By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Conspiracy theories peddled online are motivating people to commit domestic terrorism, the FBI wrote in an internal threat assessment.
The bulletin, first obtained by Yahoo News, says “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists” are a growing threat in the U.S.
“The FBI assesses anti-government, identity based, and fringe political conspiracy theories very likely motivate some domestic extremists, wholly or in part, to commit criminal and sometimes violent activity,” the report states. “The FBI further assesses in some cases these conspiracy theories very likely encourage the targeting of specific people, places, and organizations, thereby increasing the likelihood of violence against these targets. These assessments are made with high confidence, based on information from other law enforcement agencies, open source information, court documents, human sources with varying degrees of access and corroboration, and FBI investigations.”
The conspiracy theories are often rooted in white supremacy and anti-government ideologies. The FBI specifically mentions QAnon, a far-right conspiracy about a secret plot to remove President Trump from office, and Pizzagate, a belief that Hillary Clinton and her associates are running a pedophile ring out of a pizzeria basement, which doesn’t exist.
Also mentioned in the document is the gunman who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Before the massacre, the shooter referenced the Zionist Occupation Government conspiracy theory.
With the rise of social media, conspiracy theories have been on the rise. Trump is often accused of fueling the hate that propels the conspiracy theories. In fact, he was arguably the loudest messenger of the conspiracy theory that President Obama was not born in the U.S.
As president, Trump continues to peddle conspiracy theories about “fake news” and a “witch hunt” to oust him.
The FBI recently warned that white supremacy is behind a majority of the domestic terrorism cases in the U.S. That has given rise to QAnon.
“Although conspiracy theory-driven crime and violence is not a new phenomenon, today’s information environment has changed the way conspiracy theories develop, spread, and evolve,” the report states. “The advent of the Internet and social media has enabled promoters of conspiracy theories to produce and share greater volumes of material via online platforms that larger audience of consumers can quickly and easily access.”
