5 ms·

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.
    - moolcool 5y ago
      Comments like this (and many others in this thread) are so indicative to me of the bubble a lot of tech people live in. I personally know several people who are extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus (by age, location, and preexisting medical conditions) who are refusing the vaccine based on the premise that it was designed somehow to kill/sterilize/control them. Spend some time sleuthing on Facebook and you'll find groups with tens of thousands of people with this kind of mindset. I think there's a tendency for people on HN in particular to downplay this phenomenon because it directly implicates big tech in a very big way-- social media is a veritable incubator for these ideas.
      - loopz 5y ago
        Maybe both are true? ;)

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.
  - moolcool 5y ago
    Comments like this (and many others in this thread) are so indicative to me of the bubble a lot of tech people live in. I personally know several people who are extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus (by age, location, and preexisting medical conditions) who are refusing the vaccine based on the premise that it was designed somehow to kill/sterilize/control them. Spend some time sleuthing on Facebook and you'll find groups with tens of thousands of people with this kind of mindset. I think there's a tendency for people on HN in particular to downplay this phenomenon because it directly implicates big tech in a very big way-- social media is a veritable incubator for these ideas.
    - loopz 5y ago
      Maybe both are true? ;)