Knowing (with) the Enemy: How QAnon Conspiracy Theorists Hack Elite Messaging

• In Event: Information and Democracy

Abstract

Emerging populist political movements, especially those grounded in conspiracy theories, are usually suspicious of political and media elites. This presents a puzzle: if public opinion is so determined by elite discourse, then how can a set of beliefs that openly question the sincerity of political elites be embraced by the mass public? Drawing on interviews conducted over the course of a multi-year ethnographic study of the QAnon conspiracy theory community, this chapter examines the processes employed by QAnon conspiracy theorists to interpret elite messaging. This argument centers the importance of local elites in conspiracy theorist institutions, who are responsible for recording and disseminating community research. In an overwhelming informational environment characterized by the threat of manipulation, local conspiracy theorist elites shore up their own epistemic authority by purporting to relay messages from mainstream elites. In the process, they transform these messages to match the expectations of their audience. The result is that, although they are exposed to elite discourse, elite messages reach conspiracy theorist publics in unexpected forms.

Author

• Winston Berg, Harvard University