Conspiracy theories in cyberspace

Abstract: The introduction of social media platforms influenced the social dynamics by changing the way individuals are exposed to information. The straightforwardness of social media communication resulted in an overwhelming amount of information for users, and the variety of sources of the information is limiting users’ ability to assess what information is genuine and what is disinformation. Exploiting this shift in societal functioning, conspiracy theories have taken advantage of social media's reach to undermine the foundations of societies. One such theory, QAnon, which revolves around a fantastical narrative of a ruling satanic cabal exploiting children, has transitioned from the obscure corners of cyberspace to become a topic of mainstream media, courtesy of social media algorithms, journalistic interest, and opportunistic politicians. The impact of the QAnon discourse resulted in violent acts for some of the followers, culminating in the U.S. Capitol storming. This act provoked immense ban activity by major social media networks. With the passage of time, interest in QAnon has waned considerably. Thus, through a survey and thematic and content analysis, this research aims to assess and answer the following research questions: Where are QAnon conspiracy theory groups present in social media networks? and What are the main discussion themes and conspiracy theory targets? two years after the “storm“ incident. Gab, Telegram and Rumble are the social media platforms that have the most QAnon followers and discussions. An analysis confirmed that the discourse mainly concentrates around politics and conspiracy theories, with Donald Trump being the individual whose activities occupy the attention of most of the discussion topics. Calls for violence are rare, mostly in the form of predicting military coups or military courts, the QAnon followers’ narrative that has already been seen. In the case of QAnon, disinformation remains an attack vector in cyber warfare which underscores the need for further analysis into the development and influence the theory has towards upcoming major political events.