Original to:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/18/online-conspiracy-theorists-democracy
Opinion - Technology
Stop the online conspiracy theorists before they break democracy
Julia Ebner
Cannibals, aliens and clandestine lizard overlords: thanks to
algorithms, such ideas threaten the future of Europe
The Guardian, Mon 18 Feb 2019
Organised conspiracy theorist networks have launched an all-out
information war across Europe. At the heart of this is the QAnon
movement. It expanded from the US to Europe and the UK at rapid speed,
hijacking political debates on social media as well as mass protests in
the streets in recent months. Our new analysis at the Institute for
Strategic Dialogue shows that European conspiracy theorists run
increasingly sophisticated campaigns around critical junctions in
national, regional and global politics. They even carried out social
media operations to influence voters in German state elections,
including the 2018 election in Bavaria.
The QAnon community, which began on the message-board site 4chan,
strongly overlaps with the support networks of far-right movements such
as the EDL and Pegida. Most recently, it co-opted yellow vest
demonstrations and boosted hardline Brexit campaigns and Tommy Robinson
protests. By injecting conspiratorial narratives into these movements,
its members can leverage existing networks and alter their political
direction. A commonly used tactic is to combine conspiricist hashtags
with those of viral campaigns and trending topics. The scale this
generates is disproportional enough to distort public perception: In
2018, ISD identified close to 30m uses of the word “QAnon” across
Twitter, YouTube and forums such as Reddit and 4chan.
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Ahead of the European parliamentary elections this May, the virality of
conspiracy theories about the EU and the political establishment
provides a fertile playground for populist parties. Groups such as Q
Europe, Q Britannia and Q Deutschland are already gearing up to
influence voting behaviour in a crucial election that will determine the
future of the European project.
QAnon adherents organise themselves on encrypted apps such as Discord
and Telegram, linking the American-centred conspiracy theory to local
contexts. Emotionally manipulative and tightly organised campaigns have
allowed them to gather tens of thousands of supporters across Europe.
They produce videos, disinformation databases and run trainings on meme
creation and psychological warfare. QAnon even has its own currency
called “Initiative Q”, which its founders want to turn into “the next
bitcoin”.
Across Europe, conspiracy theories that mix old antisemitic tropes with
new ones that demonise migrants and Muslims have gained huge traction
since the refugee crisis in 2015. A recent study showed that a stunning
60% of Brits believe in at least one conspiracy theory. The ideas that a
cabal of global elites run the world, that there is a plot to replace
white English natives with Muslim migrants and that the authorities are
covering up immigration numbers are among the most commonly held.
In QAnon forums, it is hard to overlook the holy mess of logical
fallacies and contradictions. Its adherents link the MI6, Facebook and
the Rothschilds to the Vatican, Hollywood, the Nazis, the Illuminati and
aliens in order to explain that climate change is a hoax, the Holocaust
never happened, the world is run by paedophiles, Satanists and cannibals
and that the Queen is a direct descendent of prophet Mohammed. And yet
this virtual cosmos of absurd stories can inspire real-world incidents:
just last month, a QAnon supporter killed his brother, whom he thought
was a lizard. “Can me and my pals Raid MI6 DVD & GO2 Offices in London
ourselves please”, another QAnon believer suggested in a private
messaging app.
Beyond inspiring attacks on perceived enemies, the spread of conspiracy
theories can, in the long-term, sow societal divisions and undermine
confidence in democratic processes, institutions and representatives. At
a time when distrust in the political establishment runs exceptionally
high, it is easy to tap into existing suspicions and fill information
gaps with fabricated news and distorted statistics.
The architecture of social media platforms plays into the hands of
extreme fringe groups by pushing users towards sensationalist content.
The tech firms’ business models and algorithms are geared to maximise
the time users spend on their platforms. Governments and big tech firms
are slowly starting to push back against the systematic diffusion of
disinformation. Last month, YouTube announced that it would change its
algorithms to stop recommending so many conspiracy theory videos.
Meanwhile, the NGO OpenAI decided that it would not release its
“deepfakes for text” tool because its researchers feared misuse. And the
release on Monday of the UK parliament’s DCMS select committee report
demonstrates just how seriously the problems are being taken.
But solutions to these problems need to be identified. Policies should
require greater algorithmic transparency and accountability from tech
firms in order to protect future elections. Instead of focusing
exclusively on the removal of extreme content and accounts, it will be
necessary to regulate against harmful infrastructures and malicious
behaviours. As early adopters of new technologies, extremists will
otherwise continue to exploit the latest innovations of cyberspace.
• Julia Ebner, an Austrian journalist, is a researcher at the
London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue
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