For me I think it has to be Russiagate. It’s just become a catch all for centrist libs to refuse to believe anything bad about their team, make up crazy conspiracies about anyone to their left or right, dismiss every contradiction of capitalism as “Russian interference”. It’s maddening. At least the RWNJ conspiracies like Q and the Alex Jones shit are usually pretty funny because of how ridiculous they are, russiagate doesn’t even have that going for it.
What are some other contenders?
Right now it's hilarious. The problem is, I think it's likely to become terrifying very soon.
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I've been getting more creeped out by Q people lately. They sound pretty cultish now. Some of them really think they're saving children. This guy I talked to last week DMed me and was going off about how thanks to his Q family his finally understands love and community, and even though he's alienating people in his life he's never been more sure about his direction... Like straight up cult shit.
r/qanoncasualties is the most depressing place on the internet. People losing spouses, friends, siblings, parents, to this insanity. And there have been maybe two success stories of people leaving the Qult ever posted there.
Absolutely correct. Their audience has grown explosively due to quarantine, and people have nothing but time and a need for content that explains things to them.
Leftist ideals are less appealing, because we ask people to do things. Get involved, join an org, protest, organize, etc. Qanon right now asks them to "watch the show". But what happens when the show doesn't air? "When Prophecy Fails" suggests they won't drop away, instead they'll further radicalize.
Qanon has also been getting a lot more mainstream attention lately. Like the average liberal who watches the news probably knows what it is (anecdotally my relatives are all liberals, and all know what it was when I mentioned seeing a Q flag to them). I think the mainstream attention is causing public figures on the right to distance themselves from Q a little more, which should have a cooling effect on the movement as a whole. Eric Trump is a real person, and when he tweets about Q or whatever, it gives new Q recruits a sort of authority or factual confirmation. Without that, I would imagine that they get scared off by the chemtrails and aliens before they can be fully converted.