The document discusses the relationship between conspiracy theories like QAnon and disinformation spread on social media. While social media helps spread disinformation, research shows people are only influenced if they are already prone to conspiratorial thinking. Some key points: social media provides a platform to spread ideas silently; mainstream coverage of conspiracies also fuels beliefs; and surveys show only 5-7% of Americans actually believe in QAnon theories despite their influence.

1. JRN 450 – QAnon
Part Two
• QAnon is based on a
conspiracy theory that
states the global elite
feast on the blood of
children.
• It is a conspiracy
theory fed by
disinformation but the
two are separate
elements.

2. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• “A conspiracy theory is a set of ideas describing the collusion of
various individuals or entities for a malevolent purpose. The
claims encompassed in conspiracy theories are unverified,
unverifiable, and sensationalistic, and they rebut more coherent
and logical explanations for the topic at hand. Central elements of
a conspiracy theory include a pattern or causal connection
between various people, objects, or events; agency or
intentionality among alleged conspirators; a coalition of actors;
threatening or malevolent goals; and secrecy among those
involved,” wrote Dr. Brian J. Holoyda in the Journal of the
American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law in March 2022.

3. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• It’s also important to
point out that
disinformation on
social media and
conspiracy theories
often go hand-in-hand
but the relationship is
more complex than it
appears.

4. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• Social media plays a
role in amplifying
conspiracy theories
but there’s a catch
to that, too, a team
of nine scholars led
by Adam Enders
concluded in a July
2021 study.

5. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• “Conspiracy thinking is a latent predisposition to interpret events
and circumstances as the product of malevolent conspiracies, a
tendency to impose a conspiratorial narrative on salient affairs,”
the team of scholars wrote in their July 2021 study titled The
Relationship Between Social Media Use and Beliefs in Conspiracy
Theories and Misinformation published in the journal Political
Behavior.
• Social media plays a role in spreading that narrative.

6. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• “Social media is a key player in the dissemination of conspiracy
theories and misinformation. Dubious ideas about electoral fraud,
COVID-19 vaccine safety, and Satanic pedophiles controlling the
government, for example, swiftly navigate social media platforms,
oftentimes avoiding censors all the while feeding the algorithms
that further promote them,” the authors wrote.

7. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• But, they concluded, conspiracy theories and disinformation only
work on people who are already inclined to believe it.
• “We hypothesize that while social media is likely to spread
conspiracy theories and some misinformation, such information
will be most likely to translate into beliefs for those already
attracted to conspiratorial explanations for salient events,” the
scholars wrote.

8. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• “Across two studies, we examine the relationship between beliefs
in conspiracy theories and media use, finding that individuals who
get their news from social media and use social media frequently
express more beliefs in some types of conspiracy theories and
misinformation. However, we also find that these relationships are
conditional on conspiracy thinking--the predisposition to interpret
salient events as products of conspiracies--such that social media
use becomes more strongly associated with conspiracy beliefs as
conspiracy thinking intensifies,” the scholars wrote.

9. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• In short, the cognitive biases we discussed earlier in the semester
work in first accepting then spreading disinformation.
• QAnon stands as a particular toxic example of that because of the
theory’s capacity to influence electoral politics.
• The authors proposed remedies for neutralizing the impact of
conspiracy theories and disinformation.

10. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• “That the connection between social media use and conspiracy
beliefs is contingent on (at least) conspiracy thinking suggests
additional avenues for social media companies and policymakers
to pursue for reducing the pernicious effects of conspiracy
theories and misinformation. For example, policymakers might do
well to consider how trust in governmental and scientific
institutions and processes can be bolstered––these changes focus
on the toxic levels of conspiracy thinking that encourage beliefs in
conspiracy theories and misinformation regardless of the medium
by which one is exposed to such ideas,” the scholars wrote.

11. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• “Finally, policymakers and journalists might broaden their
inquiries to include mainstream news sources––if predispositions
matter, regular attention to conspiracy theories in mainstream
outlets can do as much, if not more, to inflame conspiracy beliefs
as social media platforms can.”
• Basically, journalists ought to stop becoming unwitting multipliers
by covering conspiracy theories such as QAnon.

12. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• In his article for the Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry
and the Law (March 2022), Dr. Holoyda wrote that social media is
fuel for the spread of conspiracy theories.
• “An information landscape that enables the development of siloed
communities of individuals who are prone to reject traditional
news provides fertile soil for the growth of conspiracy thinking,”
he wrote.

13. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• Disinformation stemming from a current event that may not seem
relevant to the core QAnon conspiracy theory, he wrote, can
readily be added to the theory to reinforce it via social media.
• “Indeed, QAnon’s spread and representation on social media
platforms have been extensive and persistent,” wrote Dr. Holoyda.

14. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• Quoting a report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Dr.
Holoyda wrote that from “October 27, 2017, to June 17, 2020, ISD
identified 69,475,451 tweets, 487,310 Facebook posts, and
281,554 Instagram posts that mentioned QAnon-related phrases or
hashtags. They noted that the number of posts and unique users
discussing QAnon tends to increase in response to certain events”
such as the arrest and death of Jeffrey Epstein.

15. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• Thus, the intersection between QAnon as a group of conspiracy
theorists and disinformation is that the group tacks disinformation
onto its narrative as events dictate and if the events can appear
to be organic to the narrative.
• There is little difference between #stopthesteal and
#savethechildren in the metaverse of QAnon, as both are
connected by its vision of Donald Trump as the leading character
to save America from the cabal. QAnon quickly absorbed the anti-
COVID shutdown movement when adherents claimed it was part of
the conspiracy to keep the cabal in power.

16. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• Dr. Holoyda rejected media coverage of QAnon that describes it as
a cult. Joining QAnon “entails opening a web browser and
searching social media sites for relevant posts and like-minded
individuals. There is no evidence that QAnon theorists seek to
bring about transcendent experiences in believers. In addition, the
QAnon conspiracy theory does not entail belief in a transcendental
goal. Rather, the theory is fixated on comparatively banal topics
related to human life on Earth, including the tweets of Donald
Trump, Hillary Clinton’s e-mail history, wildfires, the COVID-19
pandemic, alleged child sexual abuse, and the 2020 United States
presidential election.”

17. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• “QAnon’s casual and inaccurate conflation with a cult by various
news outlets highlights the difficulty in distinguishing between
various types of DLBs (delusion-like beliefs) …, wrote Dr. Holoyda.
• “Finally, the fact that conspiracy theories are widely held within
the general population indicates that they are not delusions, lest
most of the population be considered to have a delusional
disorder,” he concluded.

18. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• “Social media platforms, insouciant politicians and celebrities,
and nihilistic online trolls may all play a role in the popularization
and perpetuation of conspiracy theories; however, their effects
are felt much more acutely in the minds of the susceptible and
the growing rents in the social fabric,” wrote Dr. Holoyda.
• In short, the victims of QAnon may be QAnon adherents
themselves and the weaponization of the conspiracy theory to win
votes and boost social media engagement figures to elevate the
platforms’ profits.

19. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• The Stanford Center for Security and Cooperation reported that
QAnon followers have been “heavily linked to poor mental health,
and many followers (43%) reported being radicalized following a
traumatic event.”
• Additionally, QAnon has caused rifts in families and relationships
across the U.S. Many people claim that getting involved with
QAnon dramatically changed their loved ones’ personality and
behavior.

20. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• A Public Religion Research Institute survey in 2021 found that 16%
of Americans and 25% of Republicans believe in QAnon conspiracy
theories.
• “The share of Americans who completely reject QAnon conspiracy
theories dipped slightly in 2021, from 40% in March to 34% in
October,” the survey reported.
• The survey’s accuracy, however, has been called into question.

21. JRN 450 – QAnon Part Two
• University of Miami political scientist Joseph Uscinski has been
polling Americans on QAnon since 2018. He said in an interview in
2021 that surveys show between 5 and 7 percent of Americans
believe in QAnon.
• “The good news is QAnon is not that big,” Uscinski said in the
interview with fivethirtyeight.com. “The bad news is a lot of the
wacky ideas that are prominent with QAnon are big, and they
probably were long before QAnon ever showed up.”