• QAnon - Mormon Women for Ethical Government
    Education

    Media Literacy: Understanding QAnon

    What is QAnon? QAnon is a multi-faceted conspiracy theory with a core belief that President Donald Trump is helping to fight a ring of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who control the government, media, and entertainment industries. The conspiracy theory began in 2017 when an anonymous person who claimed to be a government insider, “Q,” started posting his theories on fringe social media sites. QAnon followers believe the “deep state” is out to get the president and that high-ranking government officials are working against him. Other conspiracies promoted by QAnon supporters span a variety of topics, including COVID-19, the Illuminati, UFOs, and vaccines. Sometimes these theories are contradictory. Groups like the Anti-Defamation League…

  • conspiracy theories - Mormon Women for Ethical Government
    Education

    Media Literacy: Conspiracy Theories — What’s Driving Them?

    At a time of heated political division, a global pandemic, social upheaval, and worldwide unrest, conspiracy theories are quickly spreading throughout social media, radio, and other traditional media platforms. Unfortunately, conspiracy theories are not innocuous. Anyone can be susceptible to them; no demographic is immune. And they cause people to act in ways that result in direct harm to individuals and institutions. As we wrote in a previous educational piece about addressing misinformation: “False information perpetuates injustice and division, and allowing such information to spread can cause people to become distrustful of any information and sink into cynicism and apathy. People act based on the information they receive, and actions…