I woke up this morning to see #JFKJRRETURN trending in the US and #PizzaGate trending over here in the UK. The QAnon movement is slowly taking over the internet. 25,000 tweets with #PizzaGate and 12,400 with #JFKJRRETURN (RTs included). So why are they trending? Let's have a look
If you're unfamiliar with Q terminology, JFK, Reagan and Trump are the only three presidents Q approves of. There's been a long-standing conspiracy in the movement that JKF Jr (who died in a plane crash in 1999) is alive and secretly working with Mr Trump against "deep state"
Some even believe JFK JR might be Q himeself - although this is disputed by some other followers - and spent some time "researching" this. They identified a guy who appeared in some of Mr Trump's rallies as JFK Jr. The man in questions is actually called Vincent Fusca
Here are some other words and hashtags that appeared alongside tweets with either #PizzaGate or #JFKJRRETURN Pretty clear which type of people are tweeting the hashtags. PizzaGate is the 2016 conspiracy that linked the basement of a DC pizzeria with "elite child abusers"
The JFK Jr hashtag was only trending in the US, while the PizzaGate one appeared in both the US and the UK. You might wonder why South Korea is there. It's because K-pop accounts have been "hijacking" right-wing hashtags for just over a week now
Anyway, the reason JFK Jr was trending is because a fake account under his name appeared and some Q followers went into a "told you so" frenzy. The account got tens of thousands of followers and then disabled/deleted itself. It's been coming and going regularly for months
Whoever's behind the account will probably continue reappearing occasionally to keep the conspiracy alive. For now, it's gone again. Needless to say, JFK Jr is DEAD. And he ain't coming back
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THREAD: Huge protests have broken out in Iran tonight after a call by Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the late Shah. Follow this thread for verified videos.
A large crowd of protesters on Kashani Blvd, west Tehran
Large numbers of protesters in Bagh Ferdows Square in the northern city of Babol chant "Long live the Shah" and "death to the dictator" tonight, on 12th day of protests in Iran.
Protesters gather outside a local police station in the southern city of Marvdasht as the sound of gunshots is heard in the background on the sixth day of protests in Iran.
@bbcpersian @GeoConfirmed A large group of protesters march in the centre of Marvdasht in Fars province after a protester named Khodadad Shirvani was killed during rallies in the city on 1 January.
THREAD: There have been questions about this video published by Iranian media today, which shows a deadly Israeli strikes on Tehran's Tajrish district on 15 June, with claims that the video is AI-generated and fake.
But the video is real and can be corroborated. Here's why.
First of all, the version that first went viral was very low-res and grainy, and that was the reason for some inconsistencies that could be seen in the footage.
The higher-resolution version, published later, looks more authentic.
But how can we confirm the strike happened?
Multiple videos were published by Iranian social media users on 15 June showing the aftermath of the strike.
The first strike targeted this building (35.805264, 51.435845) on Bahonar Street, just 100 metres from the second impact.
THREAD: New high-res satellite images released by Maxar Technologies on 24 June show new signs of damage at the Fordo nuclear site following an attack by Israel a day after the US bombed the facility.
New craters are visible at tunnel openings and buildings have been destroyed.
At Iran's Natanz enrichment facility, two craters right above the undergound buildings housing centrifuges that were visible after US strikes on 22 June have now been covered with dirt.
Before: 22 June
After: 24 June
📷@Maxar
@Maxar New Maxar Technologies satellite images show previously unseen damage to tunnel entrances at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre caused by US strikes on 22 June.