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Security experts say right-wing embrace of conspiracism amounts to “mass radicalization”

Posted by / December 28, 2020

Security experts have warned that the right-wing embrace of conspiracy theories represents mass radicalization, a claim borne out following the dramatic events after the election, QAnon supporters have vowed to leave the GOP, possibly forming a party of their own.

A 20-year-old voting contractor in Georgia is facing death threats after a QAnon influencer orchestrated a campaign against himTrump, meanwhile, is fanning the flames by posting long, rambling tirades on Facebook that include the same charts and graphs that QAnon uses.

Shortly after the election, paramilitary groups, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and other Trump supporters gathered in Nevada to fight the election results this past weekend.

Two armed Virginians were arrested in Philadelphia for trying to deliver fake ballots. They had QAnon paraphernalia in their car.

If you think QAnon conspiracy theory seems so toxic that it must have been intentionally created or amplified as a kind of Web 2.0 warfare against the United States, but didn’t have the evidence to back that up, well here you go. A recent Reuters article reveals that Russian-linked Twitter accounts helped the movement grow. Now, tech companies of all sort are trying to grapple with the conspiracy.

Patreon has become the latest company to ban QAnon supporters from mentioning the theory on their platform.

YouTube is banning all QAnon related content, as well as conspiracy content that targets individuals. With barely two weeks until the presidential election, will this be a case of “better late than never” or “a day late and a buck short?” Perhaps every little bit helps slow down the craziness, but will it be enough?

Etsy is also going to remove all of its QAnon-related merchandise, for fear that the conspiracy theory will harm the upcoming election.

Facebook is also taking action to stop the spread of the QAnon conspiracy theory by banning it on the platform. Hopefully this means that QAnon won’t impact the election. NAACP president Derrick Johnson has called Facebook a “threat to democracy.” He is one of the leaders the ongoing Facebook boycott, and he also said the boycotters won’t quit until Facebook makes changes.

Twitter has banned 7,000 accounts related to the QAnon conspiracy theory, all of whom have violated the site’s policy on harassment. Twitter will also limit the spread of QAnon-related misinformation, which is expected to impact another 150,000 users. Unfortunately, QAnon conspiracists believe that big companies like Twitter are already part of a conspiracy against freedom, so this is basically guaranteed to go poorly.

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