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Reader editorial: The president and conspiracies

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To the editor:

I find it very disconcerting that our president will not disavow groups that espouse the QAnon conspiracy. This is a viral delusion that believes President Trump is a hero safeguarding the world from a “deep state” secret group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global sex-trafficking ring – harvesting the blood of children for life-sustaining chemicals. None of this is even remotely true. These conspiracy theories come only from “social media”, not from any reputable source. These evil groups supposedly “operate tunnels under the U.S. in order to rape and torture children and drink their blood.” But Trump has called adherents “people that love our country.” In the same breath, Trump is unwilling to disavow violent extremist groups – at the same time claiming that he is a “law and order” president.

It is hard to know exactly why people believe what they believe, but many have clearly been exposed to these conspiracies online. They spread the notion the COVID-19 is a hoax, which Trump has claimed. Maybe they should talk to the families of the 215,000 people who have died from COVID. There is also a collective disdain for the mainstream media, which Trump has fostered, always claiming “fake news.” They appear to be inoculated against reality.

As a candidate, Trump seemed to promote a number of wild conspiracies. You cannot have a functioning Democracy when your president rejects expert information and a strong, fact-checking media. We have a social media environment that makes rumor easy to spread and difficult to debunk, and a president who latches onto anything and anyone he thinks will help his political fortunes. All this madness contributes to a political mess. Please check your sources.

Philip Compton
Ada

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