It will get worse before it gets better even as a decline in QAnon signals a potential retreat into more domestic terrorism. This will be concurrent with the closing circle on the Trump crime syndicate, and worse, exploited by a GOP that attempted a coup in January 2021.
Some QAnon followers may become physically violent with Democrats and other political figures if the conspiracy theory movement's predictions don't come to fruition, a new FBI and Department of Homeland Security report said.
The report, released Tuesday by Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, asserts that while some followers may distance themselves as QAnon prophecies stay prophecy, others may "begin to believe they can no longer 'trust the plan' referenced in QAnon posts and they have an obligation to change from serving as 'digital soldiers' toward engaging in real world violence."
The QAnon following encompasses a wide range of beliefs, including one theory that former President Donald Trump was trying to uncover a child sex trafficking operation in the "deep state" run by Satan-worshipping cannibals. Another conspiracy, "The Storm," led many QAnon supporters to anticipate a day of judgement for Trump's opponents, the Associated Press reported.
As major social media companies suspend or remove QAnon-themed accounts, many followers have moved to less well-known platforms and discussed how to radicalize new users on them, the report says.
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I found that many QAnon followers revealed – in their own words on social media or in interviews – a wide range of mental health diagnoses, including bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety and addiction.
In court records of QAnon followers arrested in the wake of the Capitol insurrection, 68% reported they had received mental health diagnoses. The conditions they revealed included post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, paranoid schizophrenia and Munchausen syndrome by proxy – a psychological disorder that causes one to invent or inflict health problems on a loved one, usually a child, in order to gain attention for themselves. By contrast, 19% of all Americans have a mental health diagnosis.
Among QAnon insurrectionists with criminal records, 44% experienced a serious psychological trauma that preceded their radicalization, such as physical or sexual abuse of them or of their children.
The psychology of conspiracy
Research has long revealed connections between psychological problems and beliefs in conspiracy theories. For example, anxiety increases conspiratorial thinking, as do social isolation and loneliness.
Depressed, narcissistic and emotionally detached people are also prone to have a conspiratorial mindset. Likewise, people who exhibit odd, eccentric, suspicious and paranoid behavior – and who are manipulative, irresponsible and low on empathy – are more likely to believe conspiracy theories.
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McConnell backs bill to strip funding from schools that teach #1619 Project, Critical Race Theory