>> We know that throughout this year the QAnon
theory that's been around for a few years,
despite the fact that it's never gotten even
a single one of its predictions right about
Democrats being a satanic cult of pedophiles
that are shipping people in Wayfair cabinets
and drinking their blood hormones and ripping
off their faces during sex acts.
That's just part of the theory by the way.
It's become a lot more popular, though.
And how popular?
Well, according to a recent poll, one in three
Republicans believe that the QAnon theory
is mostly true.
Another 23% of Republicans say that some parts
of the QAnon conspiracy are true.
Put together, that is 56% of Republicans.
Only 13% say that it's not true at all.
In contrast, 72% of Democrats say the QAnon
conspiracy theory is not true at all, only
4% of Democrats say it's even partly true.
Some don't know enough about it to say, that
will probably change over time.
Now I have some concerns about this poll.
But Adrian, as you've seen the QAnon thing
become so normalized in the Republican party
and millions and millions of Americans adherence
to it.
Well, what does that make you think about
America?
>> It tells me that Americans who are subscribing
to these theories that they feel out of control
and they're trying to make sense of things
that are going on.
And I did some research kind of just to figure
out what is going on in these people's heads.
And that was exactly it.
The fact that when people feel that they're
not in control of their lives and also when
there's a lot of tension between societal
subgroups, people will latch on to these conspiracy
theories.
And they essentially think that this is the
way to make sense of all of the things that
they don't know, which tells you people don't
feel like they're in any control.
They don't feel they're getting the information
they need and it's dangerous.
>> It is and that sort of uncertainty is incredibly
stressful and interacts poorly with situations
that are themselves stressful, such as economic
collapses, public health crises, all of that.
And I get it and people want to understand
the world around them.
The issue is that we have techniques for doing
that.
I mean, the scientific method broadly.
Speaking with people and learning about other
experiences is one way to do that.
But all of that is difficult and complicated
and would really require an education system
far better than the American one.
So just, lizards control everything or there's
demon semen or alien DNA is being used to
develop vaccines.
These are shortcuts to that and they're also
sort of a little bit exciting.
If you're not really into Marvel or Star Trek
or anything, you can have Q and it's got all
the same plot points.
Yeah, though the entire thing is really scary,
but for a lot of people, they haven't been
armed with the cognitive tools to see through
some of this.
And so it's becoming more common.
Now, that doesn't mean it's becoming as common
as this poll implies.
I think that a lot of Americans believe in
the Q thing.
I think it's much more common than it was
a year ago.
And I think it's just embarrassing and horrifying
that so many Republicans have normalized it
and now think it's totally cool.
But there's an issue with the poll.
And the issue is that when you actually dig
into the methodology of the poll, the question
that everyone was asked was, do you believe
that the QAnon theory about a conspiracy among
deep state elites is true?
That is not necessarily a good way to pull
people about QAnon.
Is it inaccurate?
No.
The QAnon theory is about a conspiracy among
deep state elites, but every conservative
believes that there's a conspiracy among deep
state elites.
Not everyone believes that those deep state
elites are drinking baby blood, like there
are levels beyond just the deep state.
That I think this is probably inflating the
numbers artificially to a greater or lesser
degree.
I don't know how much and I do think a lot
of Americans believe in Q, I just don't think
this is super accurate necessarily.
>> There almost should be like levels of Q.
>> Like Scientology?
Yeah, I totally agree because like you said,
there aren't people who think that celebrities
are out here drinking baby blood.
And it's really interesting though, because
I had a girlfriend not too long ago who I
hadn't seen in a few years who I had met through
church.
And I ran into her and she was talking this
QAnon stuff.
And she truly, truly believed in it and she's
like a nurse.
And so she has a real job and she is a person
of significance.
And so I didn't shame her in any way, I told
her I'd like to hear a little more.
So I could probably kind of assess how deep
is this person in and she was very, very deep.
And that kind of scares me because it makes
me realize that so many people who are very
much normalized and seem balanced, they have
it, are really latching on to this.
And these people are trying to make sense
of these societal events that frighten them,
because this thought that there could be 4chan
out there, that scares them.
And unfortunately, I feel like there's a whole
reach of people out there who are looking
for some kind of answer.
And they're really looking to latch on and
it's scary.
>> Yeah, you're right.
The world is a complex, scary place where
things don't necessarily work out the way
that you think they should or would like them
to.
Since we were roaming the prairie in Africa,
we've been coming up with ways to try to deal
with that fundamental reality.
And there are some things that by comparison
to QAnon, like organized religion as a way
of understanding the complexity and chaos
of the natural world, those are seeming a
little bit more reasonable now to me.
>> In comparison to, Hillary Clinton drinks
adrenochrome or whatever it is, I honestly
don't even know.
But more people are believing that.
And so I used to make jokes at the end of
2019, like people still believe this?
But it's expanding.
So everybody needs to get at least a baseline
of information about this to figure out how
to fight back against it because the experience
you talked about, more and more people are
gonna have that.
My wife, I'm not gonna be specific.
She talked to someone, and they believe it
and they're seemingly a reasonable person.
But the issue is that it's a very expertly
crafted conspiracy theory.
It allows for all other conspiracy theories.
So if you're a flat earther you might like
Q, if you're a lizard people control government
thing you might like Q.
They say, I'm not telling you to believe anything,
go and research on your own.
But they do that knowing that 99% of the people
they're telling that to don't have the tools
to do that sort of research.
And so it provides the veneer of sort of scientific
analysis without any of the reality of it.
It's insidious.
And so people do need to learn more about
it, I think.
>> Absolutely.
And it's funny cuz this is also why I don't
do hard drugs, because I know I have an addictive
personality.
And so, if I hit that heroin, I probably ain't
coming back.
Just some Chardonnay.
And I feel like that same way it goes with
this QAnon and Scientology stuff.
>> Because yeah, I want answers too, which
is why I'm not gonna come to your doorstep.
Because I know once I hit that, I may not
come back to just this normal way of living
and this kind of just it's okay if I don't
have the answers.
So I recommend to everybody out there, know
who you are.
And if you kind of got that addictive personality
and you want those answers, don't go down
that path.
It's not, stay away.
>> It's funny, in the same way I went to grad
school at UT Austin.
And people who go to UT Austin might know,
maybe it's gone now, but on the main drag
basically, where the campus ends and then
you cross the street and you're in stores.
Right across from the campus there is a Scientology
recruiting center where you can go and get
screened for your thetans or whatever.
And so people sometimes would go as a lark,
I'm gonna just for fun.
And I never did.
Not because I don't think that I'm a critical
thinker, but they've spent decades learning
how to rope people in.
I respect that.
I respect the threat that it poses.
I'm not gonna expose myself to that.
And now we've got Q. Not to say it's exactly
the same thing and they both involve aliens.
>> So yeah, hey man, let's not, don't go down
that path.
Don't hit that stuff, nope.
>> Nope, not today.
Sit in the corner like Adrienne said.
