Im in my bedroom on january 6th watching thousands of people at the United States capitol on the day that the president ial election was supposed to be certified. Like most of us, last winter i watched live as people stormed the United States capitol. Fueled by the baseless claim that the election was stolen. Make no mistake, this election was stolen from you, from me. Stop the steal stop the steal this is the consequence of Conspiracy Theories rung amok. Accusations of lies, treason, even pedophilia flew from all directions. It begs the question, how did we end up here . Americans have always been fascinated with alternate versions of the truth. The clues were all there, actually, that it had the potential to get as huge as its become. But in the last decade, Conspiracy Thinking has gone mainstream, and it may not be entirely our fault. If youre a democrat and im a republican, the algorithm is incentivized to push us apart. Tonight were taking a closer look at a system thats designed to stoke paranoia and play off our fears. Its psychological warfare with us as children. To meet someone who dove headfirst into a Conspiracy Theory. I cant get you that information. I couldnt stop thinking about it, and it broke me. And someone whos still very much in it. You cant stop whats coming. And what do you think is coming . Justice. Wed like to think were immune from misinformation. But the truth is far more complicated, and these days, harder than ever to discern. Last year, or world changed overnight. Stores emptied. Stadiums went silent. And all of us learned the meaning of social distance. At the same time that we isolated from each other we have the biggest oneday death toll so far the volume of our news feed went to full blast. We tried our best to keep up appearances, but as weeks, then months went by under lockdown, it got harder and harder. Theres suffering and theres death about five months into this world wide pandemic people who looked like they had it together were silently coming apart. A video started spreading on twitter, showing a woman knocking over a display of masks in a target store. She livestreamed the entire event. The video became a viral sensation and garnered the meme target karen. But for the person who posted it, it was the end of a rapid downward spiral. At the beginning of the pandemic, i was just spinning trying to learn as much as i possibly could so that i could be informed, not only to make decisions for my health and my familys health, but to advise clients. Melissa rein lively is well versed in appearances she runs a small Public Relations firm catering to luxury and lifestyle. But her business was upended when the pandemic devastated arizonas hospitality industry. How did the pandemic start to affect you personally . I honestly didnt know what to do with myself. It was just this dead zone of time where i just had nothing to do other than panic. Melissa had recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and was prone to extreme anxiety. And like many of us, she was faced with an information overload. My issue with dr. Fauci right out the gate was initially he had said no masks are necessary, then he dialed it back and said masks are necessary. I think that the juxtaposition of information that was just so polar opposite was really what caused me to crack. I began to question what was happening. As she dug deeper into the internet, trying to make sense of it all, melissa discovered a new theory. The pandemic was a cover up for something far worse. What were some of the things specifically that you saw that really affected you after going down that rabbit hole . I saw clips of videos that were floating around on twitter. It was people in positions of power abusing children with proof, you know, thats their voice, thats their house, and i had never seen anything like that. Melissa had stumbled into americas Fastest GrowingConspiracy Theory, qanon. The information seemed very real and very credible, and horrifying. But did you ever think that that all could be contrived . I considered that. But i was deeply affected by the Save The Children messaging and the claims about widespread pedophilia. I just wanted to see justice and the truth come forward and i just couldnt let it go. By now, most of us have heard of the qanon Conspiracy Theory, a global trafficking ring, thousands of pedophiles, and one man who will vanquish this evil now former president donald trump. It sounds ridiculous, but some studying qanon say there are reasons why so many are people are drawn to it. We all have a desire to fight for what is right and to feel like we are part of something, Something Big and something heroic. Our country and our elitists are literally using the blood of children to fuel everything Conspiracy Theories really tap into peoples desire for connection. For people who might have been feeling isolated or not feeling like they had a ton of purpose, this is incredibly seductive. Im speaking with anna merlan, an investigative journalist who has tracked how conspiracy movements like this one have risen to the surface. What is qanon and where did it come from . Qanon is a Conspiracy Theory that really took hold pretty early on in Donald Trumps presidency and it is basically the idea that he is secretly fighting a cabal of evildoers. And that we are being told what he is doing through mysterious clues dropped by someone calling themselves q who has implied that theyre a highlevel operative in the trump administration. How has that become something that people have found themselves wanting to partake in . Qanon has become a massive online role playing game. And its very addictive, because it gives people a sense of participating in something really big. Like if you put these clues together correctly, you will vanquish an unthinkable evil. Anna tells me, qanon is more than just memes and viral clips, its part of a much older, darker story. The idea of a secret group of sexually abusive evildoers is literally a medieval Conspiracy Theory. It is an antisemitic idea, which holds that jews specifically were meeting in secret late at night to slaughter christian children and use their blood in rituals, but it has spread beyond that. You can see elements of it in qanon which claims that evildoers are meeting in secret to abuse children. Our kids are not for sale the ancient lie has been weaponized again and again throughout global history but still didnt deter melissa, who herself was raised jewish and descended from holocaust survivors. Even though there is a lot of antisemitism that goes along with what qanon is about, that still didnt dissuade you . I picked and choosed what i ascribed to, and the rest of it, i was like, i dont like that, im going to ignore that. And the more detached from reality i got, the more of a rift that it had in my relationship with my husband. Finally, things got so heated here that he was like, either you cut this qanon out or were done. So i was like, fine. Ill go stay in a hotel. I was just filled with rage. I was thinking about everything that i had learned about qanon, its like, theyre doing this to us. And when i saw the masks, i just lost it. I cant do it because im a blonde, white woman . [ bleep ]ing wearing a [ bleep ]ing 40,000 [ bleep ]ing rolex . I dont have the [ bleep ]ing right to [ bleep ], [ bleep ] up . The target video was just one of several posted by melissa when she was following qanon. In them, she bragged about connections to q, loyalty to donald trump, and used a torrent of racist language. Yeah, i use the n word, i use it all [ bleep ] day. [ bleep ], [ bleep ], [ bleep ]. Overnight, melissa lost clients, friends, and nearly her marriage, after her husband filed for divorce. Call donald trump and ask him, if you dont believe me. Do you have his phone number . Do i have his phone number . Im on the phone with him all the time, im [ bleep ]ing wired. When you look at that video, what do you think about . Never in a million years would i think that i would have been the type of person to join a cult, but thats exactly what i did. Its very easy to get swept up. Based on a poll conducted in 2021, an estimated 15 of the American Public believed a secret group of pedophiles were controlling the government, thats millions of people. So now im looking at this reddit page called qanoncasualties, stories of people who have gone down this qanon rabbit hole. Heres one that says, i lost my mom to this qanon bull [ bleep ]. Today, she finally talked about celebrities killing small children and drinking their blood. The saddest thing about all of this is how grounded in fear people are. Were all afraid, we are all unsure of whats going to happen tomorrow. And where is it going to end . I have no idea. Thats also really scary. Qanon is a digitalage phenomenon, but nothing exists in a vacuum. 9 11 was an inside job as it turns out, the paranoia that fuels q is as american as apple pie. Introducing new sweet and savory crepes. For a limited time, buy one, get one free. With five flavors that are delicious any time of day. Only from ihop. Download the app and earn free food with every order. My active Psoriatic Arthritis can slow me down. Now, skyrizi helps me get going by treating my skin and joints. Along with significantly clearer skin, skyrizi helps me move with less joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and fatigue. 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Whats the big deal . Whats the big deal . Marching band music Marching Band Music ill get a cart. Get two Scotts Daylawn saving is the biggest deal of the year. Stock up early and save up to 20 dollars on the best scotts products. Next on behind the series. Let me tell you about the greatest roster ever assembled. The monster, the outlaw. And you cant forget about the boss. Sometimes you just want to eat your heroes. The subway series. The greatest menu of all time. Lowes knows you never come in for just one thing. So weve got to know a lot of things about a lot of things. Like what makes your lawn thrive, paint that adds color in one coat and a dishwasher that handles all the dirty work. You got this. And we got you. Its easy to think of Conspiracy Theories as something new a byproduct of the digital age. But journalist anna merlan points out that this has happened over and over again in america. Conspiracy theories tend to come to prominence more during times of social upheaval, social change, confusion about major world events. All of those things can lead to an environment where peoples imaginations really can run wild. In the mid20th century, most Conspiracy Theories spread by word of mouth. Like today, it was a time of rapid social change. While an escalating cold war bred fear of communism and the Civil Rights Movement threatened to upend a system of white supremacy, a small group on the farright sought to capitalize on the resistance to change. The anticommunist John Birch Society were engaged in spreading pretty virulent Conspiracy Theories. They openly accused their political opponents of being communists, that the government was riddled with secret communists who were working to sort of undermine the workings of the government, and this was an existential threat. The Civil Rights Movement, as we know it today, is simply part of a Worldwide Movement organized and directed by communists to enslave all mankind. Its something that we have seen subsequently that people who dont believe what you believe ideologically are actually a danger to the United States, and that idea has recurred quite a lot. These ideas can also take root when people have lost trust in their leaders. Conspiracy theorists, they dont have to do very much work to make people believe that the government is capable of real atrocities, because they have perpetrated them in the past. Whether were old or young, we can probably remember a time in our lives when something we thought was true was exposed as a lie. Peace will be necessary for final success. We will do this because our own security is at stake. Let me just say this, i have never obstructed justice. We did not, repeat, did not trade weapons or anything else for hostages. The erosion of trust took its toll. By the end of the 20th century, studies showed that over 50 percent of americans believed in at least one Conspiracy Theory. The first time i noticed that Conspiracy Culture was really popular in america was when i was going to gun shows. There was probably more people crowded around the Conspiracy Table than the ar15 table. The clues were all there, actually, that it had the potential to get as huge as its become. Jon ronson is no stranger to bizarre stories. An author and filmmaker, hes covered secret military programs, psychopaths, and mind control. But two decades ago, it was a story about extremism that led him to the world of Conspiracy Thinking. When i first heard about these extremist groups, i thought they would have nothing in common. But they all believed that there was a shadowy cabal secretly ruling the world from inside a secret room. Its a very clear hoax that, of course, influenced the nazis, influenced White Supremacists right up until today. Jon wanted to learn more about how these ideas were spreading in Fringe Groups on the right and discovered a devoted fan base determined to expose the threat of a New World Order. Victory is ours against the New World Order against the communists, socialists, bankers that run the whole filthy show. One obscure Public Tv Host from texas had amassed a cult following selling mailorder videos. His name was alex jones. And now that they run the world, they plan to sack this country, are you going to let em . What was your relationship with alex jones . I first met alex jones when he was completely unknown, broadcasting out of a childs bedroom in his house. No longer is the New World Order some foggy apparition over the next hill, the talk of extremists. But ronson discovered that he and jones shared a common fascination. There actually were powerful groups meeting in secret, vips who gathered on weekend outings in remote locations. Like Bohemian Grove, this weird campsite in Northern California where people are rumored to attend a ritual that ends in a human effigy being burned in front of a giant stone owl. The Bohemian Club was exactly what jon was looking for a secretive mens retreat whose attendees have included power brokers, celebrities, and even former president s. For 150 years, the gatherings had been a Lightning Rod for conspiracy theorists, alleging that this was where plots were hatched to build a New World Order. When i heard that, i thought i must try to sneak in and find out if its true. Were going to go blow the party for em and get the Information Out to people. And then i remembered that guy alex jones. So i called him up and i said, thinking about sneaking into Bohemian Grove, do you want to come . And youre not going to do anything stupid this weekend . Im completely nonviolent when it comes to just going out there and trying to get the information. Thats what im trying to do. And what did you see when you got there . Oh, well, i mean, the whole thing was amazing. We watched this ceremony which alex managed to film from the camera in his bag. The owl is in his leafy temple. Let all within the grove be reverent before him. The footage was shaky and dark but captured what was clearly a ritual. They pick up the human effigy and throw it in the bonfire. Bring fire and they all play when the saints go marching in. And then this big fireworks display. It turned out what jon and alex jones witnessed was the Bohemian Clubs annual summer kickoff called the cremation of care. Creepy looking, yes, but more of a summer play put on by rich men. Okay. So it was a weird event, but probably not particularly nefarious. It was odd, but not nefarious. But then alex brought out a video called dark secrets inside Bohemian Grove like hed stumbled into some sort of satanic ritual. Spinning it to, we had possibly witnessed an actual human sacrifice. If we kind of dissect