The rise of QAnon this year has prompted social media platforms to take action on limiting its outreach. From Facebook to Twitter to 4Chan bulletin boards, it’s fair to say that QAnon is a product that lives and breathes almost exclusively in the digital space.
Asides from Pizzagate and the odd few crypted references from Trump’s presidential campaign, the conspiracy movement has not shown any real activity outside the realms of social media platforms. But the risks are still there. More than anything, it has demonstrated the responsibilities journalists face in debunking myths of misinformation in the digital landscape.
For social networking sites and online media outlets, the danger now lies in how quickly the ideas of a baseless conspiracy theory can evolve from the small audiences of a fringe internet subculture into a much larger, devoted following of a cult movement.
So what is QAnon and what does the social media crackdown mean for the future of digital reporting in the era of misinformation?
What is QAnon?
QAnon is a wide-ranging, baseless conspiracy theory, which claims that for decades, there has been an elite circle of child-trafficking, Satanist paedophiles who hold absolute power over the state, media and businesses – and that the man with the plan to bring it all down is none other than Donald Trump.
According to a Yahoo report in 2019, the FBI listed QAnon as a domestic terror threat, stating that the movement could potentially see “individual extremists carry out criminal or violent acts”.
Furthermore, this year’s US elections saw 14 congressional candidates on the ballot who have publicly supported the theory, which gave rise to the idea that influential public figures such as the Clintons will one day face retribution from Trump’s allies in a bizarre showdown of epic comic book proportions.
When did QAnon gain traction in the UK?
Although QAnon remains American in nature, the UK digital landscape has begun to see its growth due to our changing online habits.
EU misinformation watchdog NewsGuard warned in a July report that “we are witnessing the adaptation of these theories into EU-centred – or even – local narratives, where they merge with pre-existing conspiracies and groups”.
Researchers believe that COVID-19 was one of the ‘catalysts’ behind the rise of QAnon conspiracies sweeping across in Europe.
QAnon has consistently shown throughout lockdown and the run-up to the 2020 US elections how effortless it is to engulf the followings of fringe movements underpinned by COVID-19 myths, such as anti-vaxxers and the anti-5G followers, in order for it to stay relevant.
According to a study conducted by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), the membership numbers of QAnon Facebook groups rose by 120% worldwide this year, a figure which reflects the significant rise in the UK too.
Earlier in March, HOPE not hate, an anti-hate advocacy group, found that there were three active QAnon Facebook groups here in the UK which have a combined total of around 5,000 members.
Worryingly, a survey from HOPE not hate found that now one in four Britons agree with beliefs propagated by QAnon, such as the conspiracy that COVID-19 was a secret plan as part of a “new world order”.
By May, this following jumped to over ten QAnon Facebook groups based in the UK, with a new combined total of at least 20,000 members. And the figures show little sign of slowing down.
What are social media platforms doing in response to QAnon?
This summer, social media platforms finally started to take notice of the exponential spread of the movement across the world, despite its nearly three-year existence on the sites.
Twitter first announced back in July that it had removed 7,000 accounts and suspended around 150,000 more, in an attempt to cut back the outreach of various circles within the movement.
Both Facebook and Instagram followed suit in August as the sites took down around 900 QAnon groups in August as well as restricting over 10,000 accounts.
Facebook even took one step further by banning all QAnon related content this autumn, as part of the site’s pledge to purge all “militarised social movements”.
This October, YouTube took down some of the largest QAnon channels after vowing to remove their presence from the video-sharing platform entirely, deeming it necessary to take “another step in our efforts to curb hate and harassment”.
Many have praised the social media giants’ involvement in limiting the presence of QAnon groups. Since the summer crackdown, QAnon slogans have no longer appeared on Trending or Explore pages for Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
What does this mean for ethical reporting in the social media space?
One of the most hotly debated topics in online journalism is how to report on misinformation, and whether it is in the public interest or not to cover stories which largely exist in online filter bubbles.
Digital journalists will have to weigh up the benefits of reporting on a widely-spread myth against the potential harm of giving the source a platform to readers who may not otherwise have been aware of it.
It’s a tricky line to balance. If you pay too much attention to misinformation, you may amplify its outreach. If it’s given none at all, you may be stopping readers from understanding what harmful content is lurking in the dark shadows of the internet.
With QAnon, it’s important to remember that it’s unlike many other conspiracy theories – the movement has an incredibly acute understanding of social media algorithms, so the dangers of its shapeshifting powers cannot be underestimated.
The best thing for journalists to do is to be conscious of the role they’re taking on in covering stories on conspiracy theories. The most successful type of reporting on digital misinformation are the ones which understand whose interests remain the focal point of the story.