CNN

A baseless US conspiracy theory found a foothold in Europe. New research shows how

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/30/tech/qanon-europe-covid-intl/index.html

"The baseless PizzaGate claim emerged during the 2016 election. Later that same year, a gunman showed up and fired an AR-15 inside the pizzeria, saying he was trying to rescue non-existent child sex slaves."

"Twitter banned more than 7,000 accounts, citing its policy of taking action on accounts with "the potential to lead to offline harm." "

"But while QAnon has its roots in the US supporting and disseminating baseless theories around mass shootings and elections it has since turned into an amorphous ideology, appropriating conspiracies from other places that sit with its anti-elite message. ​"

""It is tangential to the far-right in the US, using anti-Semitic tropes and targeting the same people as the far-right, [but] as it spreads, we are also seeing it is appealing to [the] leftist anarchist side," she said. "

"QAnon's ability to evolve not only risks "seriously" undermining democracy, because of its damaging narrative about individuals and institutions, but also "undermines official information being released and could impede in the effort to get the virus under control," Gallagher added. "

"In a statement to CNN, Hildmann said he isn't a follower of "Q" but observes the movement "and supports it!" He added that "Germany is not a free country but is still occupied by the Americans and therefore only the great nation of America has the power to liberate the Germans from Merkel's reign of terror!" "