THE BELIEVERS

A lot of Americans believe in conspiracy theories, including those put forth by QAnon: that leaders of the Democratic party practice child pornography, and Donald Trump was sent to get rid of those awful people. Further, Donald Trump would have been reelected had it not been for numerous irregularities in the vote. Voting machines had somehow turned votes for Trump into votes for Biden, and election officials had thrown out vast numbers of Trump votes.

What would lead large numbers of people to believe things that others see as irrational and obviously ridiculous? Studies have shown that people who believe such lies have some personality traits in common that lead them to accept these theories. They believe that nothing happens by coincidence. Everything is controlled by secret cabals that permeate all levels of society. These cabals might be Jews or Catholics or liberals or just the rich people who control everything. Believers tend to have feelings of anxiety and uncertainty because they feel they are not in control of their own lives.

Thousands of believers descended on Washington on January 6 to prevent the Congress from formally certifying the Electoral College vote that named Joe Biden president. Many of the rioters were professional people, business owners, off-duty police officers, and even one state legislator. Yet many of these middle class people had reason to feel that their lives were out of control. Sixty percent of them had a history of financial problems. Sixty percent!

One of these, for example, was Jenna Ryan, a real estate agent from Texas. She was paying a $37,000 lien on unpaid federal taxes. She had nearly lost her home to foreclosure, and filed for bankruptcy in 2012, and had faced an IRS lien in 2010.

Jacob Chansley, the man who called himself the “QAnon Shaman,” is another whose life seemed out of control. He has been described as a failed actor. He’s 32-years old, and he lives with his mother.

Both Ryan and Chansley expressed regret for their actions and disillusion with the conspiracy theories had bought them to Washington. Ryan said, “I bought into a lie...and it’s embarrassing. I regret everything.” Chansley said, “I am sorry for raising fear in the hearts of others. That was wrong. Period.” He also said he was “deeply disappointed in former President Trump. He was not honorable.”

Roy Watkins, founder of 8chan, a website that has been linked to white supremacy, Neo-Nazism, and antisemitism, told his supporters, “to go back to their own lives.” One of the followers said, “We all got played.”

Many believers thought that on January 20, Trump would somehow ride to the rescue and arrest members of the “deep state.” Instead they saw Biden get inaugurated. As one of the former believers said, “He [Trump] sold us out.”

One false story that is floating around the internet is that on March 4, Trump will be inaugurated. (Inauguration Day used to be on March 4, but the last time it was on that date was 1933.) When the inauguration of Donald Trump doesn’t happen on March 4, more of the believers will lose their delusions.

The attack on The Capitol on January 6 occurred because thousands of people believed the lies about the government. We cannot allow this to happen again. Even without the attack on the attack on the Capitol, misinformation that has spread through the internet has done terrible damage to the country. People who are willing to lie to move people to illegal action must be made to pay for spreading false information through the internet. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects web sites from paying for damage caused by anything posted on their sites by a third party. Section 230 must be repealed. If someone posts a dangerous message on the internet, the website where it was posted as well as the poster must be held responsible. If someone is damaged by an irresponsible statement on the internet or anyplace else, the person making the statement must be subject to suit for damages. The web site that posts the misinformation must be held responsible too.

Voting machine companies sued those who had made false statements about them. Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell were sued. So was Fox News and news personnel who told lies about the voting machines. Lou Dobbs lost his job. We must see more of this. Liars who damage others must be made to pay for their lies.