A woman who claims to have ‘lost’ her mom to QAnon has revealed the damaging impact the conspiracy is having on the US.
Conspiracy theories are an age-old tale, with many having damaging impacts on people's lives.
And in UNILAD's latest Stripped Back series, one woman detailed the negative impact QAnon has had on her family.
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What exactly is QAnon?
Well, it's believed to have first started online in 2017, when an anonymous poster who went by the name 'Q' claimed they had a high level of US security approval.
Using this alleged 'Q clearance', they began sharing far-right propaganda and dozens of conspiracy theories.
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One such theory alleged former president Donald Trump is carrying out a secret war against a group of pedophiles, who are said to be elite members of society positioned in the government, in business and even in the media.
QAnon believers have long theorized a day of reckoning will come about as a result of this 'war', seeing high-profile names being arrested and executed.
One final plea
Jane* says she has ‘lost’ her mom to the QAnon theory, taking to Reddit recently to tell her story.
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She penned an open letter to her parent, who converted to QAnon in 2020, in the hope of rekindling their relationship.
Jane wrote: “I will continue to love you from afar. This isn’t an ultimatum. This is my last chance of hope. This is me being willing to lay it on the table to see if there’s a chance at us reconciling. At this point, there’s nothing else to lose.
"I don't want my kids to be confused."
While Jane’s life may otherwise be ‘pretty great’ currently, she can’t help but think about her mother, and where she fits - or doesn't fit - with the rest of her family.
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Speaking to UNILAD, Jane said: “Honestly, my life is pretty great right now. I have two healthy, amazing kids. I’m married to my best friend. We’re doing well at our jobs. All of that tends to be overshadowed in my mind by this fear and guilt about my parents."
Jane went on to tell us how she 'never wanted to be like her parents' when she was younger, describing their view of the world as 'weird'.
“This is what’s difficult about allowing them a relationship with my kids. I don’t want my kids to be confused about what’s real," she added.
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Jane hasn’t shut down the possibility of having a relationship with her mom in the future, though she explained her parents 'would have to change in a way that I know they’re not capable of'.
As a result, Jane is now in what she describes as 'a state of perpetual grief'.
She added: "Every time I have a happy moment, I get a sense of panic and dread that something is going to go wrong. This is because this is how my childhood went.”
"Trying to accept the heartbreaking truth"
Jane went on to detail the impact her turbulent childhood has had on her adult life, explaining: “I’m working with my therapist to get comfortable in ‘calm’.
“My entire nervous system is extremely high-achieving and addicted to my stress hormones. I am extraordinary at dealing with stressful situations. I’m not good at relaxing or accepting what is. I’m constantly ruminating about what I could do to convince my parents to change.
“Since I know I can’t ask them to see past their capacity, I’m in a state of trying to accept the heartbreaking truth that I don’t have parents and my kids won’t have them as grandparents.”
Out of their best interests, Jane has decided not to tell her children about her ‘mom's beliefs’.
“They’re still young and I don’t want their worldview to be altered by unstable ideals. I refuse to allow them to be confused about what is real and what is right or wrong,” she added.
“That was so confusing for me as a kid. Luckily, I’m strong willed and was able to stand by my convictions even when the adults in my life were too dumb or cowardly to do the same.”
The big impact
Aside from her own personal situation, Jane is worried about what QAnon is doing to the US as a whole.
In fact, she told UNILAD the ideology is 'tearing' the country apart.
"The worst part is that the algorithms and bad actors are exploiting already mentally unwell people," she said. "They’re radicalizing people who will ultimately vote against their best interests. They’re tearing this country apart."
There's no doubt conspiracy theories can become extremely dangerous, leading people to believe in things that hold no validity.
Elsewhere in UNILAD's conspiracy theorists series, an expert in the area disclosed how extreme things can get.
Daniel Jolley, of the University of Nottingham in the UK, told UNILAD that whether a conspiracy is true or not, it can inspire an individual to partake in unexpected things.
"It can ultimately lead to violent extremism," the professor said.
Jane admitted that she's 'not sure what the end game is' when it comes to QAnon, but she's certain of one thing: "I refuse to be taken down with it."
*Name changed for the purposes of this article
UNILAD's new Stripped Back series is released from September 23 and focuses on conspiracy theories, featuring interviews with believers, experts and others impacted by the claims.
Topics: QAnon, Conspiracy Theories, Parenting, Politics, Social Media
Callum Jones