Thread by @kazweida

This morning we're asking what to do about the fact that so many Americans seem to be deeply entrenched in conspiracy theories.

As the pandemic took hold, QAnon seems to have infected more of the population. And the consequences may prove equally deadly.

(THREAD)

(2) How many people really believe in QAnon theories? At one point last year it was nearly 1 in 3 Americans that believed in some flavor of "deep state"conspiracy against Trump.

The good news is that crowd has been whittled down since the capitol riots.

morningconsult.com/2021/02/02/qan…

(3) The bad news it is still far too many people. And frankly, far too many Republicans. And they continue to be radicalized at an alarming rate.

The stunt in Dealey Plaza may have drawn plenty of jeers, but it's not an outlier.

vice.com/en/article/xgd…

(4) And at the heart of this movement are actual GOP poiticans both at the local and national level who are not only driving these conspiracy theories but profiting off them both politically and peronally.

They are determined to keep QAnon alive.

azcentral.com/story/opinion/…

(5) It's not that belief in conspiracy theories is growing in the modern era. It's not. But these theories have a forum to recruit & the means to organize. And an entire political party under their sway.

That's what makes them dangeorus for our country.

rollingstone.com/culture/cultur…

(6) And the people that seem to be the most vulnerable are already attracted to extremism. We're in a situation where it is very easy for this movement to reach out through social media and exploit mental illlness, fear, and instability.

rollingstone.com/culture/cultur…

(7) If it seems like QAnon cultists have gotten their teeth into every corner of the internet, you're not wrong. But it's not because there are so many of them.

It's because the internet is a natural bullhorn for the loudest, craziest voices in the room.
theatlantic.com/technology/arc…

(8) If you think this is an American problem, you are mistaken. But it's important to remember that this is not a new or unique phenomena.

We're experiencing it differently than previous generations because the internet brings it to our virtual doorstep.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

(9) So what do we do to stop this sort of nonsense from proliferating and endangering our communities? Well. There are some success stories we can learn from.

Interventions from family & friends seem to be the most successful at reaching QAnon believers.
cbsnews.com/news/covid-vac…

(10) At the political and local level, forming coalitions along idealogical instead of partisan lines seems to be effective at combatting conspiracy theory.

Specifically connecting politicans to QAnon and exposing the crazy conspiracies worked for Sequim.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

(END) Thanks for stopping by for our Sunday thread, suggestion courtesy of @ayyarj1 . Come back next weekend and we'll do this again.

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