
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


This week President Donald Trump retweeted a false claim posted by a follower of the ‘QAnon’ conspiracy theory, stating that the real Covid-19 death toll is just 6 percent of official figures. Twitter took down the tweet saying it breached their terms and conditions. It’s not the first time the president has promoted messages from supporters of the debunked conspiracy theory that claims - in part - that Mr Trump is leading a top-secret campaign to dismantle a global network of Satan worshipping cannibal paedophiles led by billionaires, celebrities and Democrats. Acts of violence have already been attributed to those backing the outlandish conspiracy theory and the FBI now considers the movement a domestic terrorism threat. While support for ‘Q’ - said to be an anonymous security official with inside knowledge - has been growing in the United States, followers are increasingly showing up in Europe and Latin America. So why has it spread to other countries and what are the QAnon links to foreign groups? Could supporters disrupt politics outside of the US? And is QAnon a harmless online fantasy or a dangerous threat to truth, democracy and public safety around the world? Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts.
By BBC World Service4.6
273273 ratings
This week President Donald Trump retweeted a false claim posted by a follower of the ‘QAnon’ conspiracy theory, stating that the real Covid-19 death toll is just 6 percent of official figures. Twitter took down the tweet saying it breached their terms and conditions. It’s not the first time the president has promoted messages from supporters of the debunked conspiracy theory that claims - in part - that Mr Trump is leading a top-secret campaign to dismantle a global network of Satan worshipping cannibal paedophiles led by billionaires, celebrities and Democrats. Acts of violence have already been attributed to those backing the outlandish conspiracy theory and the FBI now considers the movement a domestic terrorism threat. While support for ‘Q’ - said to be an anonymous security official with inside knowledge - has been growing in the United States, followers are increasingly showing up in Europe and Latin America. So why has it spread to other countries and what are the QAnon links to foreign groups? Could supporters disrupt politics outside of the US? And is QAnon a harmless online fantasy or a dangerous threat to truth, democracy and public safety around the world? Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts.

7,722 Listeners

533 Listeners

1,038 Listeners

284 Listeners

5,545 Listeners

1,815 Listeners

1,827 Listeners

1,060 Listeners

2,001 Listeners

364 Listeners

771 Listeners

523 Listeners

398 Listeners

71 Listeners

954 Listeners

739 Listeners

53 Listeners

266 Listeners

3,166 Listeners

758 Listeners

279 Listeners

25 Listeners