"Birds are actually government cameras"

These Teachers Are Struggling To Pull Their Students Out Of A QAnon Rabbit Hole

Conspiracy theories and collective delusions are often thought to be the purview of baby boomers on Facebook, but it’s clear that their children are also picking it up — and it’s their teachers who have to deal with it.

Conspiracy theories have always been a little dangerous — and of course, a little delicious to be privy to. They range from the adorably dumb but ultimately absurd, like Bat Boy and flat-earthers, to the legitimately terrifying and tangibly damaging, like vaccine denial and Pizzagate. But while a lot of political conspiracy theories (like the idea of rampant voter fraud, which has most recently been pushed by the president and debunked repeatedly) feel like the department of baby boomers and older Gen X parents on Facebook, there’s a contingency of believers who are young, extremely online, and bringing their theories to school for their teachers to try to parse.

In mid-October, BuzzFeed News asked teachers around the country what kind of conspiracy theories or collective delusions — which is what BuzzFeed News is calling QAnon thanks to its sheer size and influence — they’re hearing from students. I received responses from all over the country, and while it’s not a scientific survey, what’s clear is that students are bringing learned conspiracy theories to class — from the well-trodden (the Clintons are murderers) to the lesser known (birds are actually just government cameras and COVID is a fraud perpetrated by the government because they had to change the batteries…in the birds).

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/scaachikoul/qanon-conspiracy-theories-teenagers-school