There is currently a highly organised campaign on Telegram to encourage business owners in Ireland & the UK to defy lockdown rules & open up. It’s the most coordinated campaign I’ve seen through the whole pandemic. 1/ 🧵
But not only is it very well organised, the content being shared is quite terrifying and a prime example of how toxic these movements are. And this is coming from someone who sees things like this every day. 2/
They’ve organised ‘off-topic’ chat rooms for non-pandemic matters, one of which is pure, unadulterated QAnon. I can’t stress that enough. IT IS PURE QANON. THEY’RE BEING LED DIRECTLY TO QANON. 3/
There also seems to be an effort to promote the National Party. A user says that the solution to all this is for people to join the NP and “focus on Irish culture”. THEY’RE BEING LED DIRECTLY TO EXTREMIST GROUPS. 4/
On top of that, there are links being shared to 5G conspiracy theory channels, as well as horrible memes targeting certain Irish politicians. 5/
I’ve watched this campaign grow exponentially in the last 24 hours. I’m also watching in real time as people,who are understandably desperate and looking for some sign of hope,are being led directly down the rabbit hole into radicalization pathways. 6/
TL;DR: Telegram is a cesspit. Talk to your friends. Talk to your family. If they’re veering into the ‘reopening’ world, grab them back and explain why these groups are not the solution and never will be. 7/
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