(Reviewed by JD Jung)
“In a short four years, QAnon metastasized from a fringe movement on anonymous message boards into a cultlike movement, with millions of followers around the world…and practically seized control of the Republican Party.”
What actually is QAnon? How has it been able to attract followers from all socioeconomic and educational backgrounds? What has been going on in our society that has enabled QAnon to grow? How has this movement gained global appeal? How is QAnon able to adapt to change over time? How do we fix this problem of conspiratorial thinking and misinformation?
These questions and much more are explored as well as suggestions on vital solutions of how to fix it in Pastels and Pedophiles: Inside the Mind of QAnon.
It is remarkable how the authors were able to research this in a relatively short amount of time. Mia Bloom is the International Security Fellow at New America, professor at Georgia State University, and member of the Evidence-Based Cybersecurity Research Group. Sophia Moskalenko is a social psychologist studying mass identity, inter-group conflict, and conspiracy theories.
This book provides an in-depth history of European anti-Semitism and how it is essential in understanding its basis in QAnon. QAnon combines fiction with historic anti-Semitism, as far back as the blood libels from Ancient Rome. Also, many of the beliefs are derived from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , an anti-Semitic text written by Sergei Aleksandrovich Nilus and published in 1905. You’ll discover how this all relates to QAnon’s conspiracies of Adrenochrome, The Storm, Lizard People and Dominion Voting Machines.
The authors also explain the psychological manipulation that QAnon uses to attract followers. This includes how it takes an emotional truth and incorporate that into a lie, as well as the role that social media plays. What I found particularly disturbing was the vital role that women play in the movement and what attracts them to this and other terrorist organizations.
Pastels and Pedophiles doesn’t just state the problems and causes, but also solutions as well as how to mainstream defectors into normal life, how to prevent those teetering on the edge of QAnon, as well as neutralizing he die-hards.
There are a lot of books written on QAnon and conspiracy groups, and I have read quite a few. However, Pastels and Pedophiles is the most comprehensive one I have found, even at only 256 pages.
This book is essential in trying to understand the rise of conspiracy thinking that can lead to authoritarianism in the world, particularly in the Untied States and what we must do to stop it.
