Qanon may not disappear after Joe Biden's nomination -

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  • This Wednesday, Joe Biden was invested president of the United States, an event contrary to everything prophesied by the Qanon conspiratorial sphere since its creation.

  • Despite this and the disappointment of some of its members, the most likely option is for Qanon to survive this new disavowal.

  • Between unshakeable faith, bringing comfort to the population and tentacles in other plots,

    20 Minutes

    takes stock.

This Wednesday, Joe Biden was sworn in and became the new president of the United States.

A reality that undermines the forecasts of the Qanon movement.

For months, this conspiratorial sphere has prophesied a coup d'etat by the army allied to Donald Trump to overthrow the Democratic candidate and restart Donald Trump for a new term, after having purged from within a vast pedo-sanatic controlling plot the United States and the world, the

deepstate

(the deep state).

A final event called

the storm

, or the storm, following a specific plan.

However, the announced storm did not take place on January 20.

No more than last November 3, or December 8, or January 6, other dates previously chosen by Qanon as heralds.

The disillusionment of too much and that putting an end to the conspiracy movement?

Many messages from supporters of Qanon evoke this Wednesday a disillusion, even a questioning of the movement.

A Q always lands on its feet

But according to Marie Peltier, historian and author of

Obsessions: Behind the Scenes of the Conspiracy Story

(Inculte, 2018), these are probably isolated cases, and there is little chance of having a massive awareness among aficionados of Qanon, because “the belief is too anchored”.

So entrenched that it now does not care about reality and facts: “Qanon has become an ideological angle that adheres to a vision, but ideologies have a fairly significant power of blindness, the facts do not contradict them.

"

For Iris Boyer, secretary general of the ISD (think tank against extremism and polarization), Qanon knows how to adapt and always manages to fall back on his feet regardless of the facts against him.

Proof of this is that a new date has already been announced by Qanon: it is no longer January 20, but March 19 that the storm will take place.

And what does it matter if Joe Biden is indeed elected, "the Qanon movement has already diversified and globalized enormously, in particular with the coronavirus crisis and the shaking of confidence that it has aroused.

"Qanon now encompasses so many plots, ideologies and causes" that he will always have arguments to make and themes to highlight, "indicates the secretary general.

Chase away this reality that I can't see

Finally, the investiture of this Wednesday could even further radicalize the movement according to Marie Peltier: “This is the very principle of Qanon: the truth is hidden and we must go beyond the facts.

Their premise is so powerful that anything that proves them wrong will only convince them even more that they are right.

This is the whole difficulty of fighting them, by wanting to point out their mistakes, we only reinforce their beliefs.

"For Iris Boyer," the more obvious the reality, the more prestige there is in going beyond and seeing the plan behind.

It strengthens their ego and their conviction.

"

Because if the conspiracy discourse works so well and is so anchored, it is because "the Qanons need to believe in it", notes Marie Peltier.

For the historian, this belief brings a posture of being superior to the mass and gives meaning, all events becoming logical and relevant: “With Qanon there is the illusion of having the key to reading all of reality. , a feeling of security, power and control over reality ”.

Very comfortable feelings, which would not make you want to be abandoned, even if it means denying the facts.

Facts without effects

Qanon borders there with the religious imagination.

In the semantic field of this conspiratorial sphere, there is talk of having faith, of continuing to believe in it, of trusting against all odds in the plan and in the coming storm.

The facts showing that nothing happens as announced by Qanon would only be so many tests to test the faith of the preacher and to strengthen it.

Iris Boyer explains, “There is the idea of ​​a self-fulfilling prophecy, which will only work if people believe it.

To doubt the plan is therefore to compromise it.

Doubt is excluded.

"

With this faith, every tiny bit is interpreted as hidden proof that the plan is indeed going or that reality is not what you see at first glance.

Iris Boyer takes the example of a speech by Donald Trump in January where he simply referred to "a new administration" instead of explaining "the administration of Joe Biden".

Clear proof for the Qanons that Joe Biden would not really be invested and that Donald Trump would take back power.

But in the long run, constantly twisting and distorting reality ends up having consequences on it.

While the most skeptical abandon the ship Qanon in full sinking, the remainder become more and more radicalized and cut themselves more and more from the real world, even attacking it head-on.

Marie Peltier is worried about the continuation of these movements, in a few months: “There is a sectarian confinement and a refusal to see things which will be able to push to violent actions and passages to the act.

Perhaps the attack on the Capitol was only a first step.

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  • Joe biden

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