QAnon’s obsession with fake pedophilia stories

Why are right-wing conspiracies so obsessed with pedophilia? https://t.co/gopbqEXRQM
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) August 10, 2020

I wrote about how QAnon followers are hijacking #SaveTheChildren as a recruiting strategy, and the chaos it’s causing for legitimate anti-trafficking groups. https://t.co/EpOtDmEEbO
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) August 12, 2020

this x1000 — have seen this stuff littered all over my feed in recent weeks from people who are anything but right-wing https://t.co/SYA8VkZMLu
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) August 12, 2020

"The R nominee in the 7th CD, Rich McCormick, has also repeated conspiracy theories tied to QAnon & appeared on a QAnon-affiliated Youtube show…A main tenet of the QAnon conspiracy theory is that liberal elites are facilitating a secret child sex ring" https://t.co/BUq8zioyuP
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 12, 2020

QAnon followers on Facebook

This just gets worse and worse.

EXCLUSIVE: Documents from an internal Facebook investigation into Qanon show, for the first time, the massive scale of the conspiracy theory's community on the platform. We're talking thousands of groups, millions of members. From me and @ArijitDSen https://t.co/LElvZbXzpP
— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) August 10, 2020

Fake Jeffrey Epstein flight logs have become an obsession among the QAnon crowd, leading them to target Chrissy Teigen, Beyonce, and a host of others who have nothing to do with the late sex trafficker https://t.co/ziPUUHim2B
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) August 10, 2020

Facebook removes QAnon group with 200,000 members, cites harassment and misinformation https://t.co/ddPC8o2udd pic.twitter.com/5PIeZmUtZc
— The Hill (@thehill) August 7, 2020

Yesterday: Fringe QAnon candidate tweets about pizzagate…

Today: The president of the United States retweets her twice. h/t @AlKapDC https://t.co/BcnkPXF29V pic.twitter.com/FxQwckueYe
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) August 6, 2020

The QAnon crowd is obsessed with this completely bonkers "documentary" called OUT OF SHADOWS, alleging (without a shred of evidence) that Hollywood is run by satanist pedophiles. It's racked up tens of millions of views and YouTube refuses to ban it https://t.co/QSxuTkFgy3
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) August 6, 2020

My boss @Scott_Wiener has been dealing w/ some of the worst online harassment I've ever seen. Having never dealt w/ QAnon mobs before, I'll just say, it's terrifying and sad and dark. Thank you @alibreland for your excellent reporting.https://t.co/XkoUMX88JS
— Catie Stewart (@catrionastew) August 6, 2020

Terrorism experts say QAnon is a threat to national security https://t.co/6A6vYPj450
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) August 6, 2020

Coronavirus polls update 8/6/20

It’s like there are two separate countries here.

Americans have mixed views about whether K-12 schools in their area should offer in-person instruction, online instruction or a combination of both as the coronavirus outbreak intensifies across much of the country. https://t.co/FX0EiV5nEE
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) August 9, 2020

Republicans tend to be more open to the idea of reopening sooner than Democrats, data shows. https://t.co/mjfcQ4Z76t
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 7, 2020

80% of Democrats attribute the rise in coronavirus cases primarily to more infections, not just more testing. 62% of Republicans say the primary reason is because more people are being tested. https://t.co/01Wri8ysFm pic.twitter.com/1nWDbPcmsq
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) August 6, 2020

Poll: Americans don't trust Trump on coronavirus. Republicans don't trust CDC or Fauci. https://t.co/VgHzZsopsz pic.twitter.com/vcqjJiUxBY
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) August 4, 2020

Roughly 40% of Americans have postponed getting medical care due to the coronavirus outbreak.https://t.co/xclVIqafqm
— Axios (@axios) August 5, 2020

Pluralities of Trump voters and Republicans think the U.S. is handling coronavirus better than most other countries are, a new poll finds.

No, really.https://t.co/cf3nae83xb
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) August 3, 2020

Only 47% of employees said improved safety measures would make them feel comfortable returning to the office, according to a recent survey. https://t.co/pyy0qkeXem
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 7, 2020

Share of Americans who say___is a major reason the COVID-19 outbreak has continued in the U.S.:
Not following social distancing/mask-wearing guidelines: 75%
Inadequate government response: 53%
Lack of timely testing: 49%https://t.co/2vddzTAOCJ pic.twitter.com/ZORjTu0pXX
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) August 7, 2020

About 69% of U.S. adults said they worry that states reopened too quickly as the country continues to confront the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new Pew survey. https://t.co/LNzjZFlbci
— Axios (@axios) August 7, 2020

New @pewresearch maps opening for @ProjectLincoln & @RVAT2020: 45% of Rs say states opened too fast; 34% say US has been less effective in response than other countries; 21% say poor federal response is a reason for high caseloads & 20% disapprove of Trump job (33% of R mods do)
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 6, 2020

Regardless of how you intend to vote, who do you think would do a better job handling the response to the coronavirus?

ALL
Trump 35%
Biden 59%
WOMEN
Trump 29%
Biden 64%
MEN
Trump 42%
Biden 52%

(Quinnipiac U. Poll, RV, 7/9-13/20)
more: https://t.co/08M9QULkDU
— PollingReport.com (@pollreport) July 18, 2020

Only 11% of Americans say they trust the information they hear about coronavirus from President Trump "a great deal." Four times as many Americans, 45%, say they trust it "not at all" via new NPR/PBS/Marist poll.
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) August 14, 2020

Trump uses official events as campaign events

Trump has totally blurred the lines between his presidency, his business, and his campaign events. Can’t anyone hold him accountable?

Trump again campaigning during official WH event from the Oval Office, attacking Biden repeatedly and asking for support from the nation’s sheriffs https://t.co/UMgHUut7L7
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) August 11, 2020

President Trump continues his norm-breaking by campaigning from the White House https://t.co/rg0ks6VrjS pic.twitter.com/JcIzwJ0qFr
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 7, 2020

Trump is now denouncing Oregon's governor and Seattle's mayor. These speeches are like taxpayer-funded rallies with mostly silent audiences.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 6, 2020

At an official WH event, Trump is delivering a campaign speech, repeatedly attacking Biden. Many of the lines are right out of the rallies.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 6, 2020

“AOC, that’s a real beauty isn’t it,” Trump says in Ohio at what’s supposed to be an official WH event but what’s really a campaign speech attacking Biden and Democrats
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) August 6, 2020

Trump's trip to Ohio is a taxpayer-funded official White House event, but here he is railing against "the Obama-Biden administration."

He's obliterated the line between campaigning and the office of the presidency. pic.twitter.com/lSu0BSCDSF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 6, 2020

https://t.co/FuUeG45rOk
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) August 6, 2020

Trump has totally blurred the lines between his presidency, his business and his re-election campaign. Can't anyone hold him accountable? Taxpayers should not being paying for this.
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) August 6, 2020

In Georgia, at an official event paid by taxpayers, Trump taking shots at Biden. Yesterday, in the WH rose garden, he spent a bulk of his official speech attacking Biden
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 15, 2020

In today's official (taxpayer-funded) speech in Georgia, Trump is now attacking "the Biden administration," when Biden was vice president, and attacking Biden's current proposals at length.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 15, 2020

And here is why taxpayers spent well over $3 million for Trump to go to Mount Rushmore. So his people could make this campaign video.

Watch for this footage in TV ads. You will have paid much of the production costs. https://t.co/x9UupQu45Q
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) July 4, 2020

This was basically a campaign rally for Trump at taxpayer expense.

Seven hour round trip flight, using BOTH 747s, plus airlifting motorcade, helos…

Minimum $3 million, back of the envelope. Minimum.
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) July 4, 2020

Can’t anyone stop Trump from constantly using official events for political purposes? Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for this.
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) February 15, 2020

Trump's visit to Maine is funded by taxpayers and is not supposed to be a campaign event, but here he is openly campaigning pic.twitter.com/ZWzD4mi18d
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 5, 2020

Trump/Trump Organization is being investigated for fraud

This would be a much bigger story if we weren’t overwhelmed by the pandemic.

On Manhattan’s district attorney seeking Pres. Trump’s tax returns, @neal_katyal says, “There’s a reason why Trump is pushing back on it so much and I don’t think it’s because the documents show that he’s innocent.”https://t.co/LztqolWJNU
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 4, 2020

The President can yell "hoax, witch hunt, Mueller" all he wants, but this is different — different prosecutor, different jurisdiction, different crimes, different proof.

A bad day for Trump — my latest #CrossExam for @CNN:

https://t.co/MFC5XmNSgJ
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) August 4, 2020

Hey Donald, you have a lot bigger problems than cable news ratings. https://t.co/0A5LUyHm7c
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) August 3, 2020

This has been plainly obvious for a while, because the Manhattan DA has argued that granting extensions on subpoenas could effectively immunize Trump.

But coming right out and saying that they are investigating Trump's company is significant. https://t.co/WSDm7ikG9D
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) August 3, 2020

BREAKING: New York prosecutors say their Trump investigation goes beyond hush-money payments and ask judge to dismiss lawsuit challenging subpoena https://t.co/PsiwA6ndYC pic.twitter.com/DQhzqyYcJX
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 3, 2020

Hogan is a conservative

He’s not a moderate, he’s just not an extremist like most Republicans. He has been bad for Baltimore, especially when he killed the Red Line. He did a good job at the begin of the pandemic but isn’t doing as well now.

You're right about one thing, Governor. This isn't a decision for politicians. Which is why this decision was made by the county's health officer, a public health expert. And why it's entirely inappropriate for you to have issued a statement. https://t.co/wZocDTYyFZ
— Delegate Eric Luedtke (@EricLuedtke) August 1, 2020

Wait. You could only muster enough courage to punt the hard decisions to county execs and Baltimore’s mayor, but when they make those hard decisions, you take the opportunity to publicly pout? You began this pandemic strong and well. But you’ve wilted, @GovLarryHogan. https://t.co/IfD9DdXIyn
— David Simon (@AoDespair) August 1, 2020

The man vetoed a 500 million discrimination settlement to Maryland HBCUs and used #COVID as an excuse. Why should anyone be surprised by this? https://t.co/Q6UT0AeIO7
— Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson) July 28, 2020

Larry Hogan's racism will grow less subtle as time goes on & he looks to run nationally in 2024.

It was always there (killing the Red Line for Baltimore in order to widen suburban highways, calling Freddie Gray "Crips gang-connected") but he's going to get louder with it. https://t.co/afDnvt1ZvZ
— Mckayla Wilkes (@MeetMckayla) July 27, 2020

Gov Larry Hogan: Baltimore's rising Coronavirus cases are due to increased testing.
Friday I asked Baltimore Health Commissioner if testing alone explains Baltimore's rising case numbers.
Answer: No.
"We're seeing significantly more spread" she said. https://t.co/hqdH8NB5pc
— Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) July 28, 2020

Jesus Christ, man https://t.co/7MnTpY5IE0
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 28, 2020

Even if Trump does better on the pandemic, he is still a liar and a bigot.

🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 https://t.co/MmJUTeSvAx
— D. W A T K I N S (@dwatkinsworld) July 20, 2020

Hmm. Which of these guys does Larry resemble? Which one does he share politics with? https://t.co/itNWHplmwF pic.twitter.com/Qih0XZUjG2
— baynardwoods (@baynardwoods) July 20, 2020

Hogan’s election plan is bad

Not sure why this well reported, researched, heavily documented piece, including new Maryland PIA material, is tagged "Opinion." Georgetown law prof. @SheryllCashin chronicles Gov. Hogan's massive transit cuts and education inequity affecting Baltimore. https://t.co/kraL4DWwuc
— Ron Cassie (@ron_cassie) July 18, 2020

John Lewis

John Lewis’s funeral is going on now. He will continue to be an inspiration to all of us. America should honor him by passing the voting rights bill already approved by the House.

The last word goes to you, Congressman.

“Though I am gone, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.”

John Lewis’ final op-ed to the country he loved. https://t.co/Ii4CRY5xOY
— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) July 30, 2020

A beautiful, moving tribute to John Lewis, his life and his legacy, by @WesleyLowery: https://t.co/AyhWPUeSgo
— Kate Mather (@katemather) July 30, 2020

From the great ⁦@MsPackyetti⁩ — on the ultimate tribute to John Lewis. https://t.co/g7ysvs7ZTT
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 24, 2020

Please, READ, SHARE WIDELY, RT& LIKE, @Suntimes “John Lewis, a founding father of American democracy. https://t.co/KbusBRptvp #GoodTrouble #KeepHopeAlive
— Rev Jesse Jackson Sr (@RevJJackson) July 20, 2020

The @nytimes “Daily” podcast: Brent Staples on the Life and Legacy of the late John Lewis https://t.co/rp3tnbdwex
— Brent Staples (@BrentNYT) July 20, 2020

Praising John Lewis means nothing if you won’t protect the right to vote. https://t.co/lcwUBO3Ubj
— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) July 20, 2020

These are the four times Trump has mentioned John Lewis on Twitter pic.twitter.com/ZA6d3uPyzV
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 18, 2020

WATCH: Morgan Freeman reads the words of John Lewis’ final essay, which he requested be published in the New York Times on the day of his funeral: “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation.” https://t.co/vf3sVIQHXH
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 2, 2020

FULL SPEECH: Former President Obama eulogizes civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis https://t.co/rg9Dr6Jgdy
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 1, 2020

Today, a black man who bled for the right to vote will be eulogized by a black President. In recent weeks, read his words and spoken with his friends and reported on his final months

My latest, for @GQ: John Lewis' Final Fights https://t.co/h4QuKZLfGQ
— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) July 30, 2020

Listen to John Lewis’ words. Honor him by fighting to protect the right to vote. Honor him by demanding that Congress pass a new Voting Rights Act. https://t.co/ljmFHGCVTt
— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) August 6, 2020

John Lewis’ fight goes on https://t.co/75QxWVUe8V
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) August 8, 2020

Wear a mask

Everyone should wear a mask. This isn’t about politics. The Trump cult is ignoring science and preventing the country from lowering the threat from the virus.

7 myths about face masks you shouldn't believe https://t.co/UaV4V0lXQn
— CNET News (@CNETNews) July 29, 2020

When the coronavirus first took hold in the US in March, we didn't have a lot of research on how effective masks were.

But scientists have done more studies since then. And the science suggests: Yes, you should wear a mask. https://t.co/UIQEuLdULd pic.twitter.com/xZcgupBjVf
— Vox (@voxdotcom) July 29, 2020

Masks don't just protect others. It's looking like they reduce the wearer's viral load, too, and might lead to see severe bouts of illness. https://t.co/RRPnIAj84h
— John Schwartz (@jswatz) July 28, 2020

State #mask mandates acted as a safety net leading to far milder increases in new #COVID-19 cases when states reopened. https://t.co/fbHEbW73iy pic.twitter.com/Bk5g4izFg7
— MoodysAnalytics ECON (@economics_ma) July 17, 2020

Homemade cloth face masks likely need a minimum of two layers, and preferably three, to prevent the dispersal of viral droplets from the nose and mouth, a video case study indicates. https://t.co/aUtvxJc99z pic.twitter.com/FyKOXFhuUI
— CNN (@CNN) July 25, 2020

The mask decision that will haunt President Trump's reelection bid https://t.co/kaGNokePod pic.twitter.com/SvFikwwGof
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 6, 2020

Wearing a face mask during the pandemic saves lives. And it may save the economy, too, by preventing the need for lockdowns that would wipe out 5% from US GDP, according to Goldman Sachs. https://t.co/VriQGHxaF5
— CNN (@CNN) June 30, 2020

McDonald's will require customers to wear face masks at all of its U.S. restaurants starting Aug. 1.

Because face masks have become a subject of contention, the chain says it will help employees get "de-escalation training."https://t.co/c93W8DIE8Z
— NPR (@NPR) July 24, 2020

Noses usually catch COVID-19 first, so keep them covered with face masks, experts say

https://t.co/qkWPxBzBGm
— Mike Walker (@New_Narrative) July 25, 2020

Mom influencers on Instagram are the latest to enter the no-mask fray https://t.co/e6OVt8m5H6 pic.twitter.com/T3iFxQcOcF
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) July 24, 2020

The U.S. still lacks a unified approach to handling Covid-19, including the use of face coverings https://t.co/xBrAqzk9ri
— POLITICO (@politico) July 19, 2020

Trump accuses critics of treason and hating the country

My idea of treason is what Trump does by doing things to benefit Putin. I hate Trump, I don’t hate the country. Trump is trying to stifle dissent by his poisonous talk and using troops to attack protesters.

Trump on Democrats:

“They are sick. Real sick.”

“They don’t love our country”

“They want to wipe out every trace of religion from our national life.”

“They want to indoctrinate our children.”

“They want to destroy our suburbs”
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) July 29, 2020

After accusing her of treason. Does no Republican in Congress see anything inappropriate or dangerous about a president declaring that his political opponents are traitors? https://t.co/Lk8UL1DBJs
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) October 12, 2019

The last time an American was convicted of treason was in the 1940s, but as the impeachment inquiry unfolds, President Trump has used the term to accuse people of disloyalty and signal to his supporters that his political opponents are un-American https://t.co/ls6mviZm05 pic.twitter.com/9ekuoGap6H
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) October 2, 2019

The President believes that you’re either on his side or you’re a traitor to our country. https://t.co/M5cWXAEpss
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 23, 2019

What would you say if you saw it in another country? pic.twitter.com/PRpL9LDMre
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) September 23, 2019

Beyond the immediate toxicity of Trump's tweet about Schiff, he continues to reveal a complete lack of understanding about what "treason" is. https://t.co/0IRMVY07vY
— Philip Bump (@pbump) September 30, 2019

Trump has started to throw the word "treason" around. Just a couple times last year, now half a dozen times so far on Twitter this year… https://t.co/wqyTyVgAFZ
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 17, 2019

Me: “prosecutors…have tremendous power & discretion in terms of who they investigate & seek charges against &…there could be "a chilling effect" on them if they watch the president and the AG prosecute people who investigate Trump.” https://t.co/uttgDhCXFc
— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) May 25, 2019

CNN's @brianstelter looks at "the new abnormal" – President Trump's reckless talk about treason.

"The President is continuing to accuse members of the intelligence community of treason. An idea that only makes sense if you subscribe to the Sean Hannity cinematic universe." pic.twitter.com/o0KOMszoL2
— Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) May 19, 2019

The President is accusing the people who conducted lawful, authorized investigations of him and his campaign of treason and suggesting they be imprisoned. What would you say if you saw it in another country? https://t.co/MGnvvjyew1
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) May 17, 2019

Florida’s disastrous response to COVID-19

“Everyone in the media was saying Florida was going to be like New York or Italy, and that has not happened,” FL Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

He’s right. Florida is now worse.

This article is devastating: https://t.co/hYN7FVgPj0
— Aki Peritz (@AkiPeritz) July 26, 2020

These yard signs are showing up all over Florida. #DeathSantis pic.twitter.com/VX8ko3nnx2
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) July 26, 2020

Opinion: I’m a doctor in Miami. Here’s how I know Florida’s covid-19 outbreak won’t improve anytime soon. https://t.co/EQEjnTZBLe
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 26, 2020

Florida records 9,300 new coronavirus cases, blows past New York https://t.co/g8K8ARynp7 pic.twitter.com/Uq0aVzuhHA
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 26, 2020

Florida: 223,000 positive #SARSCoV2 tests in three weeks – 10,000 a day – and ~NO CHANGE in hospitalizations or ICU occupancy statewide. You say epidemic, I say a lot of people getting colds, let’s call the whole thing off. (We’ll see if Florida has any excess mortality in July.) pic.twitter.com/DQgyexjtMy
— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) July 26, 2020

We created some new postcards for Florida. #DeathSantis pic.twitter.com/4zEdCcdImd
— The Good Liars (@TheGoodLiars) July 26, 2020