Roseanne has been seduced by conspiracy theorists on Twitter

Update 6.20.18 Roseanne retweets today’s Qanon post:

——————–

Once Roseanne tweeted about Qanon last month, I knew she had gone around the bend and was falling victim to the most popular conspiracy theory circulating on Twitter: Qanon: The Great Awakening.

Qanon: The Storm is Coming, The Great Awakening & Follow the White Rabbit

I am quite sure Qanon enthusiasts inundated Roseanne with info about the conspiracy. The problem with conspiracies in general, is that they rely on faith as opposed to reason–in that sense these theories are similar to religion or deeply held ideologies.

According to the political scientist Michael Barkun, conspiracy theories rely on the view that the universe is governed by design, and embody three principles:

nothing happens by accident
nothing is as it seems
everything is connected.
Another common feature is that conspiracy theories evolve to incorporate whatever evidence exists against them, so that they become, as Barkun writes, a closed system that is unfalsifiable, and therefore “a matter of faith rather than proof.”

Barkun, Michael (2003). A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 58.

It seems this Qanon character has taken his/her/their methods right out to the conspiracy playbook. The motto is “Trust the plan.” Everything is under control and behind the scenes the globalists (Soros, Obama, etc.) are being handled (headed to prison/Gitmo).

The memes circulating purport to reveal these connections–hence, the false info that Soros is marrying off his relatives into the mainstream government.

Even Wikileaks tweeted about Qanon over the weekend, saying they assumed it is a LARP (Live Action Role Player) but more nefariously that it could be co-opted as a psyop.

To prove the unfalsifiablity–

Wikileaks is drawing attention to it because it is true??

Also, Wikileaks-related journalists are cautioning that Q is saying Assange is safely out to the embassy and in some sort of protective custody–not true, of course.

The seductive nature of this conspiracy and the sheer volume of followers (it is often the number one trending hashtag on Twitter although Twitter supresses it–only feeding confirmation bias) has spawned videos, products, books–you name it.

Sometimes I wonder if it isn’t a very clever money-making operation! If it didn’t start out that way, it could certainly become a motive to continue to promote the narrative.

As we denounce those accused of bad acts, may we still love their work?

Qanon Conspiracy Theorists Bolstered by FBI Shake-up

So, just to refresh your memory, Qanon is a very frequent and mysterious hashtag on Twitter that started appearing last fall. The complete history of the hashtag is in the article below, but the basic idea is that “Q” is an insider within the Trump administration who is dropping cryptic clues that are recorded and deciphered by followers.

The clues are called “crumbs” and are dropped through 4chan or 8chan, and then are shared on Twitter and also archived on various websites and are also discussed on various YouTube channels.

“Q” is letting followers know that the “deep state” is being cleaned out and that (as best I can tell) the Trump administration is fighting a battle with the “deep state” which is corrupt and rogue. The FBI and CIA seem to be at the heart of the opposition.

Qanon: The Storm is Coming, The Great Awakening & Follow the White Rabbit

I happened to notice yesterday that some of the followers were losing confidence in “Q” and felt they were just being trolled. However, there are many enthusiasts still sharing notes. Here is today’s “drop”:

Interpretations made by followers:

More crumbs:

And here are some popularly shared memes from followers just to get a feel for some of the terminology:

So what does it all mean? I am not a conspiracy buff–I just find the phenomenon interesting to observe. Twitter never lets the hashtag trend, but if you check other sources, it is often a very popular hashtag, along with associated tags such as The Great Awakening, Follow the White Rabbit, Tick Tock, and many more.

I will say this–recently “Q” recommended a book and it temporarily sold out on Amazon:

Qanon Endorses Book “Beyond A Pale Horse”: Book Sells Out on Amazon

Jerome Corsi, Deep State Conspiracy Theorist, Set to Release New Book

The new book, set to be released March 13, 2018, is already an Amazon Bestseller in the categories Political Corruption & Misconduct, Intelligence & Espionage and Commentary & Opinion.

Courtesy Amazon:

Donald Trump beat 16 Republican challengers and Hillary Rodham Clinton to win the presidency. Now he must beat the Deep State to keep his presidency. Here’s how!

#1 New York Times bestselling author of UNFIT FOR COMMAND and THE OBAMA NATION Jerome Corsi uncovers the secret conspiracy to destroy the Trump presidency and what Trump must do now to prevail.

The truth behind how well-funded hard-left extremists, the mainstream media, and Obama/Clinton holdovers in the government bureaucracy have combined with clandestine forces within the US intelligence apparatus – the “Deep State” — to block and undermine Trump’s every move. At 2:45 a.m. ET on Nov. 8, 2016, television networks announced to a stunned nation that Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral had gone for Donald Trump, making him the president-elect of the United States, defying all odds in a surreal victory that sent the Deep State into an immediate sense of panic.

By dawn on Nov. 9, 2016, the Deep State forces that expected Hillary Clinton to continue the leftist politics of Barack Obama were already planning Donald Trump’s demise.

What emerged from the hard left was a political strategy calculated to block Donald Trump from being inaugurated, and if that failed, to make sure Donald Trump would not long serve out his term as 45th President of the United States.

Investigative journalist and conspiracy expert Jerome Corsi goes into shocking detail about how this Deep State or Shadow Government secretly wields power in Washington, and why the Deep State is dangerous – capable of assassinating Trump, if efforts to impeach him or to force him to resign fail.

Corsi will also define a three-point strategy Trump — as a political independent, opposed both by Democratic Party enemies and GOP establishment — must employ to stay in office and have a chance of a successful first term in office.

Editorial reviews provided by Amazon:

“Nobody understands the Deep State like Jerome Corsi. Anyone who wants to see it dismantled, needs this book, because Trump can’t do it alone.”
—JOSEPH FARAH, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, WND.com, WND Books, WND Films
“Jerry Corsi may just be the best investigative journalist working today and this incredible book proves it.” .”
—Roger Stone, New York Times Bestselling Author
“Killing the Deep State is an explosive must-read that not only exposes the insidious nature and goals of the shadow government, but also provides a roadmap to ensuring that the will of the people – through President Trump – succeeds.”
— Ed Klein, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

About the Author

Jerome R. Corsi received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Political Science in 1972. He is an investigative journalist and senior staff writer for several conservative websites. Corsi is coauthor of the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Unfit for Command, and is author of the No. 1 New York Times bestseller The Obama Nation. Since then, he has devoted his time to writing on politics and economics, two fields in which he has considerable experience. In his career, he has written six New York Times bestselling nonfiction books.

Corsi has been quite active in promoting the Qanon phenomenon popular with conspiracy theorist. Corsi regularly decodes and interprets the “crumbs” left by “Q” on 4-chan and 8-chan. For more about the Qanon hashtag, click below:

https://skepticreview.com/2018/02/14/qanon-storm-coming-great-awakening-follow-white-rabbit/

Qanon Endorses Book “Beyond A Pale Horse”: Book Sells Out on Amazon

When a Qanon follower made a post about the book Beyond A Pale Horse, Q replied, “Big!” Within a day, the book sold “temporarily out of stock” on Amazon.

Background on the Qanon phenomenon:

Qanon: The Storm is Coming, The Great Awakening & Follow the White Rabbit

Behold a Pale Horse Paperback – December 1, 1991

by Milton William Cooper (Author)

948 customer reviews

in Radical Political Thought

Temporarily out of stock

————

From Amazon:

Bill Cooper, former United States Naval Intelligence Briefing Team member, reveals information that remains hidden from the public eye. This information has been kept in topsecret government files since the 1940s. His audiences hear the truth unfold as he writes about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the war on drugs, the secret government, and UFOs. Bill is a lucid, rational, and powerful speaker whose intent is to inform and to empower his audience. Standing room only is normal. His presentation and information transcend partisan affiliations as he clearly addresses issues in a way that has a striking impact on listeners of all backgrounds and interests. He has spoken to many groups throughout the United States and has appeared regularly on many radio talk shows and on television. In 1988 Bill decided to “talk” due to events then taking place worldwide, events that he had seen plans for back in the early 1970s. Bill correctly predicted the lowering of the Iron Curtain, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the invasion of Panama. All Bill’s predictions were on record well before the events occurred. Bill is not a psychic. His information comes from top secret documents that he read while with the Intelligence Briefing Team and from over seventeen years of research.

From Amazon Author Page:

Milton William “Bill” Cooper (May 6, 1943 – November 6, 2001) was an American conspiracy theorist, radio broadcaster, and author best known for his 1991 book Behold a Pale Horse, in which he warned of multiple global conspiracies, some involving extraterrestrial aliens. Cooper also described HIV/AIDS as a man-made disease used to target blacks, Hispanics, and homosexuals, and that a cure was made before it was implemented. He has been described as a “militia theoretician”.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Qanon: The Storm is Coming, The Great Awakening & Follow the White Rabbit

For some time, I have been curious about the Qanon hashtag on Twitter. So, I decided I better find out what it is, because it is quite popular.

As it turns out, it is a complicated and long running conspiracy theory of sorts—it is another attempt to expose the deep state—some have compared it to the pizzagate phenomenon.

Let me explain as best I can.

Know Your Meme traces the origin of Qanon to 4chan and dates it back to the end of October 2017. Q apparently refers to a security clearance and the poster identifies himself or herself as “Q Clearance Patriot.” The posts began jumping over to Reddit and then on to Twitter. Early on, The Outer Light YouTube channel also promoted Qanon as legit. Since that time, many other YouTubers have capitalized on the conspiracy theory as well as folks on 8chan.

As best I can tell, the assumption is that this Qanon person is a high level staff member inside the Trump administration who is leaking information to the public through cryptic posts and clues referred to as “bread crumbs” or simply “crumbs.”

When “crumbs” are dropped, followers try and deconstruct the message to understand what is happening inside the deep state. The conspiracy theorists believe Trump is dismantling the deep state and putting himself in grave danger by doing so. Q even posted recently that an assassination plot within the government itself had been thwarted and that, for now, POTUS is safe. Crumbs have also lead to the belief that Gitmo is being held open to eventually imprison the deep state traitors, including Hillary, Obama and George Soros.

The Q phenomenon has lead to YouTube channels and web pages and blogs that attempt to decipher the latest “crumbs.” One such personality is Jerome Corsi, Head of Washington D.C. News Bureau for Alex Jones and http://Infowars.com. Corsi maintains an elaborate “decoding” of Qanon posts on scribd.

https://www.scribd.com/user/869063/Jerome-Corsi

Apparently Corsi has a PhD in political science from Harvard and is a well known conspiracy theorist and prolific author. He has many books listed on Amazon, the most recent being Killing the Deep State: The Fight to Save President Trump. He also has a book on Obama’s birth certificate controversy and another on the theory that Hitler escaped death.

Qanon Endorses Book “Beyond A Pale Horse”: Book Sells Out on Amazon

So back to Qanon. There are many associated hashtags such as “The Storm,” “The Storm in Coming,” “The Great Awakening” and “Follow the White Rabbit.” Another frequent reference is to Operation Mockingbird:

Operation Mockingbird was an alleged large-scale program of the United States Central Intelligence Agency that began in the early 1950s and attempted to manipulate news media for propaganda purposes. (Wikipedia)

One theory about Qanon is that it began as what is called a “LARP.” A larp or larper is a live-action role-playing game, similar to a video game storyline but being acted out in real life through role-playing. Regardless, it has true believers who do not like being mocked and who share information readily with one another or announce the latest Q crumb and compare notes on what it might mean.