USA
Trump again refuses to disavow QAnon conspiracy theory
ADL chief described the president as ‘shockingly irresponsible’
October 16, 2020 12:45
ADL chief described the president as ‘shockingly irresponsible’
October 16, 2020 12:45President Donald Trump drew criticism on Thursday for refusing to disavow the QAnon conspiracy theory, which deploys a number of antisemitic tropes.
Adherents of the unfounded theory believe that President Trump is waging a secret battle against a cabal-run child sex-trafficking ring.
The theory, which originated in 2017 on anonymous message boards, has spread across social media platforms and gained a growing presence in the UK.
President Trump was challenged about QAnon by NBC host Savannah Guthrie on Thursday during a televised town hall event.
“I know nothing about QAnon,” Mr Trump said. “I do know they are very much against pedophilia. They fight it very hard but I know nothing about it.”
“What I do hear about it, is they are very strongly against paedophilia, and I agree with that,” he added, after being pressed by the host.
Earlier on during the debate, President Trump also said he denounced white supremacy.
Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, criticised President Trump’s comments on Twitter after the town hall event.
“Shockingly irresponsible @POTUS refused to disavow QAnon – a dangerous and hateful conspiracy theory that promotes antisemitism and has inspired followers to commit multiple instances of real-world violence,” he wrote.
“This isn’t hard. Feigning ignorance is unacceptable.”
YouTube said Thursday it would ban material targeting individuals or groups with “conspiracy theories that have been used to justify real-world violence”.
Social media giant Facebook announced a broader crackdown on the movement last week.
