As soon as I started investigating QAnon, I understood the scale of the damage it has done and the effort it will take to undo it.

I started @projectthinkin one month ago to try to crowdsource a solution, with the guidance of @CultExpert’s work. https://twitter.com/jimstewartson/status/1297579917769445377

What is happening there goes beyond my wildest expectations.

Hundreds of volunteers have stepped up and are organizing to help as we speak. I wish I had room to name everyone, but I’m just so proud to be a small part of this group.

There are tens of millions of people in QAnon and related cults.

That means tens of millions of families are living with the trauma of a loved one suffering undue influence — victims of disinformation poisoning.

Ultimately, the solution to disinformation is the truth. The question is how do we tell it in a way that actually helps.

Anyone who has spoken to a QAnon victim knows that directly challenging the doctrine of the cult is counterproductive.

The reason is that the cult has traumatized and brainwashed them through a set of very well-designed tactics and online rabbitholes.

These pathways lead to horrific content designed to dissociate people. Dissociation is what leads to a disorder related to one’s identity.

This means that the people in these cults are, psychologically speaking, quite literally not themselves. One of the most common and heart-breaking phrases I hear is “I don’t even know them anymore.”

Sadly, that’s not far from the truth.

However, here is the most important message:
It is NOT hopeless.

People escape cults every day, in many ways.
Our goal is to learn from the best and spread the word.

@CultExpert has been helping people escape from cults ever since he escaped one himself 45 years ago.

There ARE ways to communicate with people constructively and to connect them back to reality.

First, we all have to understand what this is and how it works. Then we ALL have to get involved in the solution.

It’s going to take a *movement*

This is not about a group or a meme or a hashtag. It’s about a civilization-sized commitment to a shared reality.

Our digital lives used to be a reflection of our “real” lives.
This is no longer true. To many, online life is *just as important* or more so.

This is not a problem per se. It’s simply how we are evolving as a species. But it also means that our digital lives MUST be treated with the same care as our physical ones.

“IRL” doesn’t mean the same thing anymore.

We need new laws and new government agencies. We need grade school mandatory education about online indoctrination. We need a disinformation “vaccine” to stop vulnerable people from being psychologically attacked and radicalized.

No one group, much less one person is going to figure this out. But I’m asking everyone to grapple with the reality of this problem. Some 10% of our country believes in QAnon lies, more than 30M people who have been *victimized*

They are not all racist or crazy or even right-wing. They are ALL OF US. They were indoctrinated against their will into a *mind-control cult* and they come from all walks of life.

TEN PERCENT. Think about that.

If anyone wants to help, please follow @projectthinkin and DM us there. Please be patient with us. There is a lot to do.

Thank you friends. Let’s do this. #TTP