Thread by @tomaspueyo

The hopes that QAnon will disappear with Biden’s inauguration will unfortunately be dashed.

Some followers will decamp. But a lot will be hardened.

How did we get here? What will happen? Why? And what can we do about it?
A🧵about cults & persuasion

https://twitter.com/laurenonthehill/status/1350886219262132227

The best lens to understand QAnon is as a cult: The 1st massive one to be born fully through social media. It is designed for Persuasion, and uses the best tools from cults.

1. Consistency
If you know a bit about Persuasion, you’ll recognize Consistency at play: Once ppl are down a path, they want to keep walking it. That’s why ppl stay in relationships or jobs they hate, for example.

influenceatwork.com/principles-of-…

Many QAnon followers have been following it for months. They would look stupid if they acknowledged that it was all false. So they don’t.

2. Within cults, QAnon resembles most Doomsday Cults, which promise deliverance to the followers on a certain doomsday.

“The event is only seen as a "doomsday" for the "wicked and unrepentant," whereas members of the group itself often regard it as a "day of deliverance," or a "renewal of the world." These groups are “the ultimate in exclusivity”.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_…

3. Dissonance Reduction
“Social scientists have found that, while some group members will leave after the date for a doomsday prediction by the leader has passed uneventfully, others actually feel their belief and commitment to the group strengthened.”

"...continuing to proselytize on behalf of a doomsday cult whose prophecies have been disconfirmed, although it makes little logical sense, makes plenty of psychological sense if ppl have already spent months proselytizing on the cult's behalf.”

“Persevering allows them to avoid the embarrassment of how wrong they were in the first place."

The evidence from reality is so painful (cognitive dissonance with their previous beliefs) that they shut down reality & find new evidence that reinforces their previous beliefs

“Explanations may include stating that the group members had misinterpreted the leader's original plan, that the cataclysmic event itself had been postponed to a later date by the leader, or that the activities of the group itself had forestalled disaster.”

4. Authority
Back to Persuasion theory, here the persuasion is even stronger because it relies on the ultimate source of authority, the president of the US. You hear many ppl saying they were at the Capitol because that’s what the president asked.

5. Social Proof
With millions of ppl following QAnon and liking each other’s memes, they get reinforced that they are in the right. How can so many ppl be wrong?

Each like, each share is like a little tap in the back saying: “We all think you’re right.”

6 Reciprocity
And since your new friends like your posts, you will want to reciprocate and like theirs too. That is a self-reinforcing loop.

7. Liking
The more you share these experiences, the more you build a community, and the more you like each other. The more you like each other, the more you’re open to listening to each other, and reinforce each other. Again a reinforcing loop.

8. Us vs. Them
Another one of the strongest Persuasion techniques: a group defined by who they are against. Here, the Libtards, the swamp, anybody who isn’t part of the cult.

This tool is used everywhere. Every politician makes up enemies to gain power.

In cults, this is especially dangerous, because it isolates members from those they love. The only thing they have left is the cult. They can’t break away.

Commitment, reciprocity, liking, us vs them, authority, social proof... all the aspects of persuasion are there.

But to persuade ppl, you need to grab their attention in the first place. And QAnok is great at it... because it’s engineered as a game

medium.com/curiouserinsti…

They also use all the tools to grab attention: mystery, randomness, newsworthiness...

So what can you do about it?
It’s famously hard to get ppl out of cults. But there are ways.
The key is to counter each one of the tools above.

nytimes.com/2018/09/26/mag…

The crucial one is Us vs. Them. Keep a relationship. Don’t be judgmental. Show you love them. That’s the bridge for them to come back.
Show you’re on their side. They’re not dumb. In fact, ppl who fall for cults tend to be more intelligent than average.

If they feel they can engage with you safely, kindly show the illogical parts of the cult. Show how many ppl agree with you.

The best that could happen is Trump disavowing it. Barring that, you’re on yourself own. Don’t let your friends down.