#Savethechildren is a Proliferate Conspiracy Hashtag, and You’re Falling For It.
Conspiracy theories proliferate in online blogs and forums like a bad case of bed bugs, here’s why #Savethechildren is a Q-anon conspiracy vehicle that’s actively hurting the cause with misinformation.
When logging onto almost any online platform you will see the hashtag #savethechildren spam posted in comment sections or shared to personal accounts shouting prolific concern for the uptick in child sex trafficking and abuse. Most are accompanied with images of young girls and the words “Child Lives Matter”, familiarly echoing the ongoing “Black Lives Matter” slogan of the anti-police brutality group.
According to the director and founder of CHILD USA based out of Philadelphia, the exploitation of children has always been a widespread problem but has become increasingly worse during the ongoing pandemic, most likely due to a collapsed safety net of mandated reporters of abuse (teachers, etc.) and increased screen-time/online presence that allows predators easier access.
But an online community called QAnon entrenched in dangerous conspiracies is a main driver of the sudden and urgent interest in child sex trafficking, causing a mass uptick in posts on social media shares of #savethechildren, along with patently false theories surrounding government and Hollywood figures during the 2020 election.
So how is this dark web community connected to what is seemingly a noble cause, and why it is driven to benefit them during the election?
Let’s delve in.
What is QAnon?
According to BBC News, it began in October 2017 when an anonymous user of 4chan claimed to hold a high level of US security approval called “Q clearance” thus beginning messages signed off as “Q” which became known as “Q drops” or “breadcrumbs”.
According to Mike Wendling, the heart of the community is immersed in seemingly random threads stating there is a covert and “secret war” against the wealthy elite:
At its heart, QAnon is a wide-ranging, unfounded conspiracy theory that says that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshiping pedophiles in government, business and the media.
QAnon believers have speculated that this fight will lead to a day of reckoning where prominent people such as Hillary Clinton will be arrested and executed.
That’s the basic story, but there are so many offshoots, detours and internal debates that the total list of QAnon claims is enormous — and often contradictory. Adherents draw in news events, historical facts and numerology to develop their own far-fetched conclusions.
Many of the “breadcrumbs” posted by “Q” that were prophetic have turned out to never come to pass, such as the prediction that Hillary Clinton was facing incarceration and arrest after the scandalous #pizzagate sex basement that caused a shooting (the restaurant doesn’t even have a basement). Many of the posts also tend to take on an evangelical tone, with many having been signed off with “God bless” and the like, giving followers the impression of a “patriot serving their country” by exposing deep state activity.
A great read that delves much further into the conspiratorial posts and phrases by “Q” is The Prophecies of Q, written by Adrienne LaFrance, which I highly recommend.
Political in nature, false in reality.
A common theme that can be found within their forum are theories touching on issues ranging from science to politics, many claiming President Trump is aware of this deep state “war” and actively working to undue the elitist cult that preys on children for sacrifices, pedophilia, or to “harvest”.
During pro-trump rallies attendees can be seen sporting memorabilia and signs with QAnon related imagery and slogans, a sign that many within the Republican/Conservative party have begun to believe in the theories being spread online, sharing content from accounts associated with the movement in droves and parroting the same talking points.
Congressional candidates are coming out in support as well, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene who won Georgia’s Republican 14th Congressional District primary took to Twitter afterwards to say:
“The GOP establishment, the media, & the radical left, spent months & millions of dollars attacking me,” Greene tweeted after her win. “Tonight the people of Georgia stood up & said that we will not be intimidated or believe those lies.”
Greene is known for her extreme and racially sensitive comments, actively attacking others and exhibiting degrading behavior unfit for a public servant, yet this language is what helped clench a win.
Even Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn tweeted a video July 4th featuring slogans and phrases tied to the group, providing further evidence that not even our government officials are immune to the deep seeded distrust sown by the QAnon community.
According to Elise Thomas in Qanon Deploys ‘Information Warfare’ to Influence the 2020 Election, in 2019 followers attempted to use Twitter to influence governor’s races in both Kentucky and Louisiana by:
“Posting tweets and memes in favor of Republican candidates and attacking their opponents. They analyzed social media conversations, including popular hashtags, to decide where and how to weigh in”.
Both Republican candidates lost in a close race, though now the same tactics are being used successfully for 2020 elections, as noted by Marjorie Greene’s win.
The timing and content of QAnon is highly politically charged in nature, the intent is to sow so much discord and distrust during the 2020 election that the end result will be the downfall of our political landscape. This is similar to the end-goal of the Boogaloo Boy movement, another anti-establishment right-wing cause with ties to QAnon.
Twitter & Facebook fight misinformation.
Both of the social media giants worked overtime to delete several accounts connected to QAnon to help quell the mass amounts of false information and conspiracy theories, yet it doesn’t seem to be enough, because it backfired.
At one point the influx use of #savethechildren caused Facebook to temporarily block the use of the hashtag attempting to slow the spread, according to a Facebook spokesperson:
“We temporarily blocked the hashtag as it was surfacing low-quality content. The hashtag has since been restored, and we will continue to monitor for content that violates our community standards.”
The move was instantly noticed, and attacked as “evidence” that Mark Zuckerberg was in cahoots with the “elite” at the core of the child trafficking conspiracy.
According to Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny’s article Twitter bans 7,000 QAnon accounts, limits 150,000 others as part of broad crackdown, Twitter’s move to help stem harassment affected 7,000 accounts related to QAnon for “breaking its rules against platform manipulation, spam or ban evasion”, a move to help prevent “swarming”, a large scale form of harassment coordinated against vocal critics to the president or specific high-profile individuals.
In that same article Twitter’s spokesperson stated:
“Last year, the FBI designated QAnon as a potential domestic terrorist threat. The FBI’s report on QAnon’s ties to dangerous real-world activities led in part to Twitter’s decision.”
It’s hurting child trafficking causes, and diverting attention from others.
What may seem as an innocent hashtag to help bring awareness is actually being used for nefarious intent and diversion that harms the cause (and others) rather than helps.
What Is #SaveTheChildren and Why Did Facebook Block It? by Ej Dickson states:
“Social media has become so glutted with posts espousing a secret link between human trafficking and conspiracy-theorist favorites (such as Hillary Clinton and Chrissy Teigen), that Save the Children, an actual organization devoted to providing humanitarian aid for children, was forced to issue a statement on Twitter distancing itself from the movement.”, going on further down to say
“The end result has been that even people with no interest in fringe conspiracy theories have been drawn into the #SaveTheChildren campaign, causing the hashtag to explode in popularity. And as QAnon enters the mainstream, with major congressional candidates espousing the conspiracy theory and millions of members joining its Facebook groups, that can serve to pose a major problem.”
Not only is co-opting the hashtag harmful to current efforts to combat child trafficking, it’s a strategic ploy to move attention away from current movements and conversations happening now, such as Black Lives Matter, Defund the Police, and others, for political gain in favor of the Right-Wing movement.
Sharing unproven theories and meme’s/pictures with unfounded claims is damaging to not only the targeted person (think Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey), it does nothing to help children. However, supporting established organizations with proven results in bettering children’s lives, attending city & state meetings regarding child welfare, and improving legislation will.
