Latest news with #QAnon
International Business Times
18 hours ago
- Politics
- International Business Times
Joe Biden Died in 2020? Trump Shares Bizarre Theory Former President Was Replaced by a Clone Sending Social Media into Frenzy
President Donald Trump shared a bizarre claim on social media on Saturday night, fueling conspiracy theories, as posted Joe Biden actually died in 2020 and has been replaced by a "clone" ever since. The post on Truth Social, which immediately went viral, boldly claimed that Biden had somehow been dead for years while still in office. "There is no #JoeBiden - executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see," wrote the user named llijh. "#Democrats dont know the difference." Trump didn't add any personal comment with the post, but by sharing the outrageous conspiracy theory, he stirred confusion and fueled wild speculation. Trump's Bizarre Claim Social media quickly exploded in response, as both supporters and detractors reacted to the bizarre claim. "We all knew something was completely off,' one commenter wrote. 'Although Trump has said repeatedly that Joe Biden was shot. Others were stunned by the uncanny nature of the moment, with one user writing, "Wow! President Trump just re-truthed this post,' exclaimed one astonished user." Another person wrote, "I cannot believe President Trump just reTRUTHED this." The comments under the president's post quickly turned into a flood of outrageous theories and guesses about what shocking revelations might come next. "Well you just went there! Go you! The truth is coming! Buckle up!" one Trump supporter wrote. "Thank you, do you know how long I've been saying this? Trump was still our President in his first term and I knew Joe Biden was gone during his run for president. They installed The actor (blue eyes & brown eyes)," wrote another, referencing fringe theories that point to changes in Biden's eye color as supposed proof of a body double. However, several other mocked the bizzare claim. "Just like all MAGAts, you're all into conspiracy theories. Do you think the earth is flat as well? Just wondering," one person wrote. "We knew this but now it's confirmed by the Commander in Chief! Wow!!! Trust the Plan!" added a QAnon sympathizer, referencing the popular but baseless 'Nothing Can Stop What Is Coming' slogan. Not the First Time Trump's casual endorsement of the post further highlighted the bizarre and conspiracy-driven surreal environment that often surrounds the MAGA movement. It's also not the first instance of Trump entertaining unfounded theories. During his first term in office, he repeatedly gave life to baseless claims—hinting that Ted Cruz's father played a role in JFK's assassination, avoiding a clear rejection of the QAnon movement, and pushing unproven allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Trump was the leading figure behind the widely debunked 'birther' conspiracy, falsely claiming that President Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States. For years, he demanded to see Obama's birth certificate and continued to question its authenticity even after the official long-form version was made public. It wasn't until 2016, amid increasing political pressure, that Trump finally admitted Obama's U.S. birth—offering no apology or recognition of the harm caused by spreading false claim. However, promoting the idea that a former president is actually a "clone" takes things to an even more extreme level. The claim appeared more like a plot from a science fiction film than something a national leader should be entertaining.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
"Soulless, mindless entities": Trump shares QAnon conspiracy theory suggesting Biden is a clone
Posting to Truth Social late Saturday night, Donald Trump boosted a claim that former President Joe Biden was a clone. "There is no #JoeBiden - executed in 2020," the reshared post reads. "#Biden clones, doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. #Democrats don't know the difference." The claim that body doubles or clones have replaced some celebrities for nebulous and nefarious reasons holds some purchase among members of the far-right. And to give some credit to Trump, it's entirely possible that he skimmed the text and thought it aligned with his frequent claims that Biden was puppeteered throughout his second term. The president has been amplifying right-wing internet conspiracies for years. He gave subtle nods to QAnon, the online cult that believes Trump will usher in a great "storm" that will cleanse sex traffickers and child abusers from positions of power in the United States, while campaigning for a second term. His campaign elevated unfounded beliefs about gang and cartel activity in the country and raised the profile of an entirely fabricated claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating local pets. In the latter case, Trump's insistence that recently resettled Haitian immigrants were "eating the cats" and "eating the dogs" led to bomb threats in the city of Springfield. Still, delving into talks of cloning grown humans — something that is not scientifically possible in the present — is a big step into the murk of the GOP's tin-foil fringe.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump posts meme saying he's ‘on a mission from God' featuring alt-right symbol Pepe the Frog
Co-opting a famous phrase from the 1980 John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd classic The Blues Brothers, Donald Trump posted a cryptic meme on Wednesday night declaring that he is 'on a mission from God' which also features an alt-right symbol in the background. Showing the president walking down a dark city street, the image includes the caption 'nothing can stop what is coming.' While the meme itself could be interpreted as the president's response to the U.S. Court of International Trade striking down the majority of his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, it was the image's inclusion of Pepe the Frog – and the fact that it originated from a 'groyper' account – that has drawn the most attention. Additionally, this latest meme from the president may have boosted a meme coin associated with the far-right movement. With members of his administration likening the court ruling that Trump 'exceeded his authority' on tariffs to a 'judicial coup,' the president seemingly fired back at the three-judge panel with memes on his Truth Social account. One image the president posted featured a billboard emblazoned with the slogan, 'Trump was right about everything.' And then there was the Blues Brothers-themed post, which piggybacks on an overarching MAGA theme that God has anointed the president to save the country, a belief among Christian conservatives that ramped up after last July's assassination attempt and has only increased since Trump's election. In fact, the president himself has repeatedly suggested he was 'saved' by Christ because he is the chosen one. At the same time, the 'mission from God' meme parrots the long-running belief among QAnon adherents that Trump has been given a calling to secretly root out a cabal of cannibalistic pedophiles from within the government and liberal ruling class, and that soon the 'storm will be coming' that will see the mass arrests of prominent Democrats and celebrities. Trump, who has regularly posted memes and video clips that were created by QAnon conspiracists and far-right extremists, appears to have done the same thing with this particular post. The far-right corner of the meme tags the Truth Social account @FruitSnacks, who appears to be a 'groyper,' otherwise known as a supporter of notorious white supremacist Nick Fuentes. The person, who also has an account on X with the same FruitSnacks handle, has regularly reshared posts from Fuentes and a news account associated with the virulent antisemite. Of course, Trump infamously dined with Fuentes and Hitler-boosting rapper Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago in 2022. At the same time, in recent months, it appears that FruitSnacks has grown increasingly jaded with the president following Trump's return to the White House, echoing Fuentes and other far-right MAGA supporters who have sounded off over the administration's perceived lack of action on their pet conspiracy theories. 'There will be no arrests or tribunals. It would have happened by now. Trump is in office, so... what is he waiting for?' FruitSnacks wrote on Truth Social earlier this month, adding in another post about the FBI files on deceased sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein: 'Soooo... how about that Epstein client list?' Meanwhile, the inclusion of Pepe the Frog, a cartoon figure that has been appropriated by 'groypers' and the alt-right in recent years, sparked excitement in the fever swamps of the internet – and also may have contributed to a slight spike in the crypto market. $PEPE, a meme coin named for the alt-right symbol, surged 8.5 percent overnight following the president's Truth Social post. While it dropped 5 percent after the spike, the frog-themed token still showed an increase of nearly six percent over a 24 hour period and now has a market cap over $6 billion. Trump posting a Pepe meme and potentially sparking a crypto rush created quite a bit of chatter on X among the far-right crowd, many of whom have the frog as their avatars. 'Vision of PEPE OF THE UNITED STATES X is here to restore memerican greatness,' one account, which goes by the handle PEPE OF THE UNITED STATES, reacted. 'Trump vibes. Pepe power. Full degen energy.' Earlier this month, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reported that as many as fifty of the invitees to Trump's controversial meme coin gala – which featured 220 guests who had spent the most on the president's $TRUMP cryptocurrency – were also holders of the Pepe the Frog coin and other assets linked to far-right extremism. 'The most wallets on the list, 45 in all, held assets named for Pepe the Frog as of May 12—the day winners were finalized—but holdings may have changed since they were analyzed,' CREW noted. 'Nine of the wallets, including some that hold Pepe-themed assets, held assets whose names are outright racist or anti-semitic,' the report added. 'For example, one token is called 'F*** THE JEWS,' while another is simply the n-word. Four others are variations on the word 'swastika,' such as 'Swasticoin' and 'Swastika Coin.'' The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
IMAX-Like Churches, TikTok Gurus, Putin: Inside America's Murky 'Faith' Bazaars
November 2, 2021. Dallas. It was a cold and rainy day. They came with flags, folding chairs and unwavering faith. Mothers, mechanics, grandparents, teachers and farmers - thousands from across America - gathered under the water-laden sky, eyes fixed on Dealey Plaza, the spot where John F Kennedy was gunned down in 1963. But this was not a memorial. They had come with huge expectations. They were promised JFK was coming back - not as a ghost, but in the flesh, alongside his long-dead son. And somehow, Donald Trump was part of the plan, either guiding them or, as some claimed, secretly being JFK Jr himself, in disguise. At the centre of it all stood Michael Protzman, a demolition contractor from Washington State turned doomsday prophet, live-streaming numerological riddles and divine revelations from his phone. To his thousands of online followers, he wasn't just a man. He was a messenger. They called him 'Negative 48', the online alias of Michael Protzman, who was a well-known QAnon influencer at the time. When the prophecy failed, that is, when no Kennedy rose from the dead, the faithful didn't scatter. They recalibrated. Truth, after all, is flexible in the American spiritual marketplace. Protzman died in 2023 after a bike crash. But his legacy lives on: a reminder that in the United States, belief isn't just a private act. It is a public theatre, political force and, increasingly, a viral spectacle. The Land of Miracle Men For decades, Western writers and journalists have romanticised India as the land of sadhus, yogis and miracle men, casting spiritual showmanship as divine mysticism. All the while, they overlooked their own backyard, where prophets, faith healers and self-styled messiahs quietly multiplied. The trend has become much more pronounced now. So, perhaps it is time to turn the lens. To much of the world, America is the land of innovation and freedom. It's where the internet was born, where Hollywood scripts the planet's dreams, and where democracy - with all its flaws - still claims to lead the world. From AI labs to aircraft carriers, from Netflix dramas to billion-dollar tech empires, the United States oozes power and self-confidence. 'Encountering Jesus' But behind that dazzling surface lies another America - one that fasts and prays for national repentance, that warns of apocalypse, that casts out demons on TikTok and tries to raise the dead in church basements. This is the America of Bethel Church in California, where worshippers post healings on social media and believe miracles are just one prayer away. Their vibrant website claims that worshippers "encounter Jesus" here and urges them to "experience God's presence at church this Sunday". It is the America of livestreamed prophecies, where faith doesn't just coexist with modern life - it often collides with it, in dramatic and deeply political ways. And this other America isn't fringe, despite what established churches and denominations might like us to believe. It is growing, multiplying even faster in the Trumpian world. It helps to start with the numbers. Over 60% of Americans still say religion is 'very important' in their daily lives, compared to just 17% in Britain and 14% in France. The US has over 3 lakh churches, and its religious exports - like Pentecostalism, televangelism and the prosperity gospel - have found eager audiences as far afield as Brazil, Nigeria and El Salvador. In a country as saturated with spiritual options as the United States, one recent development has raised more than a few eyebrows - and prompted quiet soul-searching in church pews and academic circles alike. Putin The Hero A growing number of young Americans, especially white men disillusioned with what they see as the excesses of liberal culture, are turning to Russian Orthodoxy - specifically the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). Drawn by its traditional liturgy, mystical beauty and clear moral order, they are finding something deeply grounding in the incense-filled churches and centuries-old chants. To them, it is not just about ritual. It is about anchoring oneself in a faith that appears untouched by modern relativism. This trend is spiritual but also carries cultural and, for some, political undertones. In their quest for roots, stability and something that feels timeless, these converts often speak of Orthodoxy as a refuge from what they perceive to be the confusion and moral ambiguity of contemporary America. Some admire Russian President Vladimir Putin for his perceived defence of Christian values - a view encouraged by certain Orthodox clergy who cast the Ukraine war not merely as a political conflict, but as a spiritual battle aimed at defending traditional civilisation from Western secularism. Orthodoxy Is Not Just About Politics A few even frame the war in theological terms, echoing the language used by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, who has described the conflict as a metaphysical stand against what he called 'sinful Western values'. While many lifelong Orthodox believers in America are uneasy with this framing, it resonates with converts seeking moral clarity in an era that often feels adrift. For most of these new adherents, this turn to Orthodoxy is not about politics per se. It is about finding a place where beauty, discipline and tradition still matter. They speak of the ancient rituals not as nostalgia, but as nourishment - something rich and rooted, in a world that often feels hurried and hollow. And so, in the great American spiritual bazaar, Russian Orthodoxy has claimed a quiet but growing corner. Also, take, for instance, the rise of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement. Led by a loose network of 'charismatic' leaders and 'prophets', NAR aims to reclaim America for God through political and cultural dominion. Leaders like Dutch Sheets and Lance Wallnau gained massive followings, especially during Trump's first term, claiming they had 'divine' visions about the president's destiny. Wallnau famously called Trump "God's chaos candidate", comparing him to Cyrus, the Persian king who helped the Israelites in the Old Testament. The Catholic Times did a long piece after another NAR leader, Paula White-Cain, was appointed as a senior adviser to the newly created White House Faith Office. The World Of Pastor Greg Locke Then there is Pastor Greg Locke of Tennessee, who has amassed a fervent social media following by mixing firebrand sermons with alleged political conspiracy theories. Locke claims that COVID-19 was a hoax, calls Democrats 'demonic', and sees his ministry as a frontline in a cosmic battle. At his Global Vision Bible Church, people have burned Harry Potter books, cast out demons and declared that America is under spiritual siege. Or consider Julie Green Ministries. Her YouTube prophecies regularly include messages she claims are from God, forecasting political events or divine punishment. Her channel has hundreds of thousands of views. Anyone watching her videos cannot miss her claims that she can 'command' a sick person's illnesses to be destroyed and cure the person. These leaders aren't on the fringes of faith - they are livestreamed on YouTube, hosted on Christian TV, followed by hundreds of thousands of people, and courted by politicians. In 2020 and beyond, many claimed God had ordained Trump's presidency and prophesied his return to power even after his electoral defeat. Some went so far as to encourage their followers to take action, playing a role - through fiery sermons and social media posts - in fuelling the anger that led to the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Faith vs Faith Much to the agony of the established churches and ecstasy of new, fast multiplying faiths, social media has become both a pulpit and a stage in America. On TikTok, self-declared prophets warn of imminent collapse, offer prayers to cleanse timelines, or speak in tongues (it is a form of ecstatic prayer or speech in unintelligible sounds, believed by many Christians to be a spiritual language inspired by the Holy Spirit) to bring healing to followers. Clips of deliverance, where pastors shout at demons and followers convulse in spiritual ecstasy, routinely go viral. Even doomsday has influencers now. Nostradamus-style YouTube channels push visions of global famine, nuclear war or rapture. Some are monetised. Many are consumed religiously by millions seeking not just entertainment but existential comfort in chaotic times. This isn't just a revival. It's a remix of religion with, some might say, entertainment, politics and tech - an explosive cocktail that affects millions of minds and voting behaviours. Some even argue that the established, traditional faiths had become boring, and thus the new ones are getting popular because they are deeply connected to the average man. Faith As Performance There are megachurches with IMAX-style screens and fog machines. There are places like Lakewood Church in Houston, where Joel Osteen preaches positivity and wealth with a glowing smile to a stadium-sized congregation. Or Hillsong, whose celebrity-studded music and troubled leadership made headlines worldwide. Both offer worship as performance, where faith is branded, packaged and sold like a lifestyle. America's faith bazaar isn't just about Christianity. There are psychedelic churches like the Church of the Sacred Mushroom. There are UFO cults reviving in new online forums. There are wellness gurus blending Eastern mysticism with Western productivity hacks. And increasingly, these belief systems cross-pollinate. A follower may watch a Trump prophecy video, attend a yoga-mindfulness seminar and join a Facebook group on biblical homesteading - all in the same week. It's like going to a big mall with a plethora of options to choose from. This pluralism is what makes the American spiritual landscape so unique, and so bewildering. It is open-ended, endlessly adaptable and market-driven. The Search For The Divine In a country where religious affiliation and traditional church gatherings are declining, the hunger for meaning has only intensified. Many may be leaving churches, but they aren't leaving belief. They are remixing it. Rebranding it. Whether through revivals or revelations, livestreams or TikToks, prophets or presidents, the American search for the divine continues. In the country's bubbling spiritual marketplace, belief isn't passive, but performative. It sings, it shouts, it heals, it livestreams. It predicts election outcomes, dances with divine wrath and courts eternal salvation in the comment section. This is faith with stage lighting and subscriber counts. And yet, beneath the drama, there is something achingly human. A quiet fear. A cosmic question. A longing for permanence in a culture obsessed with the next update. Perhaps that's why young men are turning to incense and iconography, why TikTok prophets rise with each news cycle, and why preachers warn of an ever-nearing end. Because at some level, despite sermons and gospels, the American soul is still haunted by what English poet Andrew Marvell called 'deserts of vast eternity'. Some, much like TS Eliot did ages ago, have started to wonder if they have 'measured out their lives with coffee spoons.' (Syed Zubair Ahmed is a London-based senior Indian journalist with three decades of experience with the Western media) Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author and do not represent the views of NDTV Share
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
QAnon follower gets 3 years for threatening to ‘execute' Katie Hobbs
Teak Brockbank was sentenced to three years in federal prison for threatening to kill then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in 2022. Photo via FBI/Justice Department A Colorado man who wrote online about how he had the right to execute then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and made similar threats against Jena Griswold, the Colorado secretary of state, was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison. Teak Ty Brockbank blamed being exposed to far-right extremism content online, including the QAnon conspiracy theory, for motivating him to make online threats. In the criminal complaint for the case, FBI agents included posts from Brockbank that included the common QAnon catchphrase 'WWG1WGA' and references to other QAnon beliefs. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Acronyms are popular among the QAnon community, and the most well known is WWG1WGA, meaning 'Where We Go One, We Go All,' a phrase used as a rallying cry among the 'digital soldiers' of the QAnon community. Brockbank's online avatar was a version of a cartoon frog that has become popular in antisemitic, conspiracy theory and racist online circles. In August 2022, Brockbank posted on the video service Rumble, which has become a favorite platform for misinformation, that people like Hobbs and Griswold were committing treason for alleged election fraud. There is no evidence of widespread election fraud or election fraud perpetrated by Hobbs or Griswold. 'Once these people start getting put to death then the rest will melt like snowflakes and turn on each other and we will sit back why (sic) the worst of them get pointed against the wall as well,' Brockbank wrote in a comment on a Rumble video. 'This is the only way. So those of us that have the stomach for what has to be done should prepare our minds for what we All are going to do!!!!!!' Brockbank, who used to live in Cave Creek, also claimed that he had a right to 'execute' Hobbs in public. '[W]e the people have every right to walk up to one of them and execute them for their actions,' Brockbank wrote in another comment on Rumble. FBI agents also discovered posts Brockbank made stating that, if federal agents came to his residence, he would murder them. 'ATF CIA FBI show up to my house I am shooting them peace's (sic) of shit first No Warning!!' Brockbank wrote in response to a post about the arrest of an ATF agent. 'Then I will call the sheriff!!! With everything that these piece of shit agencies have done I am completely justified to just start dropping them as soon as they step on my property!' While Brockbank said in court that he regrets his decisions and has blamed drinking for his behavior, the U.S. Department of Justice in a recent filing pointed to threatening remarks he aimed at federal officials as recently as 2024 and the discovery he was possessing firearms, when he is a prohibited felony possessor, as indicators of his insincerity. 'There was so much ammunition in the residence that agents elected not to count it,' the DOJ wrote. 'The firearm near the front door, moreover, was loaded and cocked.' Hobbs declined to comment on the sentencing. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
