Thread by @FinancialTimes

In less than 24 hours during a lonely pandemic lockdown, Leila Hay, a student from northern England, became a supporter of QAnon.

Although its main focus has been the US, the conspiracy theory has drawn in millions of supporters in dozens of countries on.ft.com/3thFe1k

But Leila Hay is also one of those who has managed to successfully leave QAnon — a painstaking process of deradicalisation, similar in some ways to the journey some Islamist extremists have undergone over the past two decades ft.com/content/571517…

For those who have left, their change of heart has often been aided by the fact that none of QAnon’s almost 5,000 predictions have materialised. But the conspiracy theory is still strong, especially because of small accounts on social media ft.com/content/571517…

The QAnon detox process is different for each person, sometimes taking a few weeks, sometimes taking years. Arie Kruglanski, who has worked with extremists of various creeds, says that deradicalisation is about building relationships with individuals ft.com/content/571517…

One indication of how complex it is to combat QAnon is the fierce disagreement over how to go about it. Some experts believe it is wrong to place too much emphasis on the idea that it is a result of ‘brainwashing’. Others prefer a more aggressive approach ft.com/content/571517…

‘There isn’t really a known leader and it’s decentralised — so it’s a virus that pops up everywhere.’ What are the deradicalisation tactics that have worked? And are social media platforms being held accountable for the spread of the theories? 👇 ft.com/content/571517…