QAnon is coming. We need to be ready.

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Extremist researchers, law enforcement, community leaders, legal experts, and media, please prepare a worst-case scenario with QAnon being re-platformed. Do not underestimate the potential threat. Some groups consume content straight from foreign states and conspiracy theorists.

Jack Posobiec and QAnon groups amplifying Russian state-affiliated and pro-Kremlin posts about the power plant

Far-right influencer Jack Posobiec and groups devoted to QAnon and other conspiracy theories are circulating content about the situation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant from Russian state-affiliated and pro-Kremlin sources. Recently Russia fired close to the plant, raising concerns.

novelscience.substack.com

Jack Posobiec and QAnon groups amplifying Russian state-affiliated and pro-Kremlin posts about the power plant

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QAnon is a threat on its own, but the risk of outside manipulation may be greater than before. QAnon appears to radicalize people faster than other ideologies, and it also appears to increase the likelihood of violence more than other conspiracy theories.

Report: Conspiracy theorists fuel bump in extremist killings

Newer strains of far-right movements fueled by conspiracy theories, misogyny and anti-vaccine proponents contributed to a modest rise in killings by domestic extremists in the United States last year, according to a report released Tuesday by a Jewish civil rights group.

apnews.com

Report: Conspiracy theorists fuel bump in extremist killings

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We are not prepared to deal with this threat. Traditional counterterrorism strategies do not and cannot address this. So we will see a problem that we are ill-equipped to face, grow.

QAnon-inspired violence in the United States: an empirical assessment of a misunderstood threat

ABSTRACT National security experts in the United States have recently warned that the QAnon conspiracy theory is a danger that could soon rival more traditional terrorist threats. Are their fears warranted? Are QAnon supporters like other U.S. extremists? This paper addresses these questions by examining 100 QAnon sympathizers who committed crimes in the United States through August 2021.

www.tandfonline.com

QAnon-inspired violence in the United States: an empirical assessment of a misunderstood threat

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A big problem for democratic societies is that conspiracy theories can decrease our ability to work with other groups.

bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Results of the current study indicate that individuals who have odd beliefs/magical thinking and who are strategic, manipulative, dominant, and callous are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. Given the possibility for these beliefs to shape real-world behavior, and the possibility for this behavior to have damaging social and civic consequences, it is imperative research continues to establish predictors of these beliefs so reliable methods to challenge and negate these erroneous beliefs can be established.
—Source

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Across the board, conspiracy theories hold the potential for harm. There seems to be a significant negative relationship between anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccination intentions.

The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions

The current studies investigated the potential impact of anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs, and exposure to anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, on vaccination intentions. In Study 1, British parents completed a questionnaire measuring beliefs in anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and the likelihood that they would have a fictitious child vaccinated.

journals.plos.org

The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions

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In what has to be the darkest irony, “QAnon adherents have shown a disturbing willingness to engage in interpersonal violence, often harming those around them, including their own children.”

QAnon-inspired violence in the United States: an empirical assessment of a misunderstood threat

www.tandfonline.com

Source

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There are many consequences of conspiracy beliefs that go uncounted and not considered. An example that should outline the damage a conspiracy theory can do involves the US. No one counted the cost of the lives lost in the attached example.

E Rosalie on Twitter: "6/ The narrative claimed the US was studying biological warfare for use in Cuba by experimenting on Pakistan's people. We were actually establishing a state of the art malaria research facility that would have prevented thousands of deaths and injuries. https://t.co/83seqP5j9m / Twitter"

6/ The narrative claimed the US was studying biological warfare for use in Cuba by experimenting on Pakistan's people. We were actually establishing a state of the art malaria research facility that would have prevented thousands of deaths and injuries. https://t.co/83seqP5j9m

twitter.com

E Rosalie on Twitter: "6/ The narrative claimed the US was studying biological warfare for use in Cuba by experimenting on Pakistan's people. We were actually establishing a state of the art malaria research facility that would have prevented thousands of deaths and injuries. https://t.co/83seqP5j9m / Twitter"

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Here's another. Over 690,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations could have been prevented by vaccination between June to November 2021, costing about 13.8 billion.

Source

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"With a total nonvaccination harm of $1 billion per day and misinformation and disinformation causing between 5% and 30% of this harm, misinformation and disinformation have caused between $50 and $300 million worth of total harm every day since May 2021."

COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation and Disinformation Costs an Estimated $50 to $300 Million Each Day

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that false or misleading health-related information can dangerously undermine the response to a public health crisis. These messages include the inadvertent spread of erroneous information (misinformation) or deliberately created and propagated false or misleading information (disinformation).

www.centerforhealthsecurity.org

COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation and Disinformation Costs an Estimated $50 to $300 Million Each Day

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The social costs must be studied, but most researchers could tell you about families that have paid a steep price even with a Qanon adherent who is nonviolent.

New Research Outlines Traits of Qanon Followers Arrested in Relation to Capitol Attack

Grief-stricken families seek support by the thousands in online forums where they tell their stories. Whoever they were before is gone: "My father isn't my father anymore. He is a political statement. He is bigotry. He is conspiracy theories and violence." "My son is so confused about his dad's brainwashing.

novelscience.substack.com

New Research Outlines Traits of Qanon Followers Arrested in Relation to Capitol Attack

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Declines in parenting ability, divorce (I've seen cases where a spouse had to move out for safety), and child endangerment all cost society. Some of those costs play out over the lifetime.

Examples of disruptions to life that do not involve violence or crime.

My Dad Is Hospitalized From Ivermectin

A few hours ago I posted to twitter (half joking) asking if there was a support group for family members of people who have been radicalized. One of my followers sent me here and I'm honestly so glad they did.

www.reddit.com

grandpa died because of Qfamily

i've just found this sub. my grandpa died from COVID last december, and i don't know if he even knew about COVID. he had severe alzheimer's, and my Qgrandma and that side of the family didn't try to keep him safe from it. they live in a different state, but i wish i could have done more.

www.reddit.com

I'm afraid my Mom is too far gone

I think I officially have to give up any hope that I can talk her out of her adoration for Trump. I think any attempt to reason actually just makes her dig her heels in further, because it's a pride thing. It's like "You can't tell me how to think.

www.reddit.com

How do you stay friends with someone who believes in Adrenochrome, Q conspiracies, and refused to mask during the pandemic?

My childhood best friend and I (both in our mid-30's) stopped talking in 2020. Now she wants to come back in my life and says, "It's ok if friends have different political beliefs; it shouldn't affect who you have a relationship with," but I just don't know.

www.reddit.com

My father is unrecognizable.

I can't tell you how much this QAnon garbage has changed my Dad. He always leaned conservative but now he's turned into a culture warrior of the furthest extreme imaginable to the right. How could this happen? He used to be one of the most reasonable easy going people I know.

www.reddit.com

I feel like I've lost my best friend

One of my best friends of a decade and I have been like family for a long time. She doesn't speak to hers, and even though we live in different states we speak almost every day. But the last two years have really taken a toll on things.

www.reddit.com

Lost my sister and nieces to Q

238 votes, 48 comments. I'm just now allowing myself to accept it. I'm really hurting.

www.reddit.com

Update to: Q adjacent partner and vaccinating child

Hello everyone, Thanks a lot for your comments on my previous post. I know I didn't get the chance to reply to everyone but you were all so supportive and helpful and I wanted to update you on how things went. Well, things certainly hit the fan.

www.reddit.com

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I can't put a price on the experience of the people in these quotes, but they likely find that QAnon has been very costly.

New Research Outlines Traits of Qanon Followers Arrested in Relation to Capitol Attack

novelscience.substack.com

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QAnon adherents at the Capitol on Jan 6 were more likely to have children, to be married, and to have a criminal record. Either way, most Qanon adherents who break the law have kids.

www.start.umd.edu

START PIRUS Report

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Having an incarcerated parent can have lifelong consequences.

Hidden Consequences: The Impact of Incarceration on Dependent Children

Family members of incarcerated individuals are often referred to as "hidden victims" - victims of the criminal justice system who are neither acknowledged nor given a platform to be heard.

nij.ojp.gov

Hidden Consequences: The Impact of Incarceration on Dependent Children

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And again, we don't have time like with other movements where people are radicalized over time. 2/3 of the people on January 6th radicalized in under a year.

www.start.umd.edu

Source

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Fundamentally, I see this as a public health problem. People are not adequately educated about the mental changes experienced in crises that make them more susceptible to distortions and disinformation. They aren't taught about tactics bad actors use to draw us in.

The Lifecycle of Media Manipulation

In an age where a handful of powerful global tech platforms have disrupted the traditional means by which society is informed, media manipulation and disinformation campaigns now challenge all political and social institutions.

datajournalism.com

Stories about "Ukrainian Nazis" were rare before 2014 when they surged at the moment when Russia's plans faltered - HackMD

Stories about "Ukrainian Nazis" were rare before 2014 when they surged at the moment when Russia

hackmd.io

Stories about "Ukrainian Nazis" were rare before 2014 when they surged at the moment when Russia's plans faltered - HackMD

Pro-Kremlin outlets boost content that casts doubt on Ukrainian rape victims

Disclaimer: A 2020 report published by the US Department of State stated: "Russia's disinformation and propaganda ecosystem is the collection of official, proxy, and unattributed communication channels and platforms that Russia uses to create and amplify false narratives" (pg 3). The nature of malign influence necessitates clear definitions and terms; however, this risks unfair application.

novelscience.substack.com

Pro-Kremlin outlets boost content that casts doubt on Ukrainian rape victims

New accounts deny Bucha Massacre and boost pro-Kremlin narratives about the invasion

Hoaxlines collected the most recent 100,000 tweets for the query "Bucha" on April 3, 2022. The majority of tweets expressed outrage at the atrocities that took place in Bucha, which include a mass killing revealed by a mass grave. Examples of recent accounts denying the Bucha Massacre or boosting disinformation about Ukraine have been included in the report.

novelscience.substack.com

New accounts deny Bucha Massacre and boost pro-Kremlin narratives about the invasion

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We aren't teaching people what to expect mentally across their lifetime. Conspiracy theories can feel real and not be. They are like a cognitive illusion. It is like seeing the spinning bird in a cage and not understanding that what you see is not real.

Why unlikely events spur conspiracy theories and how to tell which are real

The conspiracy theories have already begun so it seemed like a good time to explain why they arise after an unlikely event and how to tell them apart from real ones.

novelscience.substack.com

Why unlikely events spur conspiracy theories and how to tell which are real

Also, bad: we ignore issues by blaming them on mental health when they don’t explain what happens.

web.archive.org

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Just as we now talk to all women about postpartum depression long before it could happen, we need to tell people how uncertainty affects them. The woman who experiences postpartum depression and learns of it ahead of time can recognize something may be wrong.

Pilot RCT of a social media parenting intervention for postpartum mothers with depression symptoms

ABSTRACT Objective: This pilot study describes the adaptation of a parenting group intervention for social media, and examines the feasibility, acceptability and initial outcomes of the adapted intervention for mothers with postpartum depression symptoms. Background: Postpartum depression can negatively affect parenting and the parent-infant relationship.

www.tandfonline.com

Pilot RCT of a social media parenting intervention for postpartum mothers with depression symptoms

APA PsycNet

psycnet.apa.org

Effects of psychoeducation on the mental health and relationships of pregnant couples: A systemic review and meta-analysis

Previous studies suggest that psychoeducational interventions for pregnant and postpartum couples can improve perinatal mental health outcomes and promote couples' relationships. However, most studies conducted to date have focused only on maternal depression, with few studies addressing the needs of fathers, or the effects of paternal participation on the mental health/relationship of both partners.

www.sciencedirect.com

Effects of psychoeducation on the mental health and relationships of pregnant couples: A systemic review and meta-analysis

Disguised Propaganda from Digital to Social Media

Disguised propaganda and political deception in digital media have been studied since the early days of the World Wide Web. At the intersection of internet research and propaganda studies, this chapter explores disguised propaganda on websites and social media platforms. Based on a discussion of key concepts and terminology, this chapter outlines how new modes of deception and source obfuscation emerge in digital and social media environments, and how this development complicates existing conceptual and epistemological frameworks in propaganda studies.

link.springer.com

Disguised Propaganda from Digital to Social Media

Conspiracy Theories Enduring Allure Flows From Their Ability to Meet Psychological Needs

written by Greg Miller for Knowable "The document itself is a written conspiracy theory," says Nancy Rosenblum, a political theorist emerita at Harvard University. It suggests that there's more going on than meets the eye, that someone with bad intentions is working behind the scenes.

novelscience.substack.com

Conspiracy Theories Enduring Allure Flows From Their Ability to Meet Psychological Needs

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We see the same themes and stories across decades and even centuries. We know susceptibility may increase in times of crisis. We know people resist disinformation better when they understand manipulation tactics. Knowing this but doing nothing preemptively is negligence.

Theories About Vaccines Empoisoning the World Thrive on What Believers Don't Know

Not a day goes by that someone doesn't send me an article about yet another "Covid vaccine death." I know people mean well. They just want the truth. Had I studied something else, I too would feel the draw of some of these compelling narratives that play on the fears in the back of our minds.

novelscience.substack.com

Theories About Vaccines Empoisoning the World Thrive on What Believers Don't Know

By being honest, leaders can improve the public's resistance to disinformation and conspiracy theories.

A 2020 study found that "Methamphetamine exposure made rats behave like humans with high paranoia." 1 Uncertainty can come from a disaster, the chaos following a terrorist attack, or it can come from a highly consequential event with an unknown outcome, like an election.

novelscience.substack.com

By being honest, leaders can improve the public's resistance to disinformation and conspiracy theories.

Breaking Harmony Square: A game that "inoculates" against political misinformation | HKS Misinformation Review

We present Harmony Square, a short, free-to-play online game in which players learn how political misinformation is produced and spread.

misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu

Harmony Square

Harmony Square is a game about disinformation, designed to expose the tactics and manipulation techniques that bad actors use to mislead their audience, build a following, and exploit societal tensions to their benefit.

harmonysquare.game

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This was originally published as a thread on Twitter.