Grandmothers and QAnon on Facebook

Very interesting and rather depressing to think how many people are gullible enough to believe such far-fetched nonsense. Isn't it strange that some would believe we are ruled by lizards at the same time as believing that Covid19 is a hoax?

There was an interesting article about QAnon in the Sunday Herald yesterday. One school of thought is that it started from one single posting, that just grew and grew. There is also a possibility that it was a "joke" posting, but that people actually believed it. I might try and get hold of the book you mention elegran, it sounds interesting.

Regarding blaming grannies, I don't agree with that. But a couple of months ago a rather elderly friend of mine joined Facebook. She then went on to post all of the memes and scare stories from the last few years (yes, years) that most of us have seen and discounted. There is something deep in all these stories that makes people think they are doing the right thing by sharing them.

I haven't read it all, just skimmed it, but this caught my eye

For one woman that meant sharing conspiracy theories from Mama Wolf, one of the Facebook accounts circulating QAnon content
The name sounded familiar.

MaizieD

P.S. Meant to say you should find out so that you don't get sucked into it unawares.

I found out after you'd mentioned it on another thread, MaizieD.
I hadn't heard of it and haven't seen anything on FB but I have very few FB 'friends' and my privacy and 'likes' settings are high.

It's a good idea to check an update them.

I've just read a very good (and very readable) book on the subject. It came out just before the coronavirus pandemic, so doesn't mention it, but it explains a lot of the history and the science of the spread of all sorts of things, how both physical and virtual viruses, and memes of other kinds move through populations, from folk stories and financial crises to gun violence and misinformation. Some background tales about researchers and research into the subject, too.

"The rules of contagion - why things spread, and why they stop." by Adam Kucharsky. (The Kindle version only cost me £4.27)

Crackpots in other words---the world's full of them

Of course, the Facebook algorithm is designed to give you more of what you 'like' or share. (I believe that YouTube is similar). So once you're in the loop it's very hard to get out again and your beliefs are constantly reinforced.

Some grannies are gullible, naive and easily panicked by scare stories. So are some younger people!

Most of the members of Gransnet are able to apply common sense and logic to the rubbish that clogs up social networking sites - we just have to call out any nonsense we see and point people to the many sources of genuine facts about the "conspiracies".
Trouble is, it has been demonstrated again and again that false information spreads much faster than the truth, and the refutations are treated with more suspicion than the sensational rumours.

There are indeed some bonkers conspiracy theories about and I can see how perhaps “gullible” elderly people who use social media might well be part of the spread.
I have read a few “theories “ even in this place in the past which have raised my eyebrows - Covid related and anti-vaxx among them.

Watch “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix.

That will get you right up to speed with the world of social media, conspiracy theories and AI.

Very worrying indeed

I was quite pleased that the comments denouncing the ageism & sexism implicit in the article seemed to come mainly from men.
Yes Pamela you should find out about QAnon and guard against it as Maizie says.

P.S. Meant to say you should find out so that you don't get sucked into it unawares.

I think that anyone who doesn't know what QAnon is should find out from a reputable source PDQ because it a menace.

Basically it is a conspiracy theory based movement which has attracted to it all the cranky theories flying around at the moment. Things like climate change denial, anti vaxxers, anti maskers, anti 5Gers, covid is a scam, the world is run by an elite paedophile ring, or lizards... It also seems to attract white supremacists. You know the sort of thing...

And if you're a QAnon believer you desperately need help...

Well not me. I don’t even know what a QAnon is. I don’t think I can be bothered to find out either.

Should I?