Joe Biden in the White House, endgame for QAnon conspirators
Audio 02:59
Joe Biden is sworn in with 1st Lady Jill Biden, as the 46th President of the United States, January 20, 2021. AFP - BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
By: Sophie Malibeaux
7 min
President-elect Joe Biden took his place in the White House this Wednesday, January 20, 2021, it is a reality.
The event was relayed around the world, to the chagrin of those who, until the end, contested his election and believed in maintaining Donald Trump as President of the United States.
Theoretically, it is therefore the end of a mystification propagated by the QAnon movement.
The most irreducible of its followers, who have seen their accounts suspended on the major platforms, are nevertheless seeking a new outlet for their anger.
Publicity
A myth collapsed this week.
Since Joe Biden entered the White House this Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Internet users claiming their membership in the QAnon community have been browsing social networks, driven by rage and despair.
For some, the hangover began the day after the intrusion of the most determined elements inside the Capitol on January 6.
The drunkenness of this crazy day was stopped short by Donald Trump's appeals for calm.
Although eliminated from the networks which until then allowed him to communicate with his base, the latest videos made from the White House were received by some as an abandonment in the open.
There remained the hard core of the movement, the die-hards and their tweets announcing that a HUGE event was about to happen that would prevent President Biden from taking office.
The army had to turn against him and arrest all those invited to his side for his inauguration.
The rest, we know, the alternation took place, and the initiates of QAnon must have eaten their hats.
QAnon facing the reality of work-study
The audience of the conspiracy movement has shrunk considerably for two reasons.
The first reason is that the major platforms U Tube, Facebook and Twitter have suspended tens of thousands of accounts, among the most radical, those that these platforms consider responsible for the calls to hatred, and the violence committed during of the Capitol invasion.
The second reason is that this mystification enterprise has scuttled itself.
On January 20, the ceremony ended, we could read this tweet from Ron Watkins, leader of the movement, suspected of being the author of the tweets signed Q: “
We gave everything -
he wrote.
Now we need to hold our heads up high, and get back to our lives in the best possible way.
We have a new president and it is our responsibility as citizens to respect the Constitution
”.
Suffice to say that this publication sowed confusion among those who presented themselves as "web warriors".
Ron Watkins may have come to fear criminal prosecution for harboring and encouraging hate speeches, and instigating the invasion of the Capitol.
The point is that his army of propagandists is now beheaded.
Other figures may emerge, but many are now realizing that they have been duped.
Trumpism and radicalization
Trumpism and extremist movements, which have appeared more uninhibited than ever in recent years, will not dissipate, however.
QAnon has been racking up baseless accusations against Democrats and progressives in general for years, especially on the subject of pedophilia.
And QAnon has paid particular attention, on the political front, to delegitimizing the Biden administration by claiming that massive frauds have brought it to power.
However, Donald Trump and many Republicans in Congress today have still not admitted defeat.
The day after Joe Biden's inauguration, we heard on pro Trump
NewsMax
, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican claiming to be QAnon, about an impeachment procedure against Joe Biden.
As for the militias and white supremacists that existed before QAnon, they will continue to exist after QAnon, determined in particular to preserve their right to be armed, and not only in the virtual field of social networks.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Infox
Social networks
Joe biden
Donald trump
On the same subject
Twitter removes 70,000 accounts linked to the pro-Trump movement QAnon