Just Why Do So Many Americans Believe in QAnon?
On top of all the other grief and aggravation it brought us, 2020 also seemed to the year of “conspiracy theories.” Here we are three months or so into 2021, and such beliefs show no signs of abating. In fact, as the pandemic continues and vaccines are becoming available, conspiracy theories seem to be ramping up, and support of Qanon continues despite none of his predictions about Trump coming true!
Why do so many Americans believe in Qanon, and are such beliefs completely misguided and baseless?
To recap, “Qanon” is the collective name for a whole host of “conspiracy theories” that are spread by a mysterious figure known only as “Q.” At the base of all of the myriad cult-like teachings of Q is that there is a Satan-worshipping cabal of pedophiles—mainly consisting of what they see as elitist Democrats, politicians, journalists, entertainment moguls, and other institutional figures, who have long controlled much of the so-called “deep state” of the government.
QAnon has attracted a lot of attention since the January 6th riots, where many followers of Q stormed the US Capitol building. Numerous members of the new congress, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, have previously expressed a belief in QAnon and have espoused his theories.
It easy to dismiss a lot of the crazier theories bandied about by Q and his followers – such as Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and other high-ranking Democratic officials, staying young by drinking the blood of babies. Have you looked at Nancy or Hillary lately? If this is true, I can definitely suggest they switch to Geritol cause that sh*t ain’t working!
Yet some of the other things believed by Q and his followers, such as those about COVID and the Trump election defeat, are not so easy to dismiss, and that explains to some degree QAnon’s continued, and in some cases, even growing appeal.
Donie O’Sullivan is an Irish reporter who covers disinformation for CNN. He’s recently made several reports on the QAnon phenomenon. During a recent podcast appearance, O’Sullivan gave a thoughtful reason why he believes Q is attracting such a large number of followers.
Speaking on the QAnon Anonymous Podcast, O’Sullivan expressed that many factors, including COVID-19, are reasons why people fall in line with Q. He said, “I certainly know that when I’m feeling depressed or anxious, you know, you cast a wide net and you start thinking about existential questions that you normally wouldn’t think about and you are willing to embrace very irrational answers, whether that’s about yourself, your life or your relationship. And I feel in some ways that is how we’ve seen the explosion of QAnon over the past 12 months.”
He added that the anger that has been built up towards China during the pandemic might have been facilitated over a need to believe that at least someone, even if they didn’t like them, was behind COVID, rather than it being a spontaneous and natural event. O’Sullivan added how this could play into a belief in the Q character.
“Q is someone who is in control, somebody who has all the answers. It’s someone particularly if you are a religious person and if you are dealing in religious texts that are thousands of years old, if Q is your godlike character and up until recently, posting several times a week, that’s really, really appealing if you’re in a state of anxiety because somebody appears to be in charge.”
O’Sullivan’s assessment lines up very closely with that of David Ludden Ph.D., who wrote in Psychology Today that people believe in conspiracy theories for these reasons:
- The desire for understanding and certainty
- The desire for control and security
- The desire to maintain a positive self-image
Those three needs, especially the need to understand and feel secure in the world around us, become even more important during an extended emotional, physical and financial crisis like the pandemic. Conspiracy theories become the floating piece of wood to grab a hold of by people who, for all intents and purposes, feel like they are drowning.
A new analysis finds that groups perpetuating QAnon conspiracy theory have increased in popularity on Facebook and Instagram since the start of the coronavirus pandemic as more people have spent more time at home and in front of screens. One Facebook group known as “QAnon News & Updates-Intel drops, breadcrumbs, & the war against the Cabal” increased its membership by more than ten times from January 1st to August 1st of 2020.
Perhaps some of the theories are true. What makes so so sure none are” Anywway they do not advocate violence like
antifa and BM
Rubbish. People don’t believe in “conspiracy theories” we believe in Conspiracies and anyone that doesn’t is seriously deluding themselves.
We are surrounded by hundreds, thousands of conspiracies. Many are political, most affect our lives. For example the conspiracy to hide the assassination of JFK from the public. Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t but that’s what the media would like you to believe. Or why the mafia still exists. The FBI knows who the mafia families are yet those mafia families continue to exist. Or who is Joe Biden’s puppet master? Or who rigged the 2020 election to make sure President Donald Trump lost. He didn’t lose but the system is horribly broken when voting machines are used and the federal court system sits by idly while our election is hijacked by an incompetent boob hiding in his basement. Yes, there ARE conspiracies and only a fool [or a Democrat] would deny them – because most of the criminal activity are committed by Democrats under the protection of the FBI, CIA, NSA and DoJ which IS a major part of the Deep State.
Actually…I know MANY people and bever even heard of this group until before 3020 election…would not even know how to access them …if I wanted .
I’d say this headline is quite misleading.
First of all….There is NO SUCH THING AS “QANON!” There is Q which is a group of 6-10 people at the top (fits on two hands)…Mostly but not all military….Worked together since at least the JFK Assassination and maybe earlier. Then there are ANONS who follow Q and try to interpret what Q says: Q states clearly that the “drops” are obscure and include disinformation. This is a war and you don’t let your enemy know your plans. Now once you guys get that straight….maybe your credibility will improve. P.S. Why do so many Americans believe MAINSTREAM MEDIA?
Q is the name of an AI machine, I reckon and we all know that AI machines eventually take on a mind of their own so to speak. Personally, I wouldn’t glibly dismiss what they predict/forecast.
The attraction of ‘Q’ and any other distrust to general information, press, media, entertainment, communication, internet platforms is the mass of lies and propaganda that has filled all our formerly, at least, half way trusted news and opinion channels.
Look at Vietnam, and it finally blew up, because reporters reported enormous war crimes – and the public reacted with open opposition to that. That was Journalism!
Today, they are “embedded” and stay Mum, whatever evil happens around them – but what not happens, except in CIA heads, gets out as HORRIBLE DEEDS OF … whoever they don’t like. There is a word for it in French: ‘Journaille’ – composed of Journalist+canaille (=crook).
Change back to Journalism Proper, and no suspicions will occur!
I would call it crooked journalism and have done with it.
By the way: MANY of the “predictions” of Q have come true! Who are you and what are your sources?
This article is so off and full of liberal BS. Don’t believe a word of it. I stopped reading it as soon as I got to the part where followers of Q rioted the Capitol of Jan. 6. That has been proven as false and proven that it was instigated by the promoters of BLM and Antifa. . I can’t believe this comes from a source named Patriotsnetworks
Basically, Patriot Network News, is simply relaying news items of interest to the patriotic public which includes Marxist Liberal drivel items like this one. It is necessary to know what kind of tripe the MSM is dishing up to the public under the guise of good journalism so that it can be counteracted at base.
The term Conspiracy Theory is used as a catch-all COVER-UP term for pretty well every nefarious act and utterance by government, judicial, education and media branches of every country.
Conspiracy Theories are more likely to turn out to be true than are the dubious explanations thrown at the public by such aforementioned bodies and the REAL reasons are that the aforesaid bodies can rarely be trusted to tell the truth anyway hence their COLLECTIVE almost hysterical responses designed to cancel alternative interpretation(s) of them and their actions. None such bodies take kindly to being even questioned let along held accountable for secretive and unsanctioned policies and actions they enact behind the backs of the public which they haven’t been first mandated to do. So, may the term Conspiracy Theory be considered to be more than just a grain of truth. It IS the truth.
I see this as an inspired tirade by ; winkin, blinkin, and Nod.
Cue I.
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Your article is pure rubbish. I was glad to see someone corrected you on the difference between Q and Anon. You press people are so brilliant! It reminds me of the hijacker from Seattle who called himself Dan Cooper. Then the press gets ahold of the story and calls him D.B. Cooper, because obviously they both sound alike…
So tired of all the blogs by fools who question whether or not a conservative used a mask when they went swimming in the ocean, but couldn’t see 100,000 ILLEGAL ALIENS “storming” the border if they were run down in the process.
First of all what’s QAnon??????? I’ think u are full of shit!!!!