Marc-André Argentino, an author and researcher at Public Safety Canada, dives deep into QAnon in this engaging discussion. He describes QAnon as a 'hyper-real religion,' revealing how it evolved through distinct phases and the psychological factors attracting followers. The conversation explores the movement's impact on politics and media, as well as its interplay with digital culture and community dynamics. They also discuss the unsettling transition from harmless fun to extremism within online conspiracy circles and the biblical rhetoric entwined with QAnon beliefs.
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Researchers Meet IRL At Live Show
Marc-André Argentino met the hosts in person at a live show and they hugged IRL.
Jake recalls having a panic attack backstage despite enjoying the meetup.
insights INSIGHT
Normalization Shifts The Overton Window
QAnon normalized many conspiracy talking points into mainstream political speech, shifting the Overton window.
Marc-André Argentino says normalization makes Q-related ideas less newsworthy even as they persist online.
question_answer ANECDOTE
From PhD Project To Book
Argentino turned his PhD into a QAnon book after switching research focus in 2018.
He calls it a passion project that became his dissertation and was released as an academic text in 2024.
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What is QAnon today, nearly eight years after the first Q drop? In Marc-André-Argentio’s new book QAnon: From Conspiracy Theory to New Religious Movement he argues that QAnon is best understood as a “hyper-real religion.” Even years after the Q drops stopped, QAnon exists as a lived religious practice, where true believers are commissioned to redpill the normies and posting is a rite. The book demonstrates that the movement has gone through three stages of existence: proto-QAnon, canonical-QAnon, and apocryphal-QAnon.
Travis and Jake chat with Marc-André about his book and how it builds on other books that cover the movement.
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Marc-André Argentino
https://www.maargentino.com/
QAnon: From Conspiracy Theory to New Religious Movement
https://www.routledge.com/QAnon-From-Conspiracy-Theory-to-New-Religious-Movement/Argentino/p/book/9781032703534
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Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com)
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