The QAnon Guide to the Chaos in Syria: Fake Fake Fake!

Mike Rothschild1 Comment

One of the reasons belief in QAnon has persisted is that constantly renews itself. The conspiracy theory that President Trump and a small military intelligence cadre are on the verge of purging the deep state has a built-in ability to pull items out of the chaos of the daily news, and suck them into its mythology, and spit them back out as “research.”

This is how you keep a conspiracy theory going when the guru behind it has been silenced, as Q has been with the collapse of 8chan. And given that much of the daily news is terrible for Trump, it’s vital that Q followers reinterpret what’s happening not as a cornered presidency careening toward collapse, but as the final stage-setting before the glorious mass arrest and destruction of the deep state. Remember, Q holds Trump up as a God-given savior of America and freedom. Such a person can never look bad, in any capacity.

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The DNC’s Self-Hack, Obama’s Execution, and Why All Conspiracy Theories are Alike

Mike Rothschild2 Comments

Conspiracy theories are like Pringles. They’re delicious to consume, full of short-term hits to the pleasure centers of the brain, and you can’t eat just one of them.

We know that people who believe one conspiracy theory usually believe more than one. So if you believe that the Mafia and CIA worked together to assassinate JFK, you probably also believe that the Twin Towers were stuffed full of explosives that triggered after a terror attack the US allowed to happen. And on and on.

In fact, if you believe these conspiracy theories, there’s no reason to disbelieve any others. Why would you? Sure, some are more outlandish than others, but all are outlandish, depend on unseen evidence, dissolve under scrutiny, and fall into the realm of wishful thinking.

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QAnon Seems Like It’s Finished. Here’s Why It’s Not.

Mike Rothschild4 Comments

QAnon, the mysterious avatar claiming to be a small team of military intelligence officers and Trump officials using 8chan to leak information on an upcoming purge of the deep state, hasn’t posted since August 1st. With 8chan down, and Q’s own posts instructing followers that there are “no outside comms,” no new posts seem to be forthcoming, either.

What’s more, Google searches for QAnon have crashed, hitting their low over the last year. A movement with no new material to research, no communications from its leader, and slackening interest among newcomers would seem to be a movement that has little left in the tank, and is near death. Right?

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QAnon Rally Attendance-Gate

Mike Rothschild

One of the hallmarks of the current state of right wing media is that they’ll lie about things they have no reason to lie about. They’ll even lie when it’s more advantageous to tell the truth.

Case in point: the QAnon rally on September 11th on the National Mall in D.C. From photos and accounts of the media who covered it, it’s clear that there were about 100 people there, including about half-a-dozen speakers. Not a single picture taken at the event even shows that many, but if one totals up everyone who went to the Mall specifically to attend the rally (as opposed to being photographed while just passing through) one could charitably get the total up that high.

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Why We Still Believe 9/11 Conspiracy Theories

Mike Rothschild

This is a chapter from my book “The World’s Worst Conspiracies” that didn’t make it into the final draft. It’s about why 9/11 conspiracy theories took hold, and the role they play in making sense of the tragedy that took place 18 years ago. It’s presented unabridged.

9/11 Truth

It should not be surprising that the most destructive terrorist attack in history would have inspired the conspiracy theory that truly brought the movement from the darkest corners of the internet into the mainstream.

As the hijacked airplanes were still crashing into buildings, the September 11th attacks were met with a deluge of unbelieving reactions. It simply did not fit into the western mindset that someone would willingly fly an airplane into a building, killing themselves just to kill hundreds of other people. Disbelief was common, from air traffic controllers as the attacks were happening, to the reactions of world leaders afterwards.

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