QAnon and the Emergence of the Unreal (2019) | Hacker News Reader

QAnon and the Emergence of the Unreal (2019)

jods.mitpress.mit.edu

25 pointsrbanffy8 comments

> For QAnons who’ve taken the red pill, the world of MSM is unreal, designed to deceive and prevent us from seeing the truth.

2nd article comment

> So one thing that all of you anti conspiracy theorists never talk about is how many ideas are no longer conspiracy but found to be true,

I think the power of QAnon comes from the fact MSM hasn't reported properly on the most important ongoing matters since WWII.

We still have no real whistle blower protection. Assange is currently silenced and the coverage has been very disappointing in MSM. This reinforces the doubt on what is real told by MSM for many years to come.

It would be great if more people became skeptical, critical thinkers who no longer passively absorb what is broadcasted, podcasted, printed, blogged, vlogged, or tweeted by other people. But these people haven't grown intellectually vigilant. They've grown especially credulous about thinly supported stories from outside the mainstream. It's like figuring out that the popular Santa Claus story doesn't add up and replacing it with a story about how the Easter Bunny secretly runs the world.

Having gone from a very leftist upbringing, to indulging in right wing conspiracy theories, and back to left leaning political views, I would say this article is pretty accurate. As you navigate these different “realities”, it feels like you are entering worlds with very different sets of facts, axioms, and emotional responses. Understanding or changing other people’s viewpoints is virtually impossible, and people are quick to chalk others opinions down to being uneducated, or stupidity. This will quickly create a divide that is even harder to cross. I’ve been wondering if there’s any way to help alleviate these conflicts, but all I can think of is if we collectively don’t give a shit about whatever we’re arguing about. But the problem is that maintains the status quo.

I get the feeling that QAnon is pulling in people in the western world, that would have similarly been pulled in by ISIS. A grand narrative of global elites that are cheating you. Promise that there is a figure who is working to stop them and is executing a grand plan (Trump/Allah/whoever). And of course, the eventual call to violence.

I think the solution is likely education... Not just book smarts, though that probably helps. But being a person who understands how to search for evidence that would contradict their beliefs, and be able to weigh those facts fairly. - I think this point is often where people fall victim of conspiracies. They question truths, and leave falsehoods unquestioned. This makes it difficult for them to become grounded in reality.

Left wing politics isn't necessarily a cure, but it might provide some inoculation against violent systems.

The President was asked about Q: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNI553Np__k

The emergence of groups like this is due to three reasons:

1. The internet

2. The misinformation, sensationalism, and emotional manipulation in the groups themselves

3. A massive gap/amount of disinformation in mainstream media/lexicon/knowledge base

People are massively overestimating number 2, and massively underestimating number three. The general populace is not as stupid as people and the media like to think, it’s blatantly clear that there’s more to what’s going on than is encapsulated in the current public narrative.

(2019)

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