every Government Agency involved with monitoring the election, including trumps own man running the DOJ, has come out and said that the elections was fair and square and no massive fraud was committed. Amazing but true, and that is how we ended it up having People storming the US Capital to supposedly fight for their country, and they believed they were doing the Patriotic thing, because they believed the Lie, many still do.

Q and trump have both used the same tactics and they know those tactics work, and they do work, the proof is right in front of us too see. It is not a new idea, many past dictators have used exactly the same message, say a Big Lie, repeat that Lie over and over, and eventually many people will accept the Lie as Truth because they have heard the Lie so many times it must be Truth or they would not keep saying it.

Now how do you fight it? Facts and the actual truth are discounted as Lies, Fake News ring a bell, so censor the Lies to at least reduce the spread, notice the reaction to that from the far right. So what can we do? Seriously, if Facts and Truth along with limiting the spread of Lies does not work then what is left????????

Hold on Folks, we are in for a bumpy ride.

 

[Cypress]

I read an article which claimed it is overwhelmingly baby boomers who are being duped by Q.

The explanation is that boomers are not tech or internet savvy, and are not as capable of detecting internet spoofs, misinformation, trolling.

 

[Concart]

Boy....... a whole lot of this country's big players have invested a whole lot of time trying to discredit a little ole crazy conspiracy theory. Wonder why? Btw,....the discrediting didnt just start,....has been going on for well over 2 years.

You can stop wondering. QAnon theories have now been responsible for an attack on the capitol building, and has fostered an environment that has cost hundreds of thousands of American lives. Q is cancer that needs to be radically removed. It might be the most dangerous world view out there. QAnon theories and those who follow them need to be brought to heel and shut down.

 

[CASPER]

You can stop wondering. QAnon theories have now been responsible for an attack on the capitol building, and has fostered an environment that has cost hundreds of thousands of American lives. Q is cancer that needs to be radically removed. It might be the most dangerous world view out there. QAnon theories and those who follow them need to be brought to heel and shut down.

Wish it were that easy, the Q is worldwide now. So how can that even be done?

 

[Dutch Uncle]

'Reason and rationality have never been more important than they are today.' From OP below

Qanon took a big hit, Trump lost. But consider too their many misses. So why do people still believe. I'll offer some thoughts on topic, included will be many sources for your analysis. Life often doesn't make easy sense, it seems too random, too confusing, too complex, so then why not invent a hidden conspiracy of planners and doers hidden but in control. You can name them too, they fill history. Spirits, ghosts, demons, witches, fill in your favorite foe and instigator. But but we know they are behind it all. It seems so simple, reveal them, but then what do you do? Lots of bad history here. And lots of evil which is often the bad part of conspiracy thought. Make sure you check out the 'Bad Thinkers' piece.

Bloomberg and others investigated Qanon founder, see YouTube below. I've included several detailed discussions for those who want to investigate the whys and hows of conspiracy thinking. A deep dive into topic.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...uts-down-after-n-j-man-identified-as-operator


'EXCLUSIVE: Failed Screenwriter from New Jersey Behind One of QAnon’s Most Influential Personas'

https://www.logically.ai/articles/e...ehind-one-of-qanons-most-influential-personas


'What Comes Next For QAnon Followers'

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-comes-next-for-qanon-followers/

'The QAnon Timeline: Four Years, 5,000 Drops and Countless Failed Prophecies'
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2021/01/29/the-qanon-timeline/


'How to Extract Adrenochrome from Children'

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4750


'How the QAnon Conspiracy Seduces Normal People'

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...qanon-how-conspiracy-can-seduce-normal-people


'Bad thinkers'

https://aeon.co/essays/the-intellectual-character-of-conspiracy-theorists


'Learning By Thinking, A Conversation With Tania Lombrozo '

https://www.edge.org/conversation/tania_lombrozo-learning-by-thinking


Bloomberg Qanon Investigation

'The gullible rarely believe they are gullible and the closed-minded don’t believe they are closed-minded.'

I'm looking forward to the day when Trump starts giving out the Kool-Aid and Q-anon will be gone.

 

[Phantasmal]

Boy....... a whole lot of this country's big players have invested a whole lot of time trying to discredit a little ole crazy conspiracy theory. Wonder why? Btw,....the discrediting didnt just start,....has been going on for well over 2 years.

Wonder why, because they are crazy conspiracy theories that have caused people to lose a grip on reality, that is not good for a society to let crazy people run amuck. The storming of the Capitol is what happens when leaders allow the crazy people a platform.

 

[Concart]

Wish it were that easy, the Q is worldwide now. So how can that even be done?

I don't think it will easy. But they are an existential threat to democracy. The danger of Q is it's unwavering belief that only one man can fix things. What logically follows is that no institutions can be trusted, and the only way to fix things is to install Trump as a dictator. I realize this is world wide, but much of the core of QAnon beliefs is very specific to the US, and to Democrats. There is lots of talk of unity, and my definition of 'unity' is for sane Democrats and Republicans to unify to shut this nonsense down. One of the upsides of Trump is that mainstream Republicans and Democrats have found out that they have more in common than they might have believed. That might be the one positive that has come out of this. Who would have thought that Democrats would be holding up Mitt Romney as a beacon of virtue and integrity? That's progress.

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

I read an article which claimed it is overwhelmingly baby boomers who are being duped by Q.

The explanation is that boomers are not tech or internet savvy, and are not as capable of detecting internet spoofs, misinformation, trolling.

If you run across that again I'd like to read it too. It was my impression that #QAnon followers were somewhat younger, at least from the photos I've seen of them acting like fools in public. Greene is not a Boomer either. They are definitely people unable to do much in the way of critical thinking, and that fits with the younger demographic as well. For the last 30 years public schools have focused more on test scores and less on teaching how to learn, and how to think critically.

Conspiracy theories exist because there is always going to be a subset in any given population of those who lack self-esteem and perceive themselves to be somehow less than others around them. The gathering of minds around a conspiracy theory allows them to feel powerful and in possession of knowledge that those so-called elites lack. They also have a simpatico group to belong to. It's really not a lot different than joining a fundie church (of any religion). You're required to suspend belief in what is real in order to belong. We are social animals, and belonging is nearly as important as food, shelter, water.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

I don't think it will easy. But they are an existential threat to democracy. The danger of Q is it's unwavering belief that only one man can fix things. What logically follows is that no institutions can be trusted, and the only way to fix things is to install Trump as a dictator. I realize this is world wide, but much of the core of QAnon beliefs is very specific to the US, and to Democrats. There is lots of talk of unity, and my definition of 'unity' is for sane Democrats and Republicans to unify to shut this nonsense down. One of the upsides of Trump is that mainstream Republicans and Democrats have found out that they have more in common than they might have believed. That might be the one positive that has come out of this. Who would have thought that Democrats would be holding up Mitt Romney as a beacon of virtue and integrity? That's progress.

It's all tied to Trump and is just a new spin on a cult of personality. The day Trump keels over on his toilet from too much rich food and snorting too much Adderall will be the day Q-anon will finally die.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/30/washington-trump-and-cults-of-personality/
Trump’s betting that attacking his own civil servants, delegitimizing rivals, undermining the public’s confidence in mail-in voting during a pandemic, refusing to say that he’ll accept the results of November’s election, and blustering about staying in the White House past a second term will energize Republican voters who see each outrage as a step toward a national redemption that only he can bring. When people put loyalty to a savior above common sense, they’re in the thrall of a personality cult.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

I read an article which claimed it is overwhelmingly baby boomers who are being duped by Q.

The explanation is that boomers are not tech or internet savvy, and are not as capable of detecting internet spoofs, misinformation, trolling.

If you run across that again I'd like to read it too. It was my impression that #QAnon followers were somewhat younger, at least from the photos I've seen of them acting like fools in public. Greene is not a Boomer either. They are definitely people unable to do much in the way of critical thinking, and that fits with the younger demographic as well. For the last 30 years public schools have focused more on test scores and less on teaching how to learn, and how to think critically.

Conspiracy theories exist because there is always going to be a subset in any given population of those who lack self-esteem and perceive themselves to be somehow less than others around them. The gathering of minds around a conspiracy theory allows them to feel powerful and in possession of knowledge that those so-called elites lack. They also have a simpatico group to belong to. It's really not a lot different than joining a fundie church (of any religion). You're required to suspend belief in what is real in order to belong. We are social animals, and belonging is nearly as important as food, shelter, water.

Is this it? https://mashable.com/article/qanon-conspiracy-baby-boomers-4chan/
While regulars in the conspiracy theory world, like recently de-platformed Alex Jones, have come out against the QAnon conspiracy, saying they don't believe Q is who he says he is, Sommers points out how QAnon is extremely popular among Trump-loving baby boomers. QAnon followers skew shockingly old for a conspiracy theory that began on 4chan, the infamous online forum known mostly for its shitposting teens and long history of supporting internet hoaxes.

The Pew Research Center recently found that more than 60 percent of people between the ages of 50 and 65 are now on at least one social network. And, according to some studies, baby boomers, typically defined as those born between 1946 and 1964, now spend even more time online than millennials.

Most revealing, though, is what studies have found when it comes to how baby boomers use the internet and social media. Boomers take action based on what they see and read online. They are 19 percent more likely to share content than any other generation, especially when it comes to political content. While boomers are most likely to seek out more information on something they come across on the internet, a study found that only 10 percent of them share information with the intent of educating their online audience. Boomers are opinionated and share content as long as it's meaningful to them.

However, boomers, a majority of which voted for Donald Trump, didn't grow up with the internet, and didn't develop their relationship with technology in the same was as subsequent generations. They're soaking up the latest tech but they may not necessarily be as skeptical of less mainstream platforms like 4chan and 8chan (another, even fringier platform where Q now posts his/her/their latest updates), places where trolls reign supreme and people often fabricate events out of thin air just to get a rise out of others. Boomers are looking for political content to share, and these forums have plenty to give. Whether or not it's factual often takes a backseat to whether or not it's provocative.

The web unravels
One of the early viral QAnon moments is a perfect showcase of how the conspiracy is fueled by boomers who may be confused by how these tech platforms work. Screenshots like this one, which spread in November of last year, reinforce the idea among the less tech-savvy that Q is connected to Trump like Q says.

 

[Cypress]

If you run across that again I'd like to read it too. It was my impression that #QAnon followers were somewhat younger, at least from the photos I've seen of them acting like fools in public. Greene is not a Boomer either. They are definitely people unable to do much in the way of critical thinking, and that fits with the younger demographic as well. For the last 30 years public schools have focused more on test scores and less on teaching how to learn, and how to think critically.

Conspiracy theories exist because there is always going to be a subset in any given population of those who lack self-esteem and perceive themselves to be somehow less than others around them. The gathering of minds around a conspiracy theory allows them to feel powerful and in possession of knowledge that those so-called elites lack. They also have a simpatico group to belong to. It's really not a lot different than joining a fundie church (of any religion). You're required to suspend belief in what is real in order to belong. We are social animals, and belonging is nearly as important as food, shelter, water.

Some good insights.

I might be in the boomer age range too, so it gives me no pleasure to make my generation look like dunces!

I cannot find the article I read right now, but a quick google search turned up some articles which posed the hilarious question: "Did your crazy Uncle fall for Qanon?"

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

Is this it? https://mashable.com/article/qanon-conspiracy-baby-boomers-4chan/
While regulars in the conspiracy theory world, like recently de-platformed Alex Jones, have come out against the QAnon conspiracy, saying they don't believe Q is who he says he is, Sommers points out how QAnon is extremely popular among Trump-loving baby boomers. QAnon followers skew shockingly old for a conspiracy theory that began on 4chan, the infamous online forum known mostly for its shitposting teens and long history of supporting internet hoaxes.

Interesting, thanks.

Being a credulous, easily-duped, low-info RW person seems to be the common thread in those who believe that whackadoo stuff. You only have to look at the idiots here who believe it to realize that truth.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Interesting, thanks.

Being a credulous, easily-duped, low-info RW person seems to be the common thread in those who believe that whackadoo stuff. You only have to look at the idiots here who believe it to realize that truth.

In the case of Trump, agreed. However, as the many cultists who continue to support Hillary despite decades of evidence, "credulous, easily-duped, low-info" people are not confined solely to the Republican party.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Wonder why, because they are crazy conspiracy theories that have caused people to lose a grip on reality, that is not good for a society to let crazy people run amuck. The storming of the Capitol is what happens when leaders allow the crazy people a platform.

Thank Al Gore for inventing the Internet.

 

[PoliTalker]

Hello midcan5,

Thanks for putting this together:

'Reason and rationality have never been more important than they are today.' From OP below

Qanon took a big hit, Trump lost. But consider too their many misses. So why do people still believe. I'll offer some thoughts on topic, included will be many sources for your analysis. Life often doesn't make easy sense, it seems too random, too confusing, too complex, so then why not invent a hidden conspiracy of planners and doers hidden but in control. You can name them too, they fill history. Spirits, ghosts, demons, witches, fill in your favorite foe and instigator. But but we know they are behind it all. It seems so simple, reveal them, but then what do you do? Lots of bad history here. And lots of evil which is often the bad part of conspiracy thought. Make sure you check out the 'Bad Thinkers' piece.

Bloomberg and others investigated Qanon founder, see YouTube below. I've included several detailed discussions for those who want to investigate the whys and hows of conspiracy thinking. A deep dive into topic.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...uts-down-after-n-j-man-identified-as-operator


'EXCLUSIVE: Failed Screenwriter from New Jersey Behind One of QAnon’s Most Influential Personas'

https://www.logically.ai/articles/e...ehind-one-of-qanons-most-influential-personas


'What Comes Next For QAnon Followers'

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-comes-next-for-qanon-followers/

'The QAnon Timeline: Four Years, 5,000 Drops and Countless Failed Prophecies'
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2021/01/29/the-qanon-timeline/


'How to Extract Adrenochrome from Children'

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4750


'How the QAnon Conspiracy Seduces Normal People'

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...qanon-how-conspiracy-can-seduce-normal-people


'Bad thinkers'

https://aeon.co/essays/the-intellectual-character-of-conspiracy-theorists


'Learning By Thinking, A Conversation With Tania Lombrozo '

https://www.edge.org/conversation/tania_lombrozo-learning-by-thinking


Bloomberg Qanon Investigation

'The gullible rarely believe they are gullible and the closed-minded don’t believe they are closed-minded.'

Wow, excellent compilation of information - most informative!

Looks like a lot of work went into this OP. It's going to take a while to go through it all, but I have a feeling it will be well worth it.

That video was awesome. Ordinarily I would not spend 12 minutes to watch a vid that somebody posted, but because I regard you as one of our best informed posters I went ahead and took the time. It was worth it. Very nice to see that. And what a huge breakthrough in exposing some of the instigators behind the Qanonsense.

So encouraging to hear solid sense and reason pushing out garbage-thought and mindless rumor.

Thanks!