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On Tuesday, Facebook announced it would start cracking down on QAnon, removing any group, page or Instagram account associated with the now wide-spread conspiracy theory.

If youre blissfully unaware, QAnon is an unfounded right-wing conspiracy theory that alleges Donald Trump is fighting a war against a sect of high-powered, Satan-worshipping pedophiles who eat children, also known as the deep state. But recently, it has extended into other conspiracy theories such as pushing suspicions about COVID-19 and advocating against expert medical advice, like wearing face coverings. The fringe theory that originated on sites like 4chan and Reddit has now gone mainstream, with popular social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube becoming misinformation hotspots.

The ban from Facebook is a drastic move for the company, which has let the dangerous, far-right conspiracy spread rapidly on its platform for three years. But while Facebook battles its own QAnon issue, Instagram (also owned by the Zuckerberg conglomerate) has been plagued by the disinformation bug as well.

Since the start of the pandemic, Instagram influencers have been casually casting doubt on the efficiency of wearing masks, sharing unproven theories about COVID-19 (like how its a human-made bioweapon created by the Chinese government or Bill Gates), and telling their followers to wake up and #SaveTheChildren.

Wellness influencers, in particular, are the influencer super-spreaders of far-out QAnon conspiracies. Take the case of Christian mom blogger Rose Henges, a holistic wellness advocate and anti-vaxxer with 126,000 followers, who in between posting aesthetically pleasing photos of her family, home and hemp products, pushes the QAnon conspiracy theory that Donald Trump was divinely appointed to stop child sex trafficking and the deep state.

According to Buzzfeed News back in March, Henges spread another baseless QAnon claim that the US Navy Hospital Ship Comfort, which was docked in New York City to help with the onslaught of COVID cases, was actually being used to covertly rescue children of sex slavery.

Henges, like many influencers peddling QAnon conspiracy theories, often posts colorful, decorative or feed-matching text posts urging followers to speak up about human trafficking with the hashtag #SaveTheChildren a legitimate fund-raising campaign for the Save the Children charity that has unfortunately been hijacked by QAnon. The plight of human trafficking is now being used to recruit members and shift conversations towards false claims about a cable of liberal elites running a huge undercover sex-trafficking ring.

View this post on Instagram

HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS THE REAL PANDEMIC. It is an injustice that affects millions of people every year on every continent and at all socioeconomic levels. Human trafficking is a highly-organized and lucrative business, generating 150 billion USD per year. Out of all the atrocities in this world, the slavery, sexual exploitation, tortue and satanic ritual abuse of children has got to be at the very top. The latest global estimate according to the International Labor Organization (the United Nations agency that deals with global labor issues), calculates that nearly 21 million people are victims of human trafficking worldwide. Why are the social justice warriors no where to be heard on this issue? They are too posting black squares, being indoctrinated by liberal poison and being lap-dogs for George Soros. All while the real horrors of modern-day-slavery are ignored. Childrens lives matter, and its high time the good citizens of this earth come to terms with the horrors of what is really going on, and confront it head on: CHILDREN AND INFANTS ARE BEING BOUGHT AND SOLD FOR SEX. How can you help? 1. Through prayer. Ask God for his heart on this matter, and ask for direction in partnering with his heart and with his plan to end the scourge of child sex trafficking. 2. By raising awareness. Social media is the avenue that will reach the most people. (Please, we dont need any more anonymous accounts. People need to see REAL PEOPLE who care.) 3. By donating to trusted organizations that are actively on the ground fighting for change, rescuing children (and adults) in slavery, and bringing predators to justice. (Ive tagged a few orgs on the post) Post a pink square with the hashtag #savethechildren (feel free to screenshot and use this one, caption is free game as well) #savethechildren

A post shared by (@roseuncharted) on Jul 13, 2020 at 8:10pm PDT

Other wellness influencers, as Mother Jones noted back in April, are using their medical credentials though unrelated to epidemiology to validate the coronavirus conspiracy theories they share on Instagram.

At the beginning of the pandemic, holistic psychiatrist Kelly Brogan, MD, posted misleading headlines about the effectiveness of masks and supposed dangers of social distancing from her husband Sayer Jis pseudoscientific anti-vaxx website to her verified Instagram account, along with conspiracy theories like Bill Gatess supposed involvement with the virus.

Months later, Brogan is still encouraging her 118k followers to take off their masks.

QAnons infiltration into the wellness space, though, isnt all that surprising. As Travis View, co-host of the QAnon Anonymous podcast told Mother Jones, Wellness bloggers are generally anti-establishment and anti-mainstream narrative and distrustful of authority, which lines up with QAnons populist message.

However, other wellness influencers arent idly standing by while an alt-right conspiracy hijacks their sacred space.

Last month, yoga teacher and activist Seane Corn, along with other leaders in the wellness community, penned a statement standing against QAnon with the hope of warning others in the wellness space of the groups manipulative messaging.

QAnon is taking advantage of our conscious community with videos and social media steeped with bizarre theories, mind control and misinformation dont be fooled by these messages! the statement read.

We are aware that QAnon originated on the dark web of hate and white supremacy, and have repackaged their message to appeal to spiritual communities. Dont be fooled. The true intent of QAnon is to spread misinformation, blame, conflict, and sow racial division in our country.

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The above message is a joint statement written in collaboration with various leaders in the wellness community. No one person is to be solely credited. Please share widely and freely if it speaks to you. I do not support QAnon and their underlying message of hate, fear and division. They are an alt-right movement of conspiracy theorists working to spread misinformation, confusion and paranoia. They are deliberately and strategically targeting the wellness communities appealing to peoples interest in alternative health practices and mistrust of the government. Please dont tell me to do the research. I have. Please dont tell me that I dont care about the eradication of child human trafficking. Of course I do. I have spent much of my career speaking about this publicly. Sex trafficking is not a new phenomenon. There are many global organizations that have been doing this work for countless years who reject QAnons manipulative messaging. Please dont tell me COVID is a hoax. Not when almost 200,000 people in the US have died. Please dont tell me Donald Trump is a light worker. Not when his words, actions and policies stoke fear, hated and injustice. Please dont tell me about the great awakening or a paradigm shift. That comes from within. I understand that some of you may unfollow me. Im okay with that. My self-worth is not determined by follows or likes, but by integrity and truth. That is why I am sharing this message with you. I must. I care deeply about the yoga and wellness communities and dont want to see anyone exploited or manipulated by an organization that has its roots in white supremacy culture. Too many folks, including many of my dear colleagues, have bought into their divisive and outrageous messaging for me not to speak out. Please be aware of QAnons ill informed, sensational and exploitative posts on your feed and educate yourself about QAnons history before you share these posts with others. If you want to learn more about the concerning marriage thats happening between alt-right conspiracist and the wellness world then check out the podcast Conspirituality on Spotify for more insight. #revolutionofthesoul #unite2stopq

A post shared by Seane Corn (@seanecorn) on Sep 13, 2020 at 2:17pm PDT

Regrettably, wellness influencers havent been the only ones spreading QAnon conspiracies.

In May, fitness and nutrition influencer Sarah Bowmar shared the controversial Plandemic documentary to her 1.2 million followers. As you may recall, the documentary that made unfounded claims about COVID-19 and vaccines was widely shared across social media platforms, where uploads of the 26-minute video topped 8 million views.

New York Times style reporter Taylor Lorenz shared screenshots of Bowmars Instagram stories, where the influencer told her followers to WAKE THE HELL UP and that they were being censored by the government and controlled and manipulated by living in fear.

Lorenz also called out model and influencer Jenny Watwood for encouraging her 225,000 followers to watch the conspiracy video as well, nonchalantly interspersed between Watwoods booty pictures.

Theres also beauty and fashion influencer Jalynn Schroeder, whose rainbow-themed Instagram looks to be your typical glossy influencer moodboard. Look a bit closer, though, and Schroeders bio welcomes open minds, her feed boasts a few #SaveTheChildren hashtags, and if you scroll down to the Maya Angelou quote We are only as blind as we want to be, written in an eye-catching orange and teal font youll learn how Schroeders eyes were opened to the QAnon cause in a 14-minute video.

Even Bowmar and Watwoods respective pages appear to be standard fare at first glance. But subtly sprinkled between posts about creatine powder, family photos and ass shots are dangerous, divisive and baseless conspiracy theories becoming normalized.

While Facebooks latest QAnon policy is a step in the right direction in fighting misinformation that runs rampant across Facebook and Instagram, the policy will not prohibit individuals from posting about QAnon content on their personal accounts, meaning those pastel-colored human-trafficking hashtags are likely here to stay for the time being.

Of course, whether QAnon is entirely wiped from our screens makes no difference to its believers, who have claimed being banned from these platforms only further legitimizes their case.

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QAnon Has Gotten to the Instagram Influencers - InsideHook