It’s no surprise the unexplained structures have the internet buzzing. But they haven’t entered the ranks of other great conspiracy material — and history helps explain why they probably won’t.
Gonzalo Soltero, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
In 1967 a Mexican reporter told the CIA he had met Lee Harvey Oswald in Mexico City just before the JFK assassination. New research and recently declassified intelligence pokes a hole in his story.
Emilio Ferrara, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Twitter bots amplify conspiracy theories, including the so-called ‘collective delusion’ that is QAnon, making them appear more popular and able to reach more real humans.
The QAnon conspiracy movement is the latest in a long line of moral panics that emerge as a response to change. False theories are used to undermine claims to social justice raised by marginalized groups.
Donald Trump said followers of conspiracy theory ‘are very much against pedophilia.’ What he didn’t mention was the demonic imagery and language that peppers QAnon posts.
Facebook and YouTube have brought in measures to stop the spread of dangerous QAnon conspiracies, but members of the Q community have found new ways to promote false theories on social media.
The Christian right began to coalesce around social and cultural changes in the late 1970s. A scholar explains the emergence of conspiracy theories at the time.