QAnon supporter, w/ Georgia primary victory, poised to bring far-right conspiracy theory to Congress

[Guest]

@Vikergirl said:
She is the one claiming there is no evidence that a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. Think about that for a minute. Or the people that say Sandy Hook was staged. These are awful lies that are being spread. It's dangerous on the fringe but even more dangerous when it comes into the mainstream.

I recently read a long but fascinating piece written by a psychologist about conspiracy theories and the kind of people who are vulnerable to them. It's basically a distrust of government and media combined with an overabundance of information. So the most vulnerable among us are conservatives (who already distrust govt and media) who may be unemployed or retired and so sit at home in front of their computers for hours consuming ridiculous amounts of information from alternative sources (youtube, infowars, etc). OK, but I personally think you have to throw in a healthy dose of stupid, too. 

[Guest]

@MaroonBells said:

@Vikergirl said:
She is the one claiming there is no evidence that a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. Think about that for a minute. Or the people that say Sandy Hook was staged. These are awful lies that are being spread. It's dangerous on the fringe but even more dangerous when it comes into the mainstream.

I recently read a long but fascinating piece written by a psychologist about conspiracy theories and the kind of people who are vulnerable to them. It's basically a distrust of government and media combined with an overabundance of information. So the most vulnerable among us are conservatives (who already distrust govt and media) who may be unemployed or retired and so sit at home in front of their computers for hours consuming ridiculous amounts of information from alternative sources (youtube, infowars, etc). OK, but I personally think you have to throw in a healthy dose of stupid, too. 

Fascinating is one way to put it. It's quite a mix of things that make someone susceptible to conspiracy theories. From a psychological perspective, there are definitely certain traits that people who believe in conspiracy theories share. And of course there are people that exploit their beliefs and profit from them. It is sad that people get swept up in them. Technology most certainly feeds a need for people that are drawn to conspiracy theories too. 

[Guest]

This is FACEBOOK America.  America has become a death cult of stupidity.  

I knew this was going to fall but man the speed it has taken place over the last 20 years is amazing.

[Guest]

@Vikergirl said:

@MaroonBells said:

@Vikergirl said:
She is the one claiming there is no evidence that a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. Think about that for a minute. Or the people that say Sandy Hook was staged. These are awful lies that are being spread. It's dangerous on the fringe but even more dangerous when it comes into the mainstream.

I recently read a long but fascinating piece written by a psychologist about conspiracy theories and the kind of people who are vulnerable to them. It's basically a distrust of government and media combined with an overabundance of information. So the most vulnerable among us are conservatives (who already distrust govt and media) who may be unemployed or retired and so sit at home in front of their computers for hours consuming ridiculous amounts of information from alternative sources (youtube, infowars, etc). OK, but I personally think you have to throw in a healthy dose of stupid, too. 

Fascinating is one way to put it. It's quite a mix of things that make someone susceptible to conspiracy theories. From a psychological perspective, there are definitely certain traits that people who believe in conspiracy theories share. And of course there are people that exploit their beliefs and profit from them. It is sad that people get swept up in them. Technology most certainly feeds a need for people that are drawn to conspiracy theories too. 

...and nothing ever seems to cure it. Remember the pizzagate guy? Drives from North Carolina to DC and shoots up Comet Ping Pong because of the absolutely batshit crazy QAnon conspiracy theory that a pedophile ring was being run out of its basement, and it involved John Podesta and, of course, Hillary Clinton.

When he obviously found nothing (not even a basement), you would think the craziness would end, but the pizza place is still being hounded by these numb nuts, with one setting fire to it just last year.  

It's like there's someone running an elaborate "ratfucking" campaign, trying to tie democrats to...hmm...what's the worst thing we can think of...pedophilia!...yeah! That'll do it! And despite the fact that all of it has been proven false, it just continues. Now, the Democrat running for President is being accused of, yep, you guessed it....pedophilia! Imagine that. Benghazi, Birtherism, Seth Rich...there's just so much of it. And it won't end when you have so many eager consumers of bullshit. 

[Guest]

@MaroonBells said:

@Vikergirl said:

@MaroonBells said:

@Vikergirl said:
She is the one claiming there is no evidence that a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. Think about that for a minute. Or the people that say Sandy Hook was staged. These are awful lies that are being spread. It's dangerous on the fringe but even more dangerous when it comes into the mainstream.

I recently read a long but fascinating piece written by a psychologist about conspiracy theories and the kind of people who are vulnerable to them. It's basically a distrust of government and media combined with an overabundance of information. So the most vulnerable among us are conservatives (who already distrust govt and media) who may be unemployed or retired and so sit at home in front of their computers for hours consuming ridiculous amounts of information from alternative sources (youtube, infowars, etc). OK, but I personally think you have to throw in a healthy dose of stupid, too. 

Fascinating is one way to put it. It's quite a mix of things that make someone susceptible to conspiracy theories. From a psychological perspective, there are definitely certain traits that people who believe in conspiracy theories share. And of course there are people that exploit their beliefs and profit from them. It is sad that people get swept up in them. Technology most certainly feeds a need for people that are drawn to conspiracy theories too. 

...and nothing ever seems to cure it. Remember the pizzagate guy? Drives from North Carolina to DC and shoots up Comet Ping Pong because of the absolutely batshit crazy QAnon conspiracy theory that a pedophile ring was being run out of its basement, and it involved John Podesta and, of course, Hillary Clinton.

When he obviously found nothing (not even a basement), you would think the craziness would end, but the pizza place is still being hounded by these numb nuts, with one setting fire to it just last year.  

It's like there's someone running an elaborate "ratfucking" campaign, trying to tie democrats to...hmm...what's the worst thing we can think of...pedophilia!...yeah! That'll do it! And despite the fact that all of it has been proven false, it just continues. Now, the Democrat running for President is being accused of, yep, you guessed it....pedophilia! Imagine that. Benghazi, Birtherism, Seth Rich...there's just so much of it. And it won't end when you have so many eager consumers of bullshit. 

But have you ordered yourself a kid from Wayfair yet? I thought that one might have been enough to bring some followers back to reality. Nope! Because, see, there were some very expensive cabinets on Wayfair, even up to $10K. Now, why on earth would a cabinet (a commercial cabinet) cost that much? It's because when you order it, it ships with a child inside. #saveourchildren. That's the hashtag they're now using. And even though Twitter attempted to get rid of the Qanon stuff, it's littered tonight with that hashtag.

I was having a conversation today with a family member who works for the postal service because I wondered how things were going there. She then starts to tell me about this woman she works with who keeps saying that Oprah and Tom Hanks have been trafficking children for years. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson ran off to Australia because they didn't want to get caught. Then they were under house arrest. And now they haven't been seen in a long time. But don't worry because Trump is going to fix it. 

[Guest]

@Nichelle said:

@MaroonBells said:

@Vikergirl said:

@MaroonBells said:

@Vikergirl said:
She is the one claiming there is no evidence that a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. Think about that for a minute. Or the people that say Sandy Hook was staged. These are awful lies that are being spread. It's dangerous on the fringe but even more dangerous when it comes into the mainstream.

I recently read a long but fascinating piece written by a psychologist about conspiracy theories and the kind of people who are vulnerable to them. It's basically a distrust of government and media combined with an overabundance of information. So the most vulnerable among us are conservatives (who already distrust govt and media) who may be unemployed or retired and so sit at home in front of their computers for hours consuming ridiculous amounts of information from alternative sources (youtube, infowars, etc). OK, but I personally think you have to throw in a healthy dose of stupid, too. 

Fascinating is one way to put it. It's quite a mix of things that make someone susceptible to conspiracy theories. From a psychological perspective, there are definitely certain traits that people who believe in conspiracy theories share. And of course there are people that exploit their beliefs and profit from them. It is sad that people get swept up in them. Technology most certainly feeds a need for people that are drawn to conspiracy theories too. 

...and nothing ever seems to cure it. Remember the pizzagate guy? Drives from North Carolina to DC and shoots up Comet Ping Pong because of the absolutely batshit crazy QAnon conspiracy theory that a pedophile ring was being run out of its basement, and it involved John Podesta and, of course, Hillary Clinton.

When he obviously found nothing (not even a basement), you would think the craziness would end, but the pizza place is still being hounded by these numb nuts, with one setting fire to it just last year.  

It's like there's someone running an elaborate "ratfucking" campaign, trying to tie democrats to...hmm...what's the worst thing we can think of...pedophilia!...yeah! That'll do it! And despite the fact that all of it has been proven false, it just continues. Now, the Democrat running for President is being accused of, yep, you guessed it....pedophilia! Imagine that. Benghazi, Birtherism, Seth Rich...there's just so much of it. And it won't end when you have so many eager consumers of bullshit. 

But have you ordered yourself a kid from Wayfair yet? I thought that one might have been enough to bring some followers back to reality. Nope! Because, see, there were some very expensive cabinets on Wayfair, even up to $10K. Now, why on earth would a cabinet (a commercial cabinet) cost that much? It's because when you order it, it ships with a child inside. #saveourchildren. That's the hashtag they're now using. And even though Twitter attempted to get rid of the Qanon stuff, it's littered tonight with that hashtag.

I was having a conversation today with a family member who works for the postal service because I wondered how things were going there. She then starts to tell me about this woman she works with who keeps saying that Oprah and Tom Hanks have been trafficking children for years. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson ran off to Australia because they didn't want to get caught. Then they were under house arrest. And now they haven't been seen in a long time. But don't worry because Trump is going to fix it. 

I know, I shouldn't laugh. But some of this would be brilliant satire. If only it were....

[Guest]

@Skodin said:
This is FACEBOOK America.  America has become a death cult of stupidity.  

I knew this was going to fall but man the speed it has taken place over the last 20 years is amazing.

I deleted my FB account 2 months ago, between the memes and comments sections on local news here in Arkansas Trump country, and the bots in an election year, the stupid is like a raging wildfire.

[Guest]

Lets not forget these conspiracy theories, propagated as fact(s):

• Trump colluded with Russia
• Trump obstructed justice
• Trump colluded with Ukraine
• Trumps lawyer Cohen met with Russians in Prague
• Trump had Russian hookers piss on the Obama bed
• Trump allowed Russian bounties on our troops
• Trump called the Charlottesville white supremacists “good people”
• Trump halted Kung-flu testing
• Trump called Kung-flu virus a hoax
• Trump is the pedophile (http://vikefans.com/discussion/#/discussion/8888/wow-trump-knows-a-lot-of-pedophiles)
• Trumps FCC net neutrality was going to end the internet
• Trump recognizing Jerusalem the capital of Israel would cause WW3
• no Obama holdovers in the FBI committed felonies

To name but a few MSM disproven/debunked conspiracies-reported-as-fact.  For months.

Ya’lls qanon (who ive never read/quoted) incredulity is fun to read about, tho.  They cant fool you guys!

[Guest]

Trump did collude with Russia, he did obstruct justice, and he did collude with Ukraine.

All proven, wake up.  Now if you want to split hairs on the semantics of whether that collusion rose to the degree of warranting charges, then no.

He asked Russia for help, he received help, he lied about it, he prevented witnesses from testifying and suppressed evidence.

When he is out of office and if the Senate flips Dem, they are going to after his ass.  SDNY is salivating already.  

Sorry you operate in an alternative reality, thankfully our legal system doesn’t.

[Guest]

Trump praises QAnon conspiracists, appreciates support

By ZEKE MILLER , JILL COLVIN and AMANDA SEITZ Associated PressAugust 19, 2020 — 7:20pm

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised the supporters of QAnon, a convoluted, pro-Trump conspiracy theory, and suggested he appreciates their support of his candidacy.
Speaking during a press conference at the White House, Trump courted the support of those who put stock in the conspiracy theory, saying, “I heard that these are people that love our country." It was Trump's first public comment on the subject and continued a pattern of president appearing unwilling to resoundingly condemn extremists who support his candidacy.
QAnon has ricocheted around the darker corners of the internet since late 2017, but has been creeping into mainstream politics more and more. The baseless theory centers on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as “Q” who shares information about an anti-Trump “deep state” often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking.
Trump insisted he hadn't heard much about the movement, “other than I understand they like me very much” and "it is gaining in popularity.”
Trump has retweeted QAnon-promoting accounts, and shirts and hats with QAnon symbols and slogans are not uncommon at his rallies.
An FBI bulletin last May warned that conspiracy theory-driven extremists have become a domestic terrorism threat. The bulletin specifically mentioned QAnon. Earlier last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center warned that the movement is becoming increasingly popular with anti-government extremists.
Trump's comments were condemned by the campaign of his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“After calling neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville ‘fine people’ and tear gassing peaceful protesters following the murder of George Floyd, Donald Trump just sought to legitimize a conspiracy theory that the FBI has identified as a domestic terrorism threat,” said Biden spokesman Andrew Bates. “Our country needs leadership that will bring us together more than ever to form a more perfect union. We have to win this battle for the soul of our nation.”
Pressed on QAnon theories that Trump is allegedly saving the nation from a satanic cult of child sex traffickers, Trump claimed ignorance, but asked, "Is that supposed to be a bad thing?”
“If I can help save the world from problems, I’m willing to do it," Trump said.
Qanon supporters were quick to celebrate Trump’s comments on social media, with many calling them a validation of their views. Many have long contended he sends them coded messages of support, and on Twitter, one user claimed Trump’s choice of a pink tie on Wednesday was another signal of support.
Within minutes, dozens of Instagram users began celebrating Trump’s acknowledgement of the conspiracy theory at the White House podium, uploading videos of him.
“Well we’ve been waiting for this moment for a while, to put it mildly thank you @realDonaldTrump,” one Instagram user wrote to her 19,000 followers in a post of Trump’s exchange. The video was viewed more than 1,000 times in just 30 minutes.
“Holy Smokin Q,” another tweeted. “Our President was asked 2 questions about the Qanon movement TODAY!! We LOVE you President Trump.”
On Parler, a right-wing platform popular with some Trump supporters, one Qanon supporter posted a photo of Trump and a bald eagle.
Trump's comments came a week after he endorsed Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won her GOP House primary runoff in Georgia last week. Greene called the QAnon conspiracy theory “something worth listening to and paying attention to” and called Q a “patriot.” Trump praised her as a “future Republican Star.”
Trump has a long history of advancing false and sometimes racist conspiracies, including last week, when he gave credence to a highly criticized op-ed that questioned Democrat Kamala Harris’ eligibility to serve as vice president even though she was born in Oakland, California.
Asked about the matter, Trump told reporters he had “heard” rumors that Harris, a Black woman and U.S.-born citizen whose parents were immigrants, does not meet the requirement to serve in the White House. The president said he considered the rumors “very serious," but later he and his campaign indicated they were not making an issue of the claim. Constitutional lawyers have dismissed it as nonsense.
Facebook announced just hours before Trump’s statements that it was banning some QAnon Facebook groups and accounts.
But social media had already been used for years to fuel the conspiracy theory’s rise, with private and super-secret Facebook groups where members sometimes post hundreds of times a day. QAnon believers often peddle a number of conspiracy theories, from claims that John F. Kennedy Jr. isn’t really dead and is staging a public comeback to baseless speculation around celebrities who have secretly been arrested for trafficking children for sex.
Mentions of hashtags social media users to promote the QAnon conspiracy theory have spiked in public Facebook pages and groups since July, generating millions of interactions, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from Facebook-owned CrowdTangle.
The conspiracy theory gained a larger online following in recent weeks, when prominent QAnon social media accounts pushed a bizarre and baseless conspiracy theory that online retail giant Wayfair was trafficking children through pricey storage cabinets that are for sale on its site. Some of the social media users shared the names and photos of missing children from around the country as proof of the scheme, even though many of the children have since been recovered.
Last month, researchers at online misinformation firm NewsGuard found that the QAnon conspiracy theory is gaining traction in Europe, with Facebook users pushing it on Facebook and Twitter, too.