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Two weeks ago Facebook banned hundreds of accounts associated with the online conspiracy theory QAnon. Meanwhile a Republican politician who has endorsed the movement, Marjorie Taylor Greene, is almost certain to be elected to Congress this Autumn.
A number NWSH obsessions are in play here. Think the nature of power, the future of democracy, and the impacts of a connected world on our collective consciousness. So this week, reflections on all this. And on the powerful truth that I think does much to explain QAnon’s wild success.
Remember, Fast Download is the default read; go to the full essay for the details.
I’ll be back with news and super-fast analysis in Wednesday’s New Week Same Humans. But for now, just hit play!
If you prefer to read this week’s instalment, go here for the text version of New World Same Humans #33.
Links in this week’s instalment
1. The BBC’s report on the rising QAnon phenomenon and its impact on American families.
2. A Media Matters investigation found Donald Trump retweeted or mentioned QAnon-affiliated accounts at least 216 times this year.
3. Anthropologist David Graeber famously argued that many people secretly feel their job to be a meaningless confection.
The truth is out there
Thanks for listening this week.
People embrace conspiracy theories in an attempt to make sense of a disorienting world. The impulse is universal; it’s just that they take a wrong turn.
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David.
New World Same Humans #33 – Audio Edition