ATLANTA — Georgia State University, Professor of Communication and Middle East Studies; and Transcultural Conflict and Violence Faculty Member, Dr. Mia Bloom will be giving a talk at the the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) on weaponized conspiracy theories. This discussion titled ‘QAnon and Weaponized Disinformation’
About the event: Weaponized conspiracy theories and social media disinformation have increased exponentially since Facebook’s Frances Haugen testified before the Senate in 2021. Since January 6, 2021, QAnon has been portrayed by government agencies (DHS 2021, FBI 2019), think tanks (Moonshot CVE 2020, Soufan Group 2021) and the mainstream media as dangerous with the “potential for terrorist violence.” This talk will explore the origins of the conspiracy theory, discuss how foreign adversaries of the US weaponize and leverage QAnon to exacerbate polarization and how the conspiracy theory targets LGBTQ+ community and revives racist stereotypes from the period of reconstruction and antisemitic tropes.
Tuesday, April 15, 2025 – 3:00 – 4:15pm EST (12:00 PM – 1:15 PM PT)
RSVP to confirm whether you’ll be attending in person or online.