if you're one of the people who believed (or even entertained) the wayfair child trafficking story a couple months ago, you are susceptible to conspiracy theories like QAnon. many people are.

i've seen tweets that say things like "if you fall for a conspiracy theory it's your fault" and it's a little more complicated than that. the reason this group is so powerful is that it's very easy to become inured to their ideas without even realizing what's happening.

When the Q rallies were going on during summer, someone on twitter shared a sign from it that said "Shoot Your Local Pedophile!" and everyone on here was like "hell yeah! more of this!" That was them falling for QAnon. Even if they didn't know it.

you start out looking into fake child trafficking stories, getting concerned about the welfare of children, and then the water starts boiling around you.

it should go without saying, but actual victims of CSA are not benefiting from this phenomenon.

Even actual "elite" child sex abusers like Epstein didn't kidnap children off the streets (or drink their blood, for that matter). He used his wealth, privilege and influence to entrap young girls. He had a whole fucked-up system. He wasn't trading kids in wayfair cabinets.

He didn't need to. He targeted girls who were already vulnerable. He paid some girls to recruit others. It's fucked up and awful, but it doesn't follow the pattern that QAnon followers believe in.

QAnon followers believe that there is a group of powerful pedophiles controlling the country. They believe that these pedophiles murder their victims and drink their adrenaline (in the form of adrenochrome). They believe Trump is the only one who is working to stop this.

But when people first hear of them through movements like "save the children," they don't hear that whole story. It's a story that gets told to them slowly, meted out over time. It's easier to swallow that way, when you've already sunk your identity into the cult.

It's similar to how Scientology makes you pay thousands of dollars for classes and years of your life before they reveal to you the entire scope of their beliefs. By then, it's too late. You're already in.

You need to know the story upfront. It's the only way I can think of to inoculate you against the different forms of QAnon that you're bound to run into.

I encourage you to warn people in your life about this. Especially your parents and older relatives.