The media did not create the 4 March inauguration conspiracy. We reported it because it was widely promoted by QAnon followers after inauguration day.

When QAnon influencers began pushing back against the idea and told the rank and file not to believe it, we reported that, too.
Here's a snapshot of what QAnon followers were discussing after Biden's inauguration all the way to mid-February.

In fact, some supporters were so hopeful that they issued open threats about "civil war" and "going rogue" if the 4 March theory didn't materialise.
As soon as we noticed the pushback by major influencers, we reported it.

But there's a reason some influencers were among the promoters of the theory after Biden took office, only to reverse course later.

They do not want to see a repeat of the events after the Capitol riots.
Action by federal authorities, media focus, and the subsequent purge of QAnon promoters from major social networks have hurt the movement.

That's why influencers went out of their way to distance themselves from 6 January and QAnon adherents who attended, like the Q Shaman.

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More from @Shayan86

10 Feb
I have had private conversations with several journalists and researchers on the conspiracy/disinformation/extremism beat recently who all say they feel exhuasted by the workload of the last few months and are dealing with mental health issues on top of consistent online abuse.
This is a serious issue for those who cover this beat and is something that colleagues rarely speak about in public.

Of course, no-one's forced us to do this work, we chose to do them. This is not violins out.

But recent events seem to have caused huge anxiety among colleagues.
Many employers seem to be unaware and do not have support for colleagues who feel they are being pushed to the limit.

It's not easy to read or/and view overtly violent, extreme or racist content on a daily basis. Particlarly when it all travels offline into the real world.
Read 8 tweets
28 Jan
THREAD: Major QAnon hashtags were used a total of 20.8 million times on Twitter in 2020.

I calculated the numbers on a quarterly basis using Twitter API and data from @Khoros.

QAnon had its most prolific year since 2018 until the last quarter, when Twitter restrictions came in.
Let's begin with the last quarter. This was when Twitter began serious enforcement against not only old but also new QAnon hashtags, like SaveTheChildren.

Numbers saw a huge drop to just 115k. But then ReleaseTheKraken and CrossThe Rubicon went viral, pushing the total to 202K.
Compare 202K with the total for the third quarter, 4.9M tweets, and see the difference Twitter bans and restrictions made.

This period saw the full adoption of SaveTheChildren (1M) and SaveOurChildren (480K).

Old hashtags fell sharply due to new policies introduced in July.
Read 7 tweets
25 Jan
After much digging, 8kun users have concluded that Joe Biden's inauguration was a "deepfake" and didn't actually happen.

Some of the evidence they have found:

- No-one in DC actually saw it happen
- Military officers saluting Biden were extras
- Biden was in a film studio
The 8kun investigation comes off the back of this post on 4chan yesterday, which claimed the military sees Biden as a "foreign entity".

- National Guard turned their back to him
- Air Force One has not been seen in DC
- The Penttagon's told Biden to "fuck off"
- No 21 gun salute
The Pentagon, even.
Read 4 tweets
20 Jan
THREAD: As many of the rank and file are feeling anger and despair, QAnon influencers are trying to calm things down.

But doubt is visible among some influencers too now.

One says despite sacrificing "a lot financially, relationship wise, health wise", today "makes no sense".
Another one says the QAnon community "risks fracturing" and "real friendships might be irreparably damaged because people are angry".

"People have every right to be angry, sad, disillusioned," he adds, asking for "charitable interpretation of our friends' posts".
Another of the big influencers seems to have thrown in the towel.

No mention of the plan anymore, instead, he asks his followers to "clean up the system from the bottom up".
Read 9 tweets
19 Jan
There's now a fake channel on Telegram, created last night, which poses as one of the most senior generals of the US Air Force.

It's racked up 150K subscribers and is posting QAnon slogans, claiming the military will finish the job tomorrow and asking anons to stay home.
All the posts on this fake QAnon general's channel disappeared.

He first claimed to have been hacked, then deleted that post.

Now says "attacked on all social media" and "the enemy is awake".

It has 216K subscribers now.
There's another fake pro-Trump general who created a channel three days ago urging the president to overturn the election, gaining 50K subscribers.

He's now calling fake on the new general for stealing his thunder and copying his posts.

"Please unfollow that channel."
Read 4 tweets
18 Jan
THREAD: QAnon on Telegram update

A channel set up by influencer "Inevitable ET" just seven days ago has now surpassed 100K subscribers. Many other well-known Q influencers are among the subscribers.

The chat associated with it has just over 20K members and is very prolific. ImageImage
This is Ron Watkins' channel.

He created it in December, but only started posting in it on 14 January as a "backup" for his account on Gab.

Since then, he's added 115K subscribers. Image
Kraken lawyer L Lin Wood, a QAnon supporter, created his channel on 11 January, the day Parler went offline.

He is not on Gab, so this channel is his main means of communication right now.

The channel surpassed 300K subscribers today. Image
Read 8 tweets

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