QAnon

QAnon seems to be everywhere: its conspiracy theories are spreading on social media, its supporters are visible at Trump rallies, and, increasingly, its talking points are even getting repeated by politicians and people in government. Joan Donovan of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy explains how QAnon draws people into its web.

Studies suggest tens of millions of Americans now believe QAnon conspiracies, including unfounded claims about satanic, cannibalistic, child-exploiting cabals. And it’s creating dangerous situations for first responders and victims of actual crime. But Noah Pransky explains why logic isn’t the right strategy for talking to someone who starts believing irrational conspiracies.

As we turn the page on 2020 here are a few of the topics we covered that we hope don’t follow us into the new year.

The U.S. has a long history of domestic terrorist attacks. And many of them are directly rooted in racism and white supremacy. Kurt Braddock of American University joined LX News to explain to help explain why white supremacy and domestic terrorism is such a persistent problem for our country — and why our digital lives are making people susceptible to...

Police have made an arrest following a 15-month-long investigation into vandalism at a group of rock configurations in New Hampshire called “America’s Stonehenge.”

U.S. Capitol Police has alerted state and local law enforcement agencies of a “possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group” on Thursday.

As QAnon and other conspiracy theories spread online, more people are losing friends and family to these cult-like networks of misinformation. NBCLX storyteller Cody Broadway talked to people who have lost loved ones to conspiracies, and to experts like Mick West, author of “Escaping the Rabbit Hole” about how people get caught in this web — and whether it’s possible...

The bizarre theories of the fringe conspiracy group QAnon have become so pervasive on social media that they’ve reached many of our neighbors, friends and family members. Stuart Thompson, a reporter and editor for The New York Times, spent three weeks inside a QAnon chat room to learn more about what draws people into its web. He joined LX News...

A high-ranking official with the Hawaii Republican Party has resigned after posting a series of tweets about the QAnon conspiracy theory on the official party account.

President Joe Biden’s inauguration has sown a mixture of anger, confusion and disappointment among believers in the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory.

Federal prosecutors say the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U_S_ Capitol aimed to “capture and assassinate elected officials.”

As social networks and app stores crack down on disinformation purveyors and calls for violence, sensational, QAnon-based lies have found a new way to go viral: forwarded text messages. It’s not clear just how many people have sent or received the texts, as person-to-person messaging services are difficult for researchers to track. NBC News received numerous tips and screenshots...

President Donald Trump has never been one to acknowledge he’s lost. By his own words, he hates losing. The storming of the Capitol by his partisans this week was the culmination of months of denials that he was beaten in the election — and his lifetime aversion to acknowledging defeat.

After Wednesday’s deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol, false rumors have spread among right wing commentators online that Antifa activists were to blame rather than supporters of President Trump. PolitiFact’s Daniel Funke joined NBCLX to fact-check this claim he rated as “pants on fire,” and other misleading news following the riots at the U.S. Capitol.

One of the men had a gun permit for Virginia, which is not valid in Pennsylvania. The other man had no permit at all, authorities said. NBC10’s Matt DeLucia reports.

Police arrested two men in Center City Philadelphia late Thursday after receiving a tip that they were making threats against the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where the city’s mail-in ballots were still being counted.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has expressed racist views and support of QAnon conspiracy theories, won a U.S. House seat Tuesday.

A Republican congressional candidate who expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories has won a U.S. House seat representing northwest Georgia

Conspiracy theorists in Congress? It’s all but certain in 2020, and that has sparked concern among federal law enforcement. At least two dozen candidates who’ve embraced QAnon made the ballot in Congressional races from New York to Florida, Georgia, and California, according to the liberal watchdog group Media Matters. The candidate who’s gotten the most attention in that regard...

QAnon followers believe they’ve been enlightened and it’s their job to enlighten you, much like a religious cult.