A demonstrator holds a "Q" sign outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Unraveling viral disinformation and explaining where it came from, the harm it's causing, and what we should do about it.
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High-profile influencers and grifters have been controlling QAnon for a while, particularly since the movement’s anonymous leader, “Q,” stopped posting updates in December after Joe Biden won the presidential election. Now, these accounts are keen to preserve their power within the conspiracy movement, and to try and avoid the type of anger and hostility that erupted after President Joe Biden was inaugurated on Jan. 20. Inauguration day had previously been seen by the conspiracy movement as a red line for when Trump would take action against the global sex trafficking ring that QAnon falsely believes is being run by Democrats and Hollywood elite.But despite popular QAnon accounts trying to dampen expectations about the second coming of Trump, experts are warning that some followers will take things into their own hands after March 4."What I'm worried about is that if nothing occurs that could mean they go even deeper, they could get a bit more extreme,” Jordan Wildon, a researcher who tracks far-right extremists, told VICE News.
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