Icon: enlarge
Reddit presenter Raines in Boston: In the crossfire of thousands of tweets, hashtags and blog entries
Photo: Simon Simard
Mike Raines' work day begins with cleanup.
He opens Twitter and see what disinformation is haunted the net.
He takes an anonymous second account with which he only follows the most famous followers of QAnon.
His main account, he says, was all blocked by the fans with the greatest reach.
He calls this twisted newsfeed "my villain gallery". He takes a screenshot of the most absurd posts and then refutes the lies, half-truths and perversions on his account. It's no easy task. Raines is caught in the crossfire of thousands of tweets, hashtags and blog entries every day Spread myths big and small.
The lies of "Q"
The genesis of the QAnon conspiracy theory goes back four years, to 2016, when Donald Trump fans spread the lie that Democratic politicians and officials allegedly ran a pedophile network in a pizzeria in the US capital Washington.
Later, an anonymous user with the abbreviation "Q" appeared on forums who pretended to have access to highly sensitive government secrets and claimed that Trump was fighting left-wing child molesters and a "deep state" who were sabotaging his presidency and enriching themselves wanted to.
In the meantime, QAnon has become a reservoir for right-wing conspiracy theorists, a conspiracy cult with hundreds of thousands of supporters and sympathizers worldwide.
And Mike Raines, 43 years old and a clerk at a casino, has decided to fight it.
In a way, he's the man who wants to drive Q away.
Read more with Spiegel Plus
More perspectives, more understanding.
Your advantages with SPIEGEL +
Icon: Check
DER SPIEGEL as a magazine
as an app, e-paper and on the e-reader
Icon: Check
All articles on SPIEGEL.de
Exclusive texts for SPIEGEL + readers
Icon: Check
Try one month for free
Cancel anytime online
A price
only € 19.99 per month
One month for € 0.00
Try now for 0.00 € Buy nowArrow to the right
Already have a digital subscription? Register here
Restore iTunes subscription
SPIEGEL + is processed via your iTunes account and paid for with a purchase confirmation.
24 hours before it expires, the subscription is automatically renewed by one month at the current price of € 19.99.
You can cancel the subscription at any time in the settings of your iTunes account.
To use SPIEGEL + outside of this app, you must link the subscription to a SPIEGEL ID account immediately after purchase.
With the purchase you accept our general terms and conditions and privacy policy.