The QAnon movement’s most recent batshittery was sparked by a German politician’s flub...
Insider
Both far-right conspiracy forums and mainstream platforms such as TikTok have spread wild claims in the past week that all surround the date of September 24. Although there's no proof whatsoever that anything catastrophic or world changing will happen on that date, the otherwise unremarkable day has become the source of rampant online speculation.
QAnon followers, apocalyptic conspiracy theorists and various content creators have fixated on the date, sharing baseless theories across social media that have received millions of views. Each has come up with convoluted explanations for why the day has some hidden meaning.
The online fascination with September 24 stems in part from a speech given by Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union party. In a speech earlier this month addressing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Merz misspoke and said September 24 (instead of February 24, the first day of the invasion) would be a day that people would remember, according to a German far-right researcher.
Merz' "September 24" comment was then clipped and spread around German QAnon Telegram channels, according to Vice, stripping it of context and framing it as having some outsized significance. The clip gained traction and proliferated around social media as many baselessly speculated that something big will happen on the day, while some QAnon believers used it as fodder to promote their movement. The reasons given for why the date is significant tend to rely on outlandish connections or numerology — some users have cited as proof the fact that The Simpsons' ninth episode in its 24th season (which could abbreviate to 9/24) included survivalists preparing for the end of the world.
The conspiracy gained traction after an episode of the Simpsons was tied to the date...
Consequence.net
While no one at QAnon is certain what, exactly, is going to happen on September 24th, followers on different platforms have thrown around the possibility of nuclear war, a financial crisis, water poisoning, and an armed revolution. The conspiracy theorists first got the idea for a fall armageddon when German lawmaker Friedrich Merz, speaking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this month, misspoke and said everyone will remember where they were on September 24th instead of than February 24th, the day Russia invaded.
Taking Merz’ mistake as a hint at what’s to come, QAnon followers turned to The Simpons — which has, in the past, predicted Trump’s presidency and the Disney-21st Century Fox merger, among other things — to investigate.
Naturally, they turned to Season 9 Episode 24 (aka 9/24), an episode that features a group of end-of-the-world preppers. In the episode, dubbed “Lost Our Lisa,” the preppers discuss WROL, or Without Rule of Law, which refers to a post-apocalyptic landscape with no rules. QAnon followers also cited the electromagnetic pulse device that features in the episode as proof that “10 days of darkness” are coming to restore Donald Trump to office.
Shit snowballed from there...
Vice
The claim has been spread by major QAnon accounts on Telegram, YouTube, and Trump’s own platform, Truth Social. One of those sharing the claim was Juan O Savin, a QAnon influencer whose real name is Wayne Willott, who has deep connections to far-right GOP candidates running for secretary of state positions in November’s midterms.
To back up their wild speculation, followers flagged other coincidences about the day—such as the fact that Sept. 24 on the Gregorian calendar converts to Sept. 11 on the Julian calendar. Others pointed out that it is the beginning of Rosh Hoshanah, the Jewish new year, though, like many of the claims, this is inaccurate as the holiday begins this year on the evening of Sept. 25.
Everything from nuclear armageddon to a financial reset to widespread water poisoning and an armed revolution has been predicted by those spinning these conspiracies to their followers.
Last weekend, one of the speakers at the conspiracy-filled Reawaken America conference series, where Trump’s two adult sons have spoken in the past, told the audience that “the day of vengeance” was a week away, before adding: “We’re going to watch it happen.”
Supposedly a solar flare will destroy the Earth...
Newsweek
No one quite knows what to expect from 9/24 but the most popular theory is that Earth will be hit by a massive solar flare, which will supposedly bring about the end of the world.
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From analyzing current solar activity, the probability of any major solar flare happening on this date is extremely low. As of Friday morning the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center hadn't issued any solar storm warnings.
What's more, according to NASA, even if a large solar flare were to occur, it would be unlikely to cause direct harm to humans due to the shielding effect of the Earth's atmosphere. That's not to say it would go unnoticed; powerful radiation like this could disrupt the high frequency radio signals used in navigational systems around the world.
Or maybe not… When imaginations run rampant, anything’s possible.