Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump fly a U.S. flag with a symbol from the group QAnon as they gather outside the U.S. Capitol January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Unraveling viral disinformation and explaining where it came from, the harm it's causing, and what we should do about it.
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In the real world, National Guard troops remained in Washington D.C. on March 4 due to what officials said was a heightened threat of violence. The Capitol Police said they’d received intelligence related to a possible plot to storm the Capitol by a militia group on Thursday.In the end, nothing happened, and as for QAnon followers, that’s perfectly fine.Unlike the aftermath of the Biden inauguration, there was no anger or frustration Friday morning within QAnon channels and groups on platforms like Gab and Telegram.Instead, followers said that they always knew that March 4 was a false prophecy, saying that “true believers” knew not to expect a Trump inauguration. They claim that the people who had predicted something would happen on March 4 hadn’t done their research.“Q never mentioned March 4 Anons are no different than me and you. Don't blame Q for what crazy ideas people come up with,” one member of a prominent QAnon channel on Telegram said.
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