Brace yourselves. QAnon is coming and we are ill-prepared to deal with it.

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Extremist researchers, law enforcement, community leaders, legal experts, and media, please prepare a worst-case scenario with QAnon being re-platformed. Do not underestimate the potential threat. Some groups consume content straight from foreign states and conspiracy theorists.

QAnon is a threat on its own, but the risk of outside manipulation may be greater than before. QAnon appears to radicalize people faster than other ideologies, and it also appears to increase the likelihood of violence more than other conspiracy theories. twitter.com/NovelSci/status/1525611935076601856?s=20&t=MosrGDwqdJsk9By7mMiBIA

We are not prepared to deal with this threat. Traditional counterterrorism strategies do not and cannot address this. So we will see a problem that we are ill-equipped to face, grow. tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19434472.2021.2013292?journalCode=rirt20

A big problem for democratic societies is that conspiracy theories can decrease our ability to work with other groups. bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjop.12471

Across the board, conspiracy theories hold the potential for harm. There seems to be a significant negative relationship between anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccination intentions. journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0089177

In what has to be the darkest irony, QAnon adherents have shown a disturbing willingness to engage in acts of interpersonal violence, often harming those around them, including their own children. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19434472.2021.2013292?src=recsys#

There are so many consequences of conspiracy beliefs that go uncounted and so are not considered. An example that should outline the damage a conspiracy theory can do involves the US. No one counted the cost of the lives lost in the attached example. twitter.com/NovelSci/status/1507433454551588868?s=20&t=P_xV9LPDRNEUKcMhhIYS_g

Here's another. Over 690,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations could have been prevented by vaccination between June to November 2021, costing about 13.8 billion.

"With a total nonvaccination harm of $1 billion per day and misinformation and disinformation causing between 5% and 30% of this harm, misinformation and disinformation have caused between $50 and $300 million worth of total harm every day since May 2021." centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/publications/covid-19-vaccine-misinformation-and-disinformation-costs-an-estimated-50-to-300-million-each-da

The social costs must be studied, but most researchers could tell you about families that have paid a steep price even with a Qanon adherent who is nonviolent.