![Jake Angeli (second right), who invaded the US Congress of Washington, wearing a buffalo horn hat on the 6th (local time), is known as a representative Curenan believer.[AP=연합뉴스]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202101/08/be7d0284-6c5a-4ab9-a54d-815705f6819f.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
Jake Angeli (second right), who invaded the US Congress of Washington, wearing a buffalo horn hat on the 6th (local time), is known as a representative Curenan believer.[AP=연합뉴스]
One of the supporters of President Donald Trump who invaded the US Congress in Washington on the 6th (local time), wearing a big buffalo horn hat, attracted attention. It is Jake Angeli, a believer in the conspiracy theory group’QAnon,’ who walked around the Capitol with a spear with a flag in one hand while undressing. He referred to himself as a’Shaman (shaman)’ and frequently appeared in far-right group rallies.
Interview with Professor Bill Adair, Pulitzer Prize Winner
Conspiracy theory group’Curenan’ points to leading violence
“The soil that political polarization fueled conspiracy theories”
Strengthening confirmation bias with their own social media
Politicians who said “don’t trust the press” are also responsible
Several extreme right groups, including white supremacist groups and militants, participated in the protests in Washington that day, and Qurnan is particularly pointed out as the main culprit in the violence. According to the AP, Jonathan Greenblatt, chairman of the U.S. Human Rights Organization’s Alliance for Dishonorship (ADL), said that the protesters’ claims from the scene match Qurnan’s position. “Curenan has fueled this frenzy for years.”
Qurnan’s representative conspiracy theory ‘3 sets’ is the theory of manipulation of the corona 19, the use of masks and vaccines, and the control of the press and the manipulation of elections in the deep state. Protesters said the mainstream media were only lying against Trump, and broke the cameras of broadcasters covering the rally and hung cameras from trees.
![On the 6th (local time), Trump supporters who attended the'Save the United States' rally in Washington, USA, criticized the media and broke the filming and transmission equipment of a broadcaster that was broadcasting nearby. [AFP=연합뉴스]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202101/08/c4307d5a-1777-4c77-9f5b-78f94a1c2f4a.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
On the 6th (local time), Trump supporters who attended the’Save the United States’ rally in Washington, USA, criticized the media and broke the filming and transmission equipment of a broadcaster that was broadcasting nearby. [AFP=연합뉴스]
I wondered how they came to listen to conspiracy theories instead of being completely distrusted by the existing media, so I visited Professor Bill Adair Duke University to hear the story. Professor Adair is a former journalist who also won the Pulitzer Prize for creating the fact-checking site PolitiFact in 2007.
He saw these conspiracy theorists as the product of political polarization. Politicians, who have instigated distrust by blaming the media for all their problems, also pointed out that they are responsible for causing this situation.
- In many media, Qurnan and other fictional conspiracy theories have been uncovered. Still, why do you believe?
- “Because we get information from a completely different source than we normally think of. It reflects a completely divided US political situation right now. Most Trump supporters get their information from a completely factional news source, so President Trump is still there. I believe I won the election. This is a crisis of democracy. The different sources of information make it impossible to debate politically.”
- How did the antipathy toward the mainstream media grow so much?
- “For years, politicians, especially Republicans, have accused mainstream media news of being too liberal. Some of it is true, and there are findings of such research. That said, politicians have criticized the mainstream media for a huge lack of trust. I couldn’t justify that. When there was a problem, I only emphasized, “Don’t trust the press.” So the supporters didn’t believe the truth even when the truth came out, and they didn’t even believe the reports of the election results. We can now let out false claims casually.”
- In Korea, there are also people who persistently insist on conspiracy theories over election results.
- “Conspiracy theory is not a new trend. Conspiracy theories have been around in American history, like rumors about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. When faced with unacceptable consequences, conspiracy theories are listening. It has the wings of the Internet. It spreads faster, binds people who believe in it, and makes them more convinced.”
According to Professor Adair’s story, the people who broke into the Capitol on the 6th are known to have simulated a protest through social media. According to the New York Times (NYT), they also use existing platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, but they exchange more secret stories through services such as’parlor’ and’gap’, which are mainly used by the right wing.
These social media are at the same time a window for spreading conspiracy theories. NYT analyzed that it is their duty to tell others who have not opened their eyes their own’truth’.
If this conspiracy theory is introduced in right-wing cable news such as OAN and News Max, and finally mentioned in President Trump’s mouth, it is said that it will be true among them.
In a video interview, Professor Bill Adair Duke University said, “The figure of the conspiracy theorist now reflects a completely divided US political situation.” [김필규 기자]
- How can we respond to this conspiracy theory?
- “Media workers are getting busier. It has become common to write articles after checking the facts rather than transferring the facts. In the past, the task of verifying such claims before the election was crowded, but now it should be done after the election. Maybe after the election. Verification has become more important. It is also a homework to be patient and continue to reveal the lies of the conspiracy theory, but to think about ways to communicate and persuade more effectively.”
Washington = Correspondent Pilkyu Kim [email protected]