By Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny - NBC News
Followers of QAnon's conspiracy theories who frequent public and private internet chats and forums were dejected Wednesday because their prophecy that
a coup would occur during the inauguration to keep Donald Trump in power was
again proven false when Joe Biden took office without incident.
The situation left some followers of QAnon with no choice but to completely dismiss that conspiracy theory, but others continue to believe that it is being fulfilled despite being a completely unrealistic insanity based on blatant falsehoods.
QAnon supporters believed that Wednesday's inauguration was an elaborate trap by the former president, in which
Democrats would be arrested and executed while Trump remained in power
.
In the past, similar doomsday predictions have been made by the QAnon community: of course, they have not come to pass, as they are as ridiculous as assuming the world is controlled by telepathic squirrels.
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But unlike on those previous occasions, Biden's inauguration leaves the community with little prospect.
As their predictions did not come true,
radicalized members of QAnon expressed feeling betrayed in messaging applications such as Telegram
and forums that are often called "The Great Awakening", which is the name of their failed apocalyptic scenario.
As Biden was taking the oath, a popular QAnon forum post read, "This is not supposed to happen."
And he wondered,
"How long does it take the feds to run up the stairs and arrest him?"
Other users were immediately disheartened, realizing that their dreams of a bloody hit would not come true.
"Is anyone else very disappointed?"
said a prominent post on a popular QAnon forum, "It's like being a kid and seeing a big gift under the tree thinking it's exactly what you want, but when you open it you realize it was a lump of coal."
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One of QAnon's largest groups on Telegram closed the comments to allow everyone to "take a breather" after Biden's inauguration.
When they took up the comments, after users accused the censorship administrators, thousands of people expressed a series of reactions: confusion and understanding that QAnon was a hoax, as well as a renewed commitment to the conspiracy theory, despite of their lack of credibility.
Ron Watkins;
who was the administrator of 8kun, the QAnon message board, and a major force behind the false conspiracy theories surrounding the election results, seemed to capitulate and posted a note to his 100,000+ followers:
“We gave our all. U.S.
Now we need to keep our heads high and return to our lives in the best way
.
QAnon's influential personalities migrated to fringe apps like Telegram and Gab after years of rampant growth on larger networks like Twitter and Facebook, which banned their accounts and content last year.
Facebook reported Tuesday that it had removed 60,000 pages, groups and accounts that promoted that conspiracy theory since November.
Many QAnon fans spent weeks preparing for a nationwide blackout starting at noon on the day of inauguration, warning their friends and family on text chains and Facebook messages to buy radios and stock up on food.
They believed that
Trump would announce martial law through the Emergency Alert System, before making mass arrests.
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Travis View, who hosts QAnon Anonymous, a podcast focused on debunking conspiracy theories, said that those who make money from disinformation have a hard time persuading their followers to keep faith in the movement, after such a spectacularly flawed prediction. .
"QAnon influencers who have built large audiences over the past three years continue to encourage their audiences to 'trust the plan,'" View said,
"many QAnon fans are expressing their anger and disappointment."
Some fans of that conspiracy theory stormed the Capitol on January 6, including a man wearing a QAnon T-shirt, as they led a group of protesters into the Senate chamber.
In the chats captured by Logically.AI, a technology company dedicated to data verification, which were reviewed by NBC News, shortly before the inauguration began, QAnon supporters were totally convinced that something would happen. but then they were embarrassed when the hit didn't happen.
“God help us, we are more than ready. If nothing happens, I will no longer believe in anything, "
said a supporter at the beginning of the ceremony.
"We were duped," said another, moments later.
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Nick Backovic, one of the Logically.AI researchers, said that while many QAnon followers appear to be giving up after this latest failed prophecy, he has seen
recruiters from the supremacist movements "assault" QAnon groups with the aim of explicit about recruiting conspiracy theorists who are disillusioned and desperate.
“There are a lot of people who feel shocked, cheated and angry.
As scary as that is, what worries me is the rest, "Backovic said," we are seeing a lot of neo-Nazis taking advantage of disenchanted people. "
In the days following the assault on the Capitol, white supremacist groups expressly targeted Trump fans who believed they might be radicalized after the conservative social media platform Parler was temporarily suspended and the QAnon movement was banned from Twitter and Facebook. .
"Focus less on trying to get them to take the red pill [recruiting] them and more on angering them about the elections and the new Democratic regime," read a recruiting message from white supremacists on Telegram,
"increase your great hatred for injustice."
