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Alex Kaplan Profile picture
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17 Mar, 5 tweets, 3 min read
A false conspiracy theory has spread widely in the far-right internet (not just within the QAnon community) that some incident involving a microphone and Biden talking to reporters shows he and the incident were somehow faked.
Since Biden was inaugurated, QAnon supporters have pushed false claims of supposed proof that Biden hasn't really been president & his activities as president haven't been real. This may be the first time those claims have in some manner really spread elsewhere in the far-right.
A conspiracy theory TikTok account has gotten nearly 80,000 views for this false conspiracy theory.
On YouTube, this false conspiracy theory has gotten tens of thousands of combined views. At least 2 of those videos have ads, meaning YouTube has made money off of this false conspiracy theory.
Actually, this false conspiracy theory has earned hundreds of thousands (not just tens of thousands) of views on YouTube, thanks to this video that has more than half a million views. And the video has ads, so YouTube is making money off of the video.

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More from @AlKapDC

Alex Kaplan Profile picture
12 Feb
We're now hearing multiple cases of people refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine due to the false coronavirus vaccine microchip conspiracy theory -- which came from social media. mediamatters.org/coronavirus-co… huffpost.com/entry/children…
The conspiracy theory started going viral about 11 months ago. Social media platforms didn't even try to crack down on it until late in the year -- & even then enforcement has been lacking. mediamatters.org/coronavirus-co…
It was clear soon after the conspiracy theory went viral how dangerous it was. And yet the platforms allowed it to spread without any response for months. And now we're seeing people refusing to get the vaccine as a result.
Read 5 tweets
Alex Kaplan Profile picture
10 Feb
One thing worth keeping in mind that is mentioned in my report but worth pointing out specifically: One of the biggest dangerous for coronavirus vaccine misinformation -- & thus for us to reach herd immunity -- is the YouTube-to-Facebook pipeline.
One of the reasons the false coronavirus vaccine microchip conspiracy theory went viral early on -- the fallout from which we're still dealing with -- is because YouTube videos pushing it quickly racked up big Facebook engagement numbers.
"Plandemic" likely wouldn't have gone as viral as it did without that pipeline, with YouTube uploads of the video spreading significantly in Facebook Groups. onezero.medium.com/facebook-group…
Read 7 tweets
Alex Kaplan Profile picture
8 Feb
Folks, another video just like "Plandemic" happened at the end of 2020/early 2021, using the same playbook as "Plandemic," was about just as viral on social media as "Plandemic," and nearly NO ONE NOTICED.
At least with "Plandemic," its viral spread was known in nearly real time. Not the case here. When I saw these engagement numbers a few days ago, I was stunned, & frankly kind of terrified, because no one seemed to realize this happened at the time.
And it shows that social media platforms have still not been able to figure out how to deal with the "Plandemic" playbook. Entities can still replicate the tactics of "Plandemic," be apparently just as successful -- and do it without nearly any detection.
Read 4 tweets
Alex Kaplan Profile picture
8 Feb
SCOOP: Another "Plandemic"-type video went viral on social media. The video, an interview of a woman pushing false coronavirus, vaccine, & voter fraud conspiracy theories, earned at least 20 million views or engagements on Facebook's platforms & YouTube. mediamatters.org/coronavirus-co…
The video is an interview with Catherine Austin Fitts, an anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist, pushing conspiracy theories about the pandemic. She urges people not to get a coronavirus vaccine & falsely claims the vaccine has microchips & will change your DNA & make you interfile.
Fitts also falsely claims in the video that Biden won due to "widespread voter fraud." Facebook & YouTube have previously claimed they banned content pushing the microchip conspiracy theory & vaccine misinfo. YouTube claimed it banned content pushing false mass voter fraud claims
Read 15 tweets
Alex Kaplan Profile picture
26 Jan
Tucker Carlson is now at least the 3rd Fox News host to downplay or defend QAnon, following Jesse Watters & Greg Gutfeld. Additionally, Fox Nation has had a QAnon supporter as a host of one of its shows. mediamatters.org/qanon-conspira…
Tucker Carlson has also had multiple QAnon supporters on his show as guests.
Anyway, despite what Tucker Carlson suggested, QAnon has been linked to multiple violent incidents (including the Capitol storming), been embraced by other far-right groups, & has been warned about by multiple government agencies. mediamatters.org/qanon-conspira…
Read 4 tweets
Alex Kaplan Profile picture
20 Jan
Today is Inauguration Day. It will be a milestone day for QAnon supporters. We may see splintering as Biden takes office between those realizing QAnon isn't real & those doubling down & moving the goalposts. Here's a poll from a QAnon Telegram channel today suggesting a divide.
Here's a QAnon influencer already preparing to move the goalposts on QAnon about Biden taking office.
Some in the QAnon community are now suggesting that the number of American flags behind Trump at Joint Base Andrews, where Trump is going as he leaves office and Washington, D.C., somehow proves the conspiracy theory. ("Q" is the 17th letter of the alphabet.)
Read 25 tweets

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