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QAnon is conspiratorial, dangerous, and growing. And we're talking about it all wrong.
CNN Business ^ | 14 August 2020 | Brian Stelter

Posted on 08/14/2020 3:57:07 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

QAnon is a virtual cult that celebrates President Trump and casts Democratic politicians and other elites as evil child abusers. Aspects of the cult are downright delusional. Last year an FBI office warned that Q adherents are a domestic terrorism threat. Despite all of that, or maybe because of all that, this dangerous nonsense seems to be spreading. It is cropping up in congressional races and national news coverage. In recent weeks many observers of the online information ecosystem have written, with growing concern, about the mainstreaming of QAnon. Reporters like Kevin Roose of The New York Times and Ben Collins of NBC have said that the conspiracy theory is in much wider circulation than polite society wants to admit.

Much of the conspiracy conversation happens in the social media shadows, in private groups. Earlier this week NBC's Ari Sen and Brandy Zadrozny reported that "an internal investigation by Facebook has uncovered thousands of groups and pages, with millions of members and followers, that support the QAnon conspiracy theory." The source? Internal Facebook documents. The company is weighing taking action against its QAnon community. Twitter recently made similar moves.

SNIP

So I asked her to elaborate. Here's what she wrote to me: "QAnon offers its adherents an addictive alternative reality that requires their participation and, through this participation, draws them into the elaborate architecture of the conspiracy. It exploits the sense that something is broken in our society. But rather than focus on understanding these social fractures and healing them, QAnon instead fixates on the pursuit of enemies and villains described in such extreme terms that any action — either by adherents or by identified champions like President Trump —becomes justifiable. By drawing on the culture and value system, Q adherents have justified violent attacks."

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Conspiracy
KEYWORDS: blm; brianstelter; cnn; dangerous; qanon; stelter
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

From the scant objective material that exists on the internet about “Q” and the whole “deep state” plot to protect Trump it appears to me that the whole meme was created by leftist media like CNN. Its a classic case of “projection”, i.e. attributing Trump’s inexplicable election to some nefarious team of embedded military and IC spooks. Its just a domestic version of the “Russia” hoax.

What isn’t a hoax is the saturation bombing of leftist news source with ridiculous and non-specific gibberish like this article.


81 posted on 08/14/2020 6:29:36 PM PDT by Dave Wright
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
Here's another journalist that needs the Julius Streicher treatment when the war is over.
82 posted on 08/14/2020 6:30:48 PM PDT by backwoods-engineer (Politics is the continuation of war by other means. --Clausewitz)
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To: generally

Excellent post.

I’ve read one possibility is that the DS knows that soon Q predictions will begin to manifest, thus the mass censorship.

That will certainly get interesting when very specific predictions begin to happen.


83 posted on 08/14/2020 6:33:59 PM PDT by MNDude
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To: dubyagee

Yeah I know. The leadership does, But the followers don’t.


84 posted on 08/14/2020 6:35:20 PM PDT by tinyowl (A is A)
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To: TruthWillWin

” those that agree with CNN on this issue are socially/intellectually superior? “
LOL!
How about: “intellectually equal”?
That’s insult enough to the qanons...


85 posted on 08/14/2020 6:40:50 PM PDT by mrsmith (`(US MEDIA: " Every 'White' cop is a criminal! And all the 'non-white' criminals saints!")
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To: TruthWillWin

No not necessarily

I’m saying we should get back to normal conservative topics like lower taxes, gun rights, individual liberties and religious freedom strong defense etc., and not made up stuff like lizard people cults putting microchips in people

I also honestly regret saying anything that might have sounded rude


86 posted on 08/14/2020 6:52:55 PM PDT by Nomad577
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To: Nomad577
I’m saying we should get back to normal conservative topics like lower taxes, gun rights, individual liberties and religious freedom strong defense etc., and not made up stuff like lizard people cults putting microchips in people

Are you serious that they're not going to try chipping people?

They're already pushing it *for the children* and to protect senile old grandma and grandpa.

And IMO, lizard people is the PERFECT description of democrats.

87 posted on 08/14/2020 7:17:52 PM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: Nomad577
I also honestly regret saying anything that might have sounded rude

Huh?

You have labeled Q followers "socially/intellectually inferior" and "lizard people cults"

Name calling is characteristic of liberals?

88 posted on 08/14/2020 7:24:58 PM PDT by TruthWillWin
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
So let me get this straight, conspiracy "nuts"(how the left has described them) is a dangerous cult but rioting fascists and BLM, murdering and injuring people, looting and causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage are peaceful protesters?

Were Brian Stelter's words just before he wrote this crap "Hold my Beer"?

89 posted on 08/14/2020 8:55:54 PM PDT by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: teletech
Is Q “”Over the Target”? YOU BET!

Exactly what I was just thinking.

90 posted on 08/14/2020 9:49:24 PM PDT by The Duke (President Trump = America's Last, Best Chanca)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
"Brain" Stelter needs to join the Spandau Ballet.

I'd love to see that moon-faced fattie dance...

91 posted on 08/14/2020 10:18:17 PM PDT by kiryandil (Chris Wallace: Because someone has to drive the Clown Car)
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To: JennysCool

Sounds like “Brain” Stelter might be a little worried that his alleged child sex-trafficking activities might be exposed in the near future...


92 posted on 08/14/2020 10:20:51 PM PDT by kiryandil (Chris Wallace: Because someone has to drive the Clown Car)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
So I asked her [Molly McKew] to elaborate. Here's what she [Molly McKew] wrote to me: "QAnon offers its adherents an addictive alternative reality that requires their participation and, through this participation, draws them into the elaborate architecture of the conspiracy.

I would expect that an alleged child-sex trafficker like Molly McKew would be concerned about Q-Anon.

It would threaten both her alleged source of income, and her alleged source of jollies...

93 posted on 08/14/2020 10:26:26 PM PDT by kiryandil (Chris Wallace: Because someone has to drive the Clown Car)
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To: backwoods-engineer

“Brain” should practice holding his breath...


94 posted on 08/14/2020 10:29:24 PM PDT by kiryandil (Chris Wallace: Because someone has to drive the Clown Car)
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To: alicewonders; pbear8
“Perhaps they want to raise awareness and then send out a mass shooter who will have invented ties to QAnon.”

This is definitely an attempt to label this movement as dangerous.

From the article:

It is a dangerous, fully immersive alternative reality that is inspiring its followers to plan domestic terrorist attacks. It is, in other words, a system of radicalization.

95 posted on 08/14/2020 11:07:38 PM PDT by pax_et_bonum (God is good, He loves us, and He is always with us.)
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To: Okeydoker

96 posted on 08/15/2020 12:03:48 AM PDT by bagster ("Even bad men love their mamas".)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
"QAnon offers its adherents an addictive alternative reality...

Opposite.

Qanon exposes the false reality presented by the deep state media. It pulls back the curtain, so to speak. Looking at the world through the Q lens, gives a glimpse of the true reality.

The world of the Epstein operation being used to control governments, for example.

None are so blind as those who will not see.

#Matrix


97 posted on 08/15/2020 12:10:05 AM PDT by bagster ("Even bad men love their mamas".)
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To: Jane Long
the conspiracy theory is in much wider circulation than polite society wants to admit.

Polite society is becoming more and more aware of the phenomenon. That's a good first step for them.

I see we have some members of polite society on this thread.

#TheGreatAwakening


98 posted on 08/15/2020 12:13:36 AM PDT by bagster ("Even bad men love their mamas".)
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To: Seruzawa
If you label a group with cultlike status, you can do as you wish with them.

That's a bingo.


99 posted on 08/15/2020 12:14:56 AM PDT by bagster ("Even bad men love their mamas".)
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To: mrsmith
Though it does encourage people to question the media’s narratives it doesn’t give much help to do so.

That's the opposite of the truth.

Millions of brains in the 'hive mind' (you might call it a cult) take what is offered and run off to open source materials digging up the truth and sharing it with each other.

Best cult EVER.

The derp state (polite society) is afraid. Very afraid.


100 posted on 08/15/2020 12:21:18 AM PDT by bagster ("Even bad men love their mamas".)
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