QAnon Chat Room Audio: ‘I Heard Biden Lowered The Age Of Consent To Eight’ and Other Madness

The voices of the QAnon followers are truly something. In print, they have a certain power, obviously. The word has power in whatever form. But when you actually listen to these people, you get a sense of their reality — or unreality, more appropriately and how seriously they take all this absurdity. The QAnon chat room is an online community for the bereft and forsaken, from what I can discern. And that would be okay, if violent insurrection and televised executions weren’t being touted. The New York Times has an opinion piece up written by a guy who admitted that he was addicted to the QAnon chat room. It also contains audio fragments and an overview of the crazy, written by somebody who got drawn into it. It’s very chilling.

Hit the link to go to the piece itself to hear the audio of what is in bold below. This is a unique experience, try it. These are the voices of the damned, of people who insist that their delusion is real, in the face of all evidence to the contrary.

When Mr. Biden’s inauguration played out as normal, participants were frustrated. By rejecting mainstream news, they embraced liars who fed them exactly what they wanted to hear.

“We know not to watch CNN. We know not to watch these people. But when we have people that we trust on the right, and we’re pushing that information out — because we don’t have many media sources, so the ones that come out, they need to be pretty damn good. And for them to take advantage of people’s hope? We cannot have that.”

If the Q movement had a slogan, it would be “Do your research.” The conspiracy is designed like a game. Discovering clues that clarify Q’s cryptic missives produces a eureka effect, which offers a hit of dopamine and improves memory retention. It’s the same satisfaction that comes from solving a puzzle or finding the answer to a riddle.

Believers apply the same approach to everyday news: Find information that confirms any existing beliefs, then use it to augment their understanding of the conspiracy. Reject facts or information that counter the existing beliefs. It’s one of the reasons they struggle to recruit their family members, unless they’re persuaded to do research themselves.

I wondered what would happen in the days after Mr. Biden’s inauguration. Rather than re-evaluate their approach in the wake of Q’s failures, many doubled down. The problem wasn’t that the whole worldview was false, just that they had been led astray by inaccurate reports and misinterpretations. Their response was to improve their process. They would develop a list of sources, vet credentials, link to original material, and view unconfirmed information skeptically. They were, in a sense, inventing journalism.

Others made excuses. Theories spread that Q was actually part of a deep state plot to keep Mr. Trump’s supporters complacent. A few members tied Q’s strategy to a C.I.A. psychological operation. And if that was true, their prophets, like Q and Mr. Trump and major personalities in the community, weren’t everything they hoped they would be.

“By us believing that, you know, there’s all these things going on behind the scenes. It’s preventing us from doing anything because we’re just sitting down, waiting and watching for all this to secretly happen. And I don’t think it’s happening,” one said.

“We can’t be digital warriors our whole life. We can’t be keyboard warriors our whole life,” another said, recommending they focus on banking, education and passing real laws instead. He added: “We can’t put all our eggs in one basket like we’re doing and waiting on Trump. Our forefathers never relied on one man. We rely on each other going forward.”

If the current version of the Q conspiracy theory dissolves, what happens to its followers? They already found a community, and their friendships weathered Mr. Biden’s inauguration. If anything, their bonds have been strengthened. The channel was thriving, keeping hope alive for dozens of followers. Right-wing activists were organizing with fervor on Signal and Telegram. A few in the chat discussed plans to meet in person.

“It didn’t play out the way we wanted, but it showed that we can — we’re powerful when we’re together,” one said. “It’s created a whole new era. It’s not done. It’s far from over.”

It will be interesting to see if it is far from over, or if this is going to become a norm in our politics. Right now, the fact that the Republican party seems terrified of these people does not bode well for their dissolution as a group.

On the other hand, after the inauguration, a fellow named Ron Watkins, who is high up in the order, admonished people to “remember all the friends and happy memories.” Whether he was talking about people who chatted online about pets and other real world issues or whether he spoke of the Capitol insurrection is unclear. And the problem is, to a lot of these folks, there is no difference. It’s all part of one very kinky and disturbed whole.