In the most information-rich era of world history, how and why can people be persuaded to believe that hundreds of thousands of children are somehow being stashed away in city sewers? Or that feminists are plotting to ruin video games? Or that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against a cabal of alien lizard people?
What would motivate followers to so forcefully avoid the facts and surrender instead to made-up stories designed to influence and control? It’s a question that has haunted Van, herself a veteran of social media’s relentless trolling wars. To understand why, she delves into the historical, political, sociological and psychological context of conspiracy belief.
QAnon and On is the story of the modern internet, the farscape of political belief and a disinformation pipeline built between the two that poses an ongoing threat to democracy itself. Shocking and mesmerising in equal measure, this book will open our eyes to the dangers of partisan belief. Van Badham spoke with Per Capita’s Emma Dawson at this webinar recorded on 15 December 2021.
