Update 6.20.18 Roseanne retweets today’s Qanon post:
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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?