America & the World V: DOGE Business

[Lebowski]

Social media also helps the idiots mobilize and share their bat**** theory's with each other, its how you end up with so many Flat Earthers and Anti-Vaxers spreading their misinformation to masses and recruiting more and more idiots.

I've seen really sensible people who you thought where quite intelligent go down these rabbit holes and latch on to some of the most insane conspiracy theory's (as they watched a really convincing video on the subject), i had a friend completely change his whole lifestyle and world view it was like he was a different person, it took loosing a lot of friends and his wife threatening to kick him out to finally get him to snap back to reality.

[Neon Ignition]

Driving home last night I passed a roundabout with 3-4 people who looked to be in their 60's on it. They'd pitched around 20 yellow signs up and each one looked to have some sort of statement on it they were protesting over but they were all utter nonsense like 5G being a killer. Honestly... not enough thought goes into what the removal of natural selection has done to mankinds development it seems

[Asura]

Driving home last night I passed a roundabout with 3-4 people who looked to be in their 60's on it. They'd pitched around 20 yellow signs up and each one looked to have some sort of statement on it they were protesting over but they were all utter nonsense like 5G being a killer. Honestly... not enough thought goes into what the removal of natural selection has done to mankinds development it seems

I was surprised to see people in London campaigning against the contrails left behind by planes a few years back. I thought people had gotten over that in the 80s; turns out it's still a thing.

A really, really, really ****ing stupid thing.

[Lebowski]

Driving home last night I passed a roundabout with 3-4 people who looked to be in their 60's on it. They'd pitched around 20 yellow signs up and each one looked to have some sort of statement on it they were protesting over but they were all utter nonsense like 5G being a killer. Honestly... not enough thought goes into what the removal of natural selection has done to mankinds development it seems

Where were these people saying that 5G kills when Coronation street was being broadcast over the same airwaves. These people seem to think that 5g is something new but the biggest reason for the switch off of the analogue TV signals was to open up the airwaves for mobile phone data services. It takes five minutes to find this out but nope their on a roundabout putting up placards.

[Neon Ignition]

I wish I coudl recall the specifics of the other signs, there was a wide array of theories they were into but as is the way with these things they don't entirely factor in that their target audience is simultaneously navigating a multi-exit junction at speed

[Brad]

I was surprised to see people in London campaigning against the contrails left behind by planes a few years back. I thought people had gotten over that in the 80s; turns out it's still a thing.

A really, really, really ****ing stupid thing.

Down with soot! And water! Frozen water especially!

[Neon Ignition]

Trump under investigation for civil rights conspiracy in January 6 inquiry | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Investigators are said to have enough evidence now to charge Trump with three crimes

[Lebowski]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/20/donald-trump-sounds-of-freedom-screening-golf-course-qanon

This is just bat****. so Trump has held a movie screening on his golf courses of a new film called the Sound of Freedom, a thriller about child sex trafficking, staring Jim Caviezel, the film is being promoted by followers of Qanon, and has takings of $100m so far and is a surprise hit in the US.

The screenplay never directly references QAnon, a baseless conspiracy theory that asserts Democrats are a cabal of Satan worshippers who traffic children for sex. But its main star Caviezel spoke at a QAnon convention in 2021 and, while promoting the film on Bannon’s podcast, remarked that “there is a big storm coming” – a QAnon trope.

It was like a who's who of lunatics, rubbing shoulders with Trump was Jack Posobiec who has pushed bogus conspiracy theories such as “Pizzagate”, which held that Democrats were running a child sex and torture ring beneath a pizzeria in Washington and Kari Lake, a former candidate for governor of Arizona and fervent promoter of the “big lie” of a stolen election.

I always thought that trump distanced himself from Qanon and just let them be because he didn't want to mess with a voter base, but nope here he is socialisng and promoting a film with these lunatics.

[Neon Ignition]

I don't even understand the mindset being that nonsense theory. Even if there was a grain of truth to it all it would do is A-Be one party scandal versus a myriad of Republican party scandals and B-Highlight the failure and incompetence of Trump and the Republicans to protect children and deal with serious crime.

"Yeah this is totally happening and we're continuing to allow it happen because... you know... yeah..."

If you believe that theory you might as believe that Trump and the Republicans are secretly Democrats in on it

[Asura]

I always thought that trump distanced himself from Qanon and just let them be because he didn't want to mess with a voter base, but nope here he is socialisng and promoting a film with these lunatics.

He did, during his tenure as president (and just before). There were all these rumours that he was Q, which was clearly bull****, and he distanced himself a few times (I remember seeing stuff about it). But it's fair to say he's gone all-in since the recent legal cases against him, as a backup in case the unthinkable happens and the US legal system sends a rich and powerful person to prison.

The QAnon thing is honestly bizarre. The way the "Q" person delivered their updates and comments, and how it relates to GamerGate was really quite something. I can give a summary of what I understand if people want, but ultimately it's delivered in such an effective way to try and proliferate among people in the digital era, it's either phenomenally lucky or extremely well orchestrated.

[Lebowski]

It started on a 4chan message board where people made up stories about child trafficking. It was all complete works of fiction, some kid somewhere on 4chan is laughing their ass of about how far this has gone. its like a sport making up fake stories and seeing how far they go.

[wakka]

I can recommend a few sources for people who would like to learn more about the origins of QAnon and the wide range of reasons it has proliferated, or keep up to date with the madness:

Q: Into the Storm

This HBO documentary series is sadly hard to watch in the UK and you might have to resort to less than legal means. It's a bit longer than it needs to be but if you want to get up close and personal with the actual people who wrote the original 'Q drops' on 4Chan and 8Chan and originally popularised it, watch it. Filming began in 2017 so you get to see the origin and progression of the whole movement.

Trust the Plan - Will Sommer

This book came out recently. It's by Will Sommer who is probably the journalist who has been most consistently on the Q-beat since the conspiracy began (writing mostly at The Daily Beast but now for the Washington Post). It's a good read and a strong introduction to the origins of QAnon, how it has evolved, its followers, and why they believe in it.

QAnon Anonymous

This podcast is great for keeping up with what is going on in the world of QAnon and the American and (sometimes) British far right conspiracy theorists. It has weekly reportage and discussion of QAnon leaders and promoters and their activities. Also it's humorous and quite funny!

[Lebowski]

I can recommend a few sources for people who would like to learn more about the origins of QAnon and the wide range of reasons it has proliferated, or keep up to date with the madness:

Q: Into the Storm

This HBO documentary series is sadly hard to watch in the UK and you might have to resort to less than legal means. It's a bit longer than it needs to be but if you want to get up close and personal with the actual people who wrote the original 'Q drops' on 4Chan and 8Chan and originally popularised it, watch it. Filming began in 2017 so you get to see the origin and progression of the whole movement.

Trust the Plan - Will Sommer

This book came out recently. It's by Will Sommer who is probably the journalist who has been most consistently on the Q-beat since the conspiracy began (writing mostly at The Daily Beast but now for the Washington Post). It's a good read and a strong introduction to the origins of QAnon, how it has evolved, its followers, and why they believe in it.

QAnon Anonymous

This podcast is great for keeping up with what is going on in the world of QAnon and the American and (sometimes) British far right conspiracy theorists. It has weekly reportage and discussion of QAnon leaders and promoters and their activities. Also it's humorous and quite funny!

I had a listen to the Aanonanonymous epidsode about the Sound of Freedom, and its a crazy rabbit hole to go down, so the company that made the film Angel Studios is a Christian far right film maker who crowd funds all its films, in its previous guise it got sued out of existence for taking popular films and removing all profanity and sexual content, and re streaming this content over its own network without permission.

The whole Sound of fredom film is a work of pure fiction it seems, Nothing in it stands up to any fact checking, then you start to look into the person the film is based on and you start to go down an even deeper rabbit hole with his charity underground railroad that's not quite what it seems either.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xj51Tr4n4lPRvDoxeg8aV?si=3e598a3687ee42b1

[wakka]

That's a great episode! The two Vice journos they have on really give you the full view of the guy who the Sound of Freedom is based on (Tim Ballard), too.

If you can't get enough of reading what about what a shady guy he is, here's a 2021 account of someone who got involved with his organisation and actually went on one of his 'raids' as a participant:

https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/05/sex-trafficking-raid-operation-underground-railroad.html

[Neon Ignition]

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