Note: The views and opinions expressed in blog/editorial posts are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the views or opinions of Misbar.
In 2021, people around the world have heard about Qanon, the crazy conspiracy theories that American deep state pedophiles actually run the world. The statement itself that most people have heard of the movement is pretty easily proven, unlike Qanon’s theories. In 2018, Time magazine named Q as one of the 25 most influential people on the internet. Since then, there have been high profile documentaries and coverage about the movement on HBO, CNN and other channels.
It’s easy to understand why the story of Qanon has enthralled believers and non-believers alike. As Oregon State University’s Doctor Frank Bernieri states, people who believe in Q are affected by their biases, their subconscious, their need to be in control and more. To those on the outside, conspiracy theories are always interesting to learn about. In fact, the crazier they are, the more compelling.
Those who are on the outside of Qanon looking in, mocking those who believe, are harmless, right? You could even say that by highlighting the absurdities of Qanon, they’re making the world a better place. But amplifying misinformation sometimes does more harm than good, and highlighting Qanon’s claims about child abuse distract’s the general public from the very real tragedies of child abuse. Here’s why:
1. Focusing on people who believe in fake pedophiles makes us overlook real child sexual abuse
Have you ever heard of Operation Yewtree? It was an investigation that started in 2012 by The Met (the London equivalent of the NYPD) into famous figures in Britain who had sexually abused children. It started after damning evidence was brought forth against a former British childhood television presenter, Jimmy Saville, which came to light after his death. Dozens of victims came forward, with ages ranging from five to 75. It resulted in the imprisonment of another television presenter, Rolf Harris, for child sexual abuse. He only served three years of his sentence and has since been seen near primary schools. If you’re not British, then it’s understandable for you to have never heard of Jimmy Saville, Rolf Harris, or Operation Yewtree. But surely you’ve heard of the organization that enabled and attempted to cover up their actions: The BBC. Yes, the British Broadcasting Company, which produces Doctor Who, Top Gear and many other of the UK’s most successful television shows. While these shows were being produced, Savile was committing sexual acts against children, “in virtually every one of the BBC premises at which he worked.” And employees of the BBC have been documented as complaining about Savile’s activities, but these complaints were dismissed by those in management positions.
It isn’t an exaggeration to say that the BBC was enabling and covering up the actions of Jimmy Saville, Rolf Harris and other sexual abusers. In fact, an independent inquiry into the abuse concluded in 2016 that, “an atmosphere of fear still exists today in the BBC, possible because obtaining work in the BBC is highly competitive and many people no longer have the security on an employment contract.” This atmosphere allowed criminal behavior to thrive, and may still be doing so. In fact, as recently as April 29th, 2021, a British actor, Noel Clarke, who got his first major roles in the BBC shows Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Doctor Who, was accused of sexual assault by 20 different women. The first incident dates to 2004, when Clarke started working on Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Doctor Who.
Despite these shocking revelations, the BBC and other powerful corporations that enable criminal behavior still persist in much the same way as it did when Operation Yewtree was conducted. Yet we don’t hear about it. The BBC makes good entertainment, and there are other things to focus upon, like Qanon.
2. Qanon stories give real crimes against children less airtime.
In April, 2021, The Guardian reported that an Ivy League anthropology course was using the bones of murdered African American children without the surviving relatives’ permissions. These bones were in a publicly available Coursera video until the revelations about the course came to light. In fact, this video had been on the site since 2019. The bones weren’t from an archaeological find, with the surviving relatives being descendants who were identified through DNA testing. Instead, the children had died in 1985, and the surviving relatives were the murdered children’s mothers.
The story of how the children died uncovers yet another tragedy perpetuated by a system of power. The remains belong to children named Delisha and Tree, who died at ages 12 and 14, when a Philadelphia police helicopter dropped a bomb onto their home in 1985. They were killed along with three other children. The children’s parents had belonged to a religious and political organization called MOVE. The sequence of events leading up to the bombing began when Philadelphia police arrived at the house to serve arrest warrants. When residents refused to leave, the police gave them a 15 minute warning. Then one member of MOVE started shooting at the police. After hours of shooting between MOVE and police, the city’s mayor, Wilson Goode, gave the police permission to drop a bomb on the building. In a 20th century U.S. city, how can a police bombing on a house where innocent children lived be acceptable? Surely, a more peaceful solution could have been found.
The Philadelphia City Council formally apologized for the bombing in 2020. In other words, it took an American city 35 years to apologize for bombing its own children. Until recently, as others have noted, this incident had been forgotten. In fact, the mayor who approved the bombing, Wilson Goode, even managed to get re-elected to a second term in 1987. The MOVE bombing was forgotten, and Ivy League colleges were able to acquire the bones of the dead children without permission. Of course, when these events occurred, Qanon did not yet exist, and social media also did not exist, meaning that people could not communicate their outrage in the same manner. The recent news stories that brought the events of the MOVE bombing to light could correct this. But they are competing for airtime with stories about Qanon.
3. Following Qanon allows real instances of child slavery to continue.
Qanon conspiracy theorists allege that high profile figures such as Hillary Clinton and Chrissy Teagan are engaging in child sex trafficking, without evidence. In fact, Qanon conspiracy theorists use the hashtag #SaveTheChildren on a regular basis, and it has been used to pull people into the world of Qanon.
Imagine if, instead of focusing on fake instances of child sex trafficking, people started to focus on actual instances of child trafficking? It does exist. As the Thomson Reuters Foundation News reports, one in six of 23,500 runaway youths in the U.S. in 2019 likely became victims of child sex trafficking. Perhaps Qanon believers who claim that they’re trying to save the children could focus upon opposing the childhood slavery that Mars, Nestle and Hershey were still documented as profiting from in 2019?
If the BBC could enable pedophiles for decades, if an Ivy League college could steal the bones of murdered children, if a US police department could bomb children to death, if confectionary companies are still exploiting child slavery, then what else has not come to light?
After all, if the same culture that allowed the BBC to enable and cover up child sexual abuse is still in place, then isn’t it probable that it is still happening at equally powerful organizations? If the bones of two murdered children were illegally acquired by Ivy League institutions once, has it happened elsewhere? If the US police dropped a bomb on innocent children in 1985, have similar atrocities have occured? If Nestle is still exploiting childhood labor, then what other companies are turning a blind eye to the abuse at the roots of their supply chains?
It is important to highlight how Qanon is warping people’s beliefs and contributing to terrorist events, such as the insurrection at the Capitol. But today, almost everyone knows about Qanon. Many people do not know about the crimes that are being committed upon children by real institutions in power such as corporations and police forces. Clearly, a shift in focus is needed.
Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images
