AN long conversation on Twitter posted by the official account of the Republican Party of Hawaii, defending QAnon believers as “largely motivated by a sincere and deep love for America”, he met with an intense reaction.
The topic, posted on Saturday and deleted the next morning, attempted to paint the baseless conspiracy theory as well-intentioned and blamed the media for the “hyperbolic” coverage of a group that the FBI identified as a potential domestic terrorist threat.
“We must make it very clear – the people who signed the fiction Q were largely motivated by a sincere and deep love for America,” said a tweet. “Patriotism and love for the Shire must never be ridiculed.”
There is no need for the media or anyone else to sensationalize the beliefs that are prevalent in the QAnon community. Central to the belief system of many adherents is the idea that a group of Satan-worshiping pedophiles (sometimes referred to as the “Deep State”) controls the world. Although QAnon adopts many well-established conspiracy theories, thereby creating a variety of choice and choice for supporters, a fixation on alleged politician crimes against children is common.
Child trafficking experts have repeatedly emphasized that QAnon undermines its efforts in the real world to help victims of sexual exploitation. Calls to hotlines for trafficked or at-risk individuals have skyrocketed in recent years, prompting some organizations to plead with people to stop calling and divert the necessary resources to people in need.
The Twitter account of the Republican Party of Hawaii tweeted in support of QAnon believers on January 23, 2021. The tweets have already been deleted.
Screenshot via Twitter“The people who followed Q do not deserve mockery, the world is a complex place, there are bad actors, injustice, corruption – the justice processes and mechanisms of our Republic are slow by design, abuses and injustices are always faster than that correction, “wrote the Hawaii GOP account.” People want hope. “
“What is the truth? There are groups of highly connected people with specific agendas,” he added. “Factions and individuals within the government abuse power – Peter Strozk, Steele Dossier, James Comey, FISA courts and so on.”
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QAnon’s influencers are particularly good at using real issues – sex trafficking, government corruption, corporate monopolies – to convince people of increasingly savage claims. Conspiracy theorists use factual events (such as the actions of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, for example) as evidence that a larger conspiracy is at stake. Using real events to present conspiracies to people is a worn-out tactic; marginal theories become more palatable as people dig deeper into the rabbit hole.
Before the topic of Hawaii’s GOP was deleted on Sunday morning, the responses were full of outraged responses.
“There is nothing patriotic about spreading conspiracy theories, trying to overturn the election results and breaking into the capitol building,” wrote Lincoln Project collaborator David Weissman.
Since deleting the topic, the Hawaii GOP has not issued an apology or clarification and continues to tweet as if the topic never happened.
There can be tragic consequences for people whose loved ones believe in Q. Violence and kidnappings related to believers are on the rise and several QAnon supporters have been involved in the attack on the United States Capitol, including Ashli Babbitt. Babbitt was shot dead by the Capitol Police when she tried to jump out of a window in a place where lawmakers were housed.