QAnon in crisis after Biden’s inauguration failed to bring ‘storm’

[Camacho]

thoughts and prayers

QAnon in crisis after Biden’s inauguration failed to bring ‘storm’

By Lee Brown

January 21, 2021 

They’re rebels without a Qause.

The QAnon movement was thrown into crisis this week when President Biden peacefully entered the White House — rather than be crushed by a long-promised “storm” and “great awakening.”

“It’s obvious now we’ve been had. No plan, no Q, nothing,” one now-deflated follower wrote after the inauguration in a QAnon channel on Telegram with 18,400 members.

The crackpot QAnon conspiracy theory has long assumed that President Donald Trump — who many believe is the enigmatic “Q” himself — would emerge triumphant after overthrowing a “deep state” network of government leaders, including a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.

And right up until Biden took officeWednesday, many conspiracy theorists still were confident that Trump would take over the Emergency Broadcast System to declare martial law, stay in office and arrest prominent Democrats.

One pro-Trump crusader who fervidly promotes QAnon online proudly declared Monday that the inauguration would “be the biggest thing we’ve ever seen in the history of the United States,” Reuters noted.

But rather than the much-promised “storm,” Biden’s inauguration went off without a hitch — and Trump quietly flew off to Florida, leaving behind an apparently kind note for his successor.

Believers long told to “trust the plan” suddenly faced a crisis of confidence.

“I think we have been fooled like no other,” another follower person wrote on Telegram, according to the Guardian. 

“It’s done and we were played,” another wrote, according to the BBC.

Even Ron Watkins, the longtime administrator of 8kuna where Q’s posts emerge — leading to theories that Watkins could be behind the drops — appeared ready to throw in the towel.

“We gave it our all,” Watkins wrote in a Telegram post, minutes after Biden was sworn into office. “Now we need to keep our chins up and go back to our lives as best we are able.

“We have a new president sworn in and it is our responsibility as citizens to respect the Constitution regardless of whether or not we agree with the specifics,” he wrote, revealing he was starting a new venture.

Jared Holt, a disinformation researcher at the Atlantic Council, told Reuters that “the whole movement is called into question now.”

“It’s the whole ‘trust the plan’ thing. Q believers have just allowed themselves to be strung from failed promise to failed promise,” he said.

QAnon believers expressed their faith in the movement in the months leading up to the inauguration 

Zealous Trump fans also failed to hide their devastation — with one woman going viral for a video in which she sobbed for Trump to “please save us” from “this devil” Biden.

“Please, President Trump — please, please, I hope you have a plan,” she sobbed, saying she was about to have a panic attack.

Still, not everyone was willing to give up faith in the movement, which previously overcame promises that Hillary Clinton was going to be arrested and that John F. Kennedy Jr. would emerge alive to be Trump’s running mate.

A poll of more than 36,000 people in a QAnon Telegram channel showed that 34 percent believe “the military & Trump have a plan coming in the near future,” even while acknowledging the transfer of presidential power.

“Trump has said, ‘THE BEST IS YET TO COME.’ I’m not giving up,” Telegram user Qtah wrote in an announcement to his 30,000 subscribers, in which he also said he was taking a social media break.

Some even believed that Trump left the White House on Wednesday with a message for them — noting that his farewell speech was delivered in front of 17 American flags, the same number as “Q” in the alphabet.

“I believe the game is still being played this is not over!” one QAnon user wrote to his 26,000 Telegram followers moments after Biden took office.

Meanwhile, there are still concerns that the conspiracy, whose believers were at the forefront of the Capitol riots, would remain a danger — and that its followers could now also be encouraged to support even more extreme viewpoints.

“The greatest risk is that people who become disillusioned in QAnon are going to these channels where they might be recruited by white nationalists or other extremists,” Travis View, a co-host of the podcast “QAnon Anonymous,” told the Guardian.

-With Post wires

[Jazzy Jan]

So many Mentally ill and paranoid people have been led a merry dance by these dangerous groups. I think in the future, becoming “ addicted “ to believing outrageous conspiracy theories will be both listed as a mental illness and a form of addiction.  I am not defending them but they are clearly unhinged. 

[pithy]

They deserve their distress, but a lot of them will just change the goalposts. Dying on some pointless hill is easier than reconstructing belief systems and owning up to being wrong.

[White Heat]

The numbers... That's a hell of a lot of crazy.

[Jazzy Jan]

14 minutes ago, pithy said:

They deserve their distress, but a lot of them will just change the goalposts. Dying on some pointless hill is easier than reconstructing belief systems and owning up to being wrong.

Yes, so many go down the rabbit hole so completely, they are lost down there looking for carrots.  I spoke to a friend who was briefly going down that path because of others she was hanging around with and she said she looks back now and shudders at how she was bombarded with false information and demands by them. Now is embarrassed she flirted with those ideas.  Luckily she moved away from them and got her senses back. It is frightening to talk to people and realise that they truly believe crazy stuff that is like a twisted twilight zone alternative reality. 

[pithy]

7 minutes ago, Jazzy Jan said:

Yes, so many go down the rabbit hole so completely, they are lost down there looking for carrots.  I spoke to a friend who was briefly going down that path because of others she was hanging around with and she said she looks back now and shudders at how she was bombarded with false information and demands by them. Now is embarrassed she flirted with those ideas.  Luckily she moved away from them and got her senses back. It is frightening to talk to people and realise that they truly believe crazy stuff that is like a twisted twilight zone alternative reality.

Oh, I'm glad your friend was able to walk away from the precipice! It can take constant attention to stay on a path of common sense; people who are otherwise decent aren't impervious to being impressionable. A friend of a friend is pretty far gone and the challenge has been not to condescend, but it's scary how quickly the echo chambers they enter stop these people from thinking rationally or employing their mental faculties at all. I guess part of the appeal is it projects meaning into their lives, giving them what feel like causes.

[Jazzy Jan]

8 minutes ago, pithy said:

Oh, I'm glad your friend was able to walk away from the precipice! It can take constant attention to stay on a path of common sense; people who are otherwise decent aren't impervious to being impressionable. A friend of a friend is pretty far gone and the challenge has been not to condescend, but it's scary how quickly the echo chambers they enter stop these people from thinking rationally or employing their mental faculties at all. I guess part of the appeal is it projects meaning into their lives, giving them what feel like causes.

Pithy, I know a few hard core conspiracy theorists and it is staggering and sad to see.  Another colleague of mine was telling me that he had to really work hard with his brother who had began sprouting crazy conspiracy theories.  He asked his brother for his proof of these theories and he sent him videos of people who had no credibility but were speaking like experts in medicine and science.  He managed to get through to his brother that they were frauds who had criminal convictions for taking money for fake cures ( he discovered that when he looked them up himself ) Also one woman was an American Southern woman sitting on her porch who was calling scientists demons. She had no qualifications.   He could not believe his brother was being influenced by such flimsy bizarre so called evidence.  It is truly mind blowing 

[pithy]

8 minutes ago, Jazzy Jan said:

Pithy, I know a few hard core conspiracy theorists and it is staggering and sad to see.  Another colleague of mine was telling me that he had to really work hard with his brother who had began sprouting crazy conspiracy theories.  He asked his brother for his proof of these theories and he sent him videos of people who had no credibility but were speaking like experts in medicine and science.  He managed to get through to his brother that they were frauds who had criminal convictions for taking money for fake cures ( he discovered that when he looked them up himself ) Also one woman was an American Southern woman sitting on her porch who was calling scientists demons. She had no qualifications.   He could not believe his brother was being influenced by such flimsy bizarre so called evidence.  It is truly mind blowing

Isn't it something how experience, expertise, and knowledge are to be looked down upon? While they'll venerate quacks with no qualifications that might license them to pontificate away on subjects about which they know nothing. It feels like a brew of a few things, but insecurity's got to be a major element - not understanding the ins and outs of something breeds suspicion, I guess, and along comes someone who'll speak with enough conviction and authority to make total poppycock believable. But another one rescued thanks to your friend. That is a promising sign.

[San]

6 minutes ago, Jazzy Jan said:

Pithy, I know a few hard core conspiracy theorists and it is staggering and sad to see.  Another colleague of mine was telling me that he had to really work hard with his brother who had began sprouting crazy conspiracy theories.  He asked his brother for his proof of these theories and he sent him videos of people who had no credibility but were speaking like experts in medicine and science.  He managed to get through to his brother that they were frauds who had criminal convictions for taking money for fake cures ( he discovered that when he looked them up himself ) Also one woman was an American Southern woman sitting on her porch who was calling scientists demons. She had no qualifications.   He could not believe his brother was being influenced by such flimsy bizarre so called evidence.  It is truly mind blowing 

The problem is that they want to believe and don't even bother investigating to see how credible what they are reading/hearing is.

Case in point, elsewhere, someone posted this image stating "WTF!?".

I knew there must be more to it, so did a quick, 5-min search, and confirmed that not only was it BS, but that the original photo was first shared online in 2019, meaning that it was released before the Hunter Biden laptop story even broke  It is truly mind blowing...and I completely agree with @pithy when he said, "I guess part of the appeal is it projects meaning into their lives, giving them what feel like causes"...it's so true but so fucking dangerous!

[pithy]

It'll be increasingly worrisome as speech, video, and image manipulation continue to flourish and expand in ubiquity.

Totally agree, @San, about how much of it could be avoided if people weren't so willfully ignorant. So many just choose to be obtuse.

[Jazzy Jan]

13 minutes ago, San said:

The problem is that they want to believe and don't even bother investigating to see how credible what they are reading/hearing is.

Case in point, elsewhere, someone posted this image stating "WTF!?".

I knew there must be more to it, so did a quick, 5-min search, and confirmed that not only was it BS, but that the original photo was first shared online in 2019, meaning that it was released before the Hunter Biden laptop story even broke  It is truly mind blowing...and I completely agree with @pithy when he said, "I guess part of the appeal is it projects meaning into their lives, giving them what feel like causes"...it's so true but so fucking dangerous!

Yes, they are so unbelievably stupid.  San, you would not believe the absolute crap some of my ex colleagues ( conspiracy theorists) have sent me.  They also think virtually everyone who is famous is a peadophile EXCEPT the stars that the media has actually exposed being child molesters because according to them the press are peadophiles themselves and set up innocent people to hide the rest. While they have no qualms excusing Trump for hanging out with Epstein etc as they are set up according to them.  It is exhausting and so bloody stupid. 

 

 

[San]

2 hours ago, Jazzy Jan said:

Yes, they are so unbelievably stupid.  San, you would not believe the absolute crap some of my ex colleagues ( conspiracy theorists) have sent me.  They also think virtually everyone who is famous is a peadophile EXCEPT the stars that the media has actually exposed being child molesters because according to them the press are peadophiles themselves and set up innocent people to hide the rest. While they have no qualms excusing Trump for hanging out with Epstein etc as they are set up according to them.  It is exhausting and so bloody stupid. 

What's the obsession with paedophilia though At least make your conspiracy slightly plausible. Dumb fucks.

[Jazzy Jan]

47 minutes ago, San said:

What's the obsession with paedophilia though At least make your conspiracy slightly plausible. Dumb fucks.

I know !  
 

Also, know someone who has changed from a happy fun woman into a right wing militant Trump supporter/climate change denier who now does not even speak to her own family. Her parents are devastated. Thinks Harvey Weinstein is a victim and that Australians should all be able to own guns.  So much more. Everyone is shocked The extremism is what I find really frightening. How on Earth can that happen ? 

[San]

3 minutes ago, Jazzy Jan said:

I know !  
 

Also, know someone who has changed from a happy fun woman into a right wing militant Trump supporter/climate change denier who now does not even speak to her own family. Her parents are devastated. Thinks Harvey Weinstein is a victim and that Australians should all be able to own guns.  So much more. Everyone is shocked The extremism is what I find really frightening. How on Earth can that happen ? 

Thank god I don't know any, but there are a few not so close 'friends' on FB I suspect are right wing enough for me to want to flush. Secret bigots...the ones that share shit like All Lives Matter  Insecure fuckwits.

I suspect if my mum was still alive, she'd possibly be caught up in the propaganda. She would always call me about stories in trash magazines about Madonna...and I'd tell her it wasn't true, and she couldn't reconcile that if it was published how it couldn't be true.

[Jazzy Jan]

1 hour ago, San said:

Thank god I don't know any, but there are a few not so close 'friends' on FB I suspect are right wing enough for me to want to flush. Secret bigots...the ones that share shit like All Lives Matter  Insecure fuckwits.

I suspect if my mum was still alive, she'd possibly be caught up in the propaganda. She would always call me about stories in trash magazines about Madonna...and I'd tell her it wasn't true, and she couldn't reconcile that if it was published how it couldn't be true.

I loved your Mum. She loved the Rebel heart concert so much Those trash magazines are awful. They never get better either. I read them at the hairdressers and at work and wonder how they get away with so much lies and bitchy bias. They are obsessed now with hating Meghan Markle and keep contradicting everything they say about her from week to week ! 

[acko]

6 hours ago, Jazzy Jan said:

So many Mentally ill and paranoid people have been led a merry dance by these dangerous groups. I think in the future, becoming “ addicted “ to believing outrageous conspiracy theories will be both listed as a mental illness and a form of addiction.  I am not defending them but they are clearly unhinged. 

I think to this day we're still not having the proper debate about the place social media and the internet should play in journalism,

and the responsability of these multinationals/providers/online outlets. People need to go beyond the 'ooh google is invading my privacy',

well google  (i don't mean google, but you get my point) is also contaminating the truth and it is very easy to go down that path of

intellectual isiolation and choose bullshit. My best friend is not a conspiracy theory but an independant 'performance artist' and she is just

so pissed off about the Covid measures, because it means she can't perform, that she spends all day cherry picking things online to say

it's all bullshit and really not that bad and the government is overreacting full of shit. Meanwhile I feel a sting in my heart because i've been

avoiding her for months. There is no deep state, there is only money...capitalism and the power it holds over legislation. THE END.

[Jazzy Jan]

5 minutes ago, acko said:

I think to this day we're still not having the proper debate about the place social media and the internet should play in journalism,

and the responsability of these multinationals/providers/online outlets. People need to go beyond the 'ooh google is invading my privacy',

well google  (i don't mean google, but you get my point) is also contaminating the truth and it is very easy to go down that path of

intellectual isiolation and choose bullshit. My best friend is not a conspiracy theory but an independant 'performance artist' and she is just

so pissed off about the Covid measures, because it means she can't perform, that she spends all day cherry picking things online to say

it's all bullshit and really not that bad and the government is overreacting full of shit. Meanwhile I feel a sting in my heart because i've been

avoiding her for months. There is no deep state, there is only money...capitalism and the power it holds over legislation. THE END.

True. There is no proper filter or demand for truth in a lot of online journalism. Investigative skilled journalists are to be admired and listened to as they seek the truth. Now too many online garbage articles are readily believed as so cheap to produce

[karbatal]

This is inherent to human being. This situation is a carbon copy to those sects that announce the Rapture on a specific date. Those sects where people suicide together. We are surprised about this because for years we didn't see this in politics.

There's a psychological aspect to all this, with people either feeling they are the chosen one or people thinking they know the truth because they are cleverer. Deep down it shows an absolute void and lack of self steem.

[Michael.]

9 hours ago, San said:

What's the obsession with paedophilia though At least make your conspiracy slightly plausible. Dumb fucks.

I read an article recently that basically said that QAnon is repackaged "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" with left wing liberals and celebrities included with the Jews.

[elijah]

Didn't the whole idea of QAnon come from Stephen King Doctor Sleep where a group (now renamed as Hollywood stars, the demoNcrats) prayed on children's energy... Not very creative that Q we must conclude.

[funkydita]

Qanon and Pizzagate are so intriguing to me, the fact that something that started on 4chan and proliferated on Facebook and Twitter ended up in the recent insurrection is truly incredible. 

Social media has elevated people who, just a couple of decades ago, would be roaming the streets wearing sandwich boards pronouncing “the end is nigh”.  I mean, David Icke has gone from a shellsuit wearing joke to selling out arenas. Don’t get me started on flat earthers.

Social has changed people’s behaviour in such a short amount of time, from body image and surgery to fostering regime changes, arguably making Trump president and turning what feels like every second gay into an OnlyFans pornstar.  It’s morbidly fascinating to watch it all unfold.

A slight tangent but the talk of echo chambers and conspiracy theories  reminded me of Hypernormalisation, the BBC documentary by Adam Curtis. Seek it out if you haven’t watched it, it’s on iPlayer and gives a really interesting perspective on how we’ve ended up in the mess we’ve seen these past few years.

[ULIZOS]

Isn't this exactly how the KKK, the Nazis, Hutu in Rwanda and every other fringe hate group starts? Different medium, same shit as always. The KKK and Nazis spread baseless lies in print media (books, publications and underground newspapers), the Hutu used radio to spread their lies, hate and organize a genocide, and these racist QAnon Trump idiots use the internet.

If Facebook, Twitter and social media as a whole tries to shut down these groups, they'll just find another place to do it. They always do.  

[karbatal]

1 hour ago, funkydita said:

Qanon and Pizzagate are so intriguing to me, the fact that something that started on 4chan and proliferated on Facebook and Twitter ended up in the recent insurrection is truly incredible. 

Social media has elevated people who, just a couple of decades ago, would be roaming the streets wearing sandwich boards pronouncing “the end is nigh”.  I mean, David Icke has gone from a shellsuit wearing joke to selling out arenas. Don’t get me started on flat earthers.

Social has changed people’s behaviour in such a short amount of time, from body image and surgery to fostering regime changes, arguably making Trump president and turning what feels like every second gay into an OnlyFans pornstar.  It’s morbidly fascinating to watch it all unfold.

A slight tangent but the talk of echo chambers and conspiracy theories  reminded me of Hypernormalisation, the BBC documentary by Adam Curtis. Seek it out if you haven’t watched it, it’s on iPlayer and gives a really interesting perspective on how we’ve ended up in the mess we’ve seen these past few years.

Very intelligent post. I agree 100% with what you say.

[karbatal]

39 minutes ago, ULIZOS said:

Isn't this exactly how the KKK, the Nazis, Hutu in Rwanda and every other fringe hate group starts? Different medium, same shit as always. The KKK and Nazis spread baseless lies in print media (books, publications and underground newspapers), the Hutu used radio to spread their lies, hate and organize a genocide, and these racist QAnon Trump idiots use the internet.

If Facebook, Twitter and social media as a whole tries to shut down these groups, they'll just find another place to do it. They always do.  

Yes. In Nazi Germany the first step was to control all media. And drop by drop the message was established. 

But Facebook and especially Twitter are very powerful. Those groups can look for a new platform but it wouldn't be the same. It would be like Fox news, a niche that only stupid people watch. The danger of Facebook and Twitter is that the message gets through even if you are not interested. And in Facebook case, it can be targeted depending on your interest. 

[Guest eroticerotic]

19 hours ago, Jazzy Jan said:

I think in the future, becoming “ addicted “ to believing outrageous conspiracy theories will be both listed as a mental illness and a form of addiction.  

Human history shows that our species has always been addicted to them - id say all tragedy stems from the lynchmob mindset - none of this is anything new...same dumb,  different cast.

[San]

13 hours ago, Jazzy Jan said:

I loved your Mum. She loved the Rebel heart concert so much  

[LSD]

 

[cardiganstarlet]

On 1/22/2021 at 12:15 PM, Jazzy Jan said:

So many Mentally ill and paranoid people have been led a merry dance by these dangerous groups. I think in the future, becoming “ addicted “ to believing outrageous conspiracy theories will be both listed as a mental illness and a form of addiction.  I am not defending them but they are clearly unhinged. 

I agree with you. I’ve noticed the people in my life who have an addictive type of personality really go down this rabbit hole and drink the kool aid. Couple that with a variety of environmental factors and it just compounds it.

I used to make jokes about these type of voters having a chemical imbalance but now I’m not so sure it’s a joke anymore.

[Kelmadfan]

These people are the American Taliban. And fortunately for us they’re incredibly stupid & willfully ignorant. Let’s hope lawmakers uphold the law instead of ignoring it. If the people who stormed The Capitol building were darker, there’d have been a whole ‘nuther outcome. The way rethuglicans & trumpublicans are acting with their “unity” BS is funny when you think of the energy they put into Benghazi & Clinton’s BJ. Rand Paul doesn’t even want to have an impeachment trial in the Senate, along with 45 other Senators

[karbatal]

20 hours ago, Kelmadfan said:

These people are the American Taliban. And fortunately for us they’re incredibly stupid & willfully ignorant. Let’s hope lawmakers uphold the law instead of ignoring it. If the people who stormed The Capitol building were darker, there’d have been a whole ‘nuther outcome. The way rethuglicans & trumpublicans are acting with their “unity” BS is funny when you think of the energy they put into Benghazi & Clinton’s BJ. Rand Paul doesn’t even want to have an impeachment trial in the Senate, along with 45 other Senators

I am very glad that this comparison is being made. Because now maybe people in USA can imagine how would it feel to be bombed, to have your country destroyed and your whole culture maligned simply because a part of the population of your country is radically ignorant and have the power. While a significant other part of the population is against those ideas..