1/ Since everybody is talking about Qanon, I will, too, at least a little. Qanon is a rare type of conspiracy theory, because it has all of the following categories:
1. It is anonymous (the proponents of most conspiracy theories love the attention).
2. It is revelatory in nature
1. It is anonymous (the proponents of most conspiracy theories love the attention).
2. It is revelatory in nature
2/ (meaning that the originator purports to have access a source of secret but crucial information).
3. It is persistent/ongoing (rather than one info-dump, the originator doles out nuggets over time to entice/increase the audience).
Many conspiracy theories have one or two of
3. It is persistent/ongoing (rather than one info-dump, the originator doles out nuggets over time to entice/increase the audience).
Many conspiracy theories have one or two of
3/ these attributes, but Qanon has all three. The advantage of having all three is that no one can bring facts about the anonymous originator to bear against the theory, because the originator is anonymous, while the combination of anonymity plus alleged access to secret sources
4/ of information is a big lure, as people can conjure up whatever image in their mind they want to. Moreover, the fact that it is persistent means that people are less likely to tire of it and move on--each new revelation brings people back and makes them want more. These
5/ elements combine into a perfect storm for the gullible and naive, especially if they have are pre-invested, i.e., come to the conspiracy theory with a reason to want to believe (such as being supportive of Donald Trump).
I've mentioned before that the best earlier example of
I've mentioned before that the best earlier example of
6/ an anonymous persistent revelatory conspiracy theory is NESARA (there is a good Wikipedia article on it, so I won't go into details), which managed to entice and mesmerize an audience of mostly anti-government extremists for year after year. That's the power this type of
7/ theory can have. Qanon probably cannot have that same shelf-life, because its existence is dependent upon certain people (such as Trump and Mueller) and certain coming events (such as Mueller's final report), which the originator can only spin so much. Eventually, there
8/ will be something that the Qanon originator simply cannot fit into its narrative. However, until then, it can run wild, unless someone who knows the originator spills the beans, or an unlikely slip up allows the originator to be identified, thus losing the power of anonymity.
