Explain to me how Q people have been “fooled” when they’re the ones that look up the information themselves?
Well, I just came across this....
https://gab.com/WhipLash347/posts/105766685963593663
I haven’t followed the Q thing closely, and I did read all of the Q postings. I am actually not completely dismissive of Q. I’d love to know who and what it all is about. What I have experienced is a lot of Q followers posting about things that are about to happen as if it’s the God’s truth. I got quite caught up in the whole thing about kids being rescued from tunnels back when those hospital ships were docked on each coast. It’s not so much Q, but the many things that Q people were saying were going to happen that did not pan out.
So it isn’t so much Q, as the Q speculators. That’s where I got into some disagreements with Q followers. Don’t spread theories as truth. It’s pure speculation. A lot of people believed so much was going to happen that never did. Now, that’s not to say it won’t, but call it what it is....speculation. Two people I’ve heard are Charlie Ward and Simon Parkes....telling people stuff that turned out not to be true at all. I think it’s terrible to deceive people like that.
I realize this will have zero impact on you, but for the edification of those of us outside the cult, how about this, from a former Q cult member:
"Worth noting, conspiracy thinking hooks the brain because it feels like critical thinking. Even though it isn't."
That piece right there really is key.
As another user explained, the "do your own research" concept works to reinforce conspiracy theories while making people think they're coming to conclusions on their own, thanks to the way search engines and social media algorithms work:
"The idea behind the 'research' is that you are more likely to believe a source if YOU stumble upon it yourself vs if I tell you -go watch this video.
So if I tell you Hillary is a lizard person, watch this video ... It's easy to watch and dismiss me as a crazy that saw a dumb video. BUT ... if I tell you Hillary is a lizard person, but don't take my word for it - google it yourself.... and you come across hundreds of videos and articles about Hillary being a lizard person - that makes it all the more believable. Especially since there's so many articles saying Hillary is NOT a lizard person. If it wasn't true, why would people be making videos and articles 'debunking' it?
And the debunk articles are appearing higher in searches than the articles saying she is. Why is that? Is big tech in on it to ....and you see where this is going.
So their 'research' is just a way of manipulating people."
DB shared that it was hard to admit that they'd been played by a baseless conspiracy theory. "It's NOT easy realizing you've been conned, been a rube, been taken in," they wrote. "It was massively humbling to realize I'd been a sucker."
However, they are also surprised to see how much "crazier" QAnon has gotten, as when they left a couple of years ago they were "certain it would all be over soon." They weren't a "storm the Capitol" kind of believer, but rather a "snicker quietly to myself in my bedroom because those sheeple don't know the truth" type.
Link: https://www.upworthy.com/former-qanon-believer-q-and-a