5 ms·

There's legitimate stories where there's a lot of smoke, and a lot of credible speculation (the Epstein story and lab-leak theory are two good examples). The pr

There's legitimate stories where there's a lot of smoke, and a lot of credible speculation (the Epstein story and lab-leak theory are two good examples). The problem is that these get coopted by qanon and affiliated groups and start to become less credible in the public eye as a result. There's some tragic irony to the fact that potentially well-meaning crackpots are being used as a smokescreen for those who are actually doing wrong.

scarmig 5y ago
This isn't about the public eye, primarily. It's about the "expert" voices in media who report on these things. Most of what can reasonably called the mainstream media was misrepresenting lab leak theories as racist QAnon ramblings for a year before it entered the "it's okay to believe this" realm. This kind of dismissal ends up being the default mode for any idea which doesn't fall within a very narrow approved view of reality.
slibhb 5y ago
This is not what happens. What happens is, people discuss something plausible for which there exists circumstantial evidence (e.g. lab leak theory). Then, the media, left and right, pretends it has defininitve answers and uses "q anon" as an excuse to claim the plausible theory is wrong.
- moolcool 5y ago
  Why can't both be true? Actual qanon types absolutely latch on to stories like this-- kind of a broken clock situation.
  - slibhb 5y ago
    Why do we care about q anon? Why has this tiny group of flat-earthers (at least half of whom are probably screwing around on the internet) become nationally known?
    - moolcool 5y ago
      Because there's a hell of a lot of them. They also have a tendency to do things that effect others; like vote, and commit armed insurrections of the capitol.
      - slibhb 5y ago
        There aren't a lot of them. Several hundred invalids rioting is not a lot. The left wants to pretend that there are all these loony q anon believers just like the right wants to pretend all left-wingers are antifa anarchists. In reality, these are tiny groups that most Americans find utterly repulsive. And, perversely, the media's breathless coverage of these groups is boosting their membership.
        moolcool 5y ago
        There definitively are a lot of them https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/study-finds-nearly-one-five-americans-believe-qanon-conspiracy-theories-n1268722 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/study-finds-...
    - LargeWu 5y ago
      Because they are among the most rabid supporters of the previous president. I don't think it's outlandish to say there was a positive feedback loop between the two, and it directly affected both policy and messaging, including public health. Just look at the resistance to getting the vaccine among these people - it threatens the herd immunity that is one of the goals of the vaccine program. This is due in no small part to the mixed messaging from the prior administration.
      - slibhb 5y ago
        You're making a claim that vaccine hesitancy is about being a rabid conspiracy theorist (or "mixed messaging). I don't think you're right. People don't like getting vaccines for rational reasons like: they don't like getting shots (much less 2), they're worried about side effects (which are real), they don't trust new technology (like mrna vaccines), and so on. I think people should get vaccinated. But I understand why someone wouldn't and it has nothing to do with believing in q anon. It's like paying your taxes: I don't like paying my taxes but I do it because 1. I drive on the roads and 2. it's illegal not to. If not paying taxes was legal, I hope I'd still pay (because I drive on the roads) but a lot of people wouldn't (even though they should) for reasons that have nothing to do with being a conspiracy theorist.

scarmig 5y ago

This isn't about the public eye, primarily. It's about the "expert" voices in media who report on these things. Most of what can reasonably called the mainstream media was misrepresenting lab leak theories as racist QAnon ramblings for a year before it entered the "it's okay to believe this" realm. This kind of dismissal ends up being the default mode for any idea which doesn't fall within a very narrow approved view of reality.

slibhb 5y ago

This is not what happens. What happens is, people discuss something plausible for which there exists circumstantial evidence (e.g. lab leak theory). Then, the media, left and right, pretends it has defininitve answers and uses "q anon" as an excuse to claim the plausible theory is wrong.

moolcool 5y ago
Why can't both be true? Actual qanon types absolutely latch on to stories like this-- kind of a broken clock situation.
- slibhb 5y ago
  Why do we care about q anon? Why has this tiny group of flat-earthers (at least half of whom are probably screwing around on the internet) become nationally known?
  - moolcool 5y ago
    Because there's a hell of a lot of them. They also have a tendency to do things that effect others; like vote, and commit armed insurrections of the capitol.
    - slibhb 5y ago
      There aren't a lot of them. Several hundred invalids rioting is not a lot. The left wants to pretend that there are all these loony q anon believers just like the right wants to pretend all left-wingers are antifa anarchists. In reality, these are tiny groups that most Americans find utterly repulsive. And, perversely, the media's breathless coverage of these groups is boosting their membership.
      - moolcool 5y ago
        There definitively are a lot of them https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/study-finds-nearly-one-five-americans-believe-qanon-conspiracy-theories-n1268722 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/study-finds-...
  - LargeWu 5y ago
    Because they are among the most rabid supporters of the previous president. I don't think it's outlandish to say there was a positive feedback loop between the two, and it directly affected both policy and messaging, including public health. Just look at the resistance to getting the vaccine among these people - it threatens the herd immunity that is one of the goals of the vaccine program. This is due in no small part to the mixed messaging from the prior administration.
    - slibhb 5y ago
      You're making a claim that vaccine hesitancy is about being a rabid conspiracy theorist (or "mixed messaging). I don't think you're right. People don't like getting vaccines for rational reasons like: they don't like getting shots (much less 2), they're worried about side effects (which are real), they don't trust new technology (like mrna vaccines), and so on. I think people should get vaccinated. But I understand why someone wouldn't and it has nothing to do with believing in q anon. It's like paying your taxes: I don't like paying my taxes but I do it because 1. I drive on the roads and 2. it's illegal not to. If not paying taxes was legal, I hope I'd still pay (because I drive on the roads) but a lot of people wouldn't (even though they should) for reasons that have nothing to do with being a conspiracy theorist.