Australian singer-songwriter Ben Lee has picked up a pitchfork against the batshit QAnon conspiracy theories gaining traction in the US.
For the uninitiated, QAnon is a far-right tinfoil hat movement which legitimately posits that Donald Trump is secretly batting a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles responsible for a global child sex-trafficking ring.
Yep.
Its roots are grossly antisemitic, and the QAnon monster has quickly grown to engulf a number of other bogus conspiracies including the belief that COVID-19 is a hoax, the whole anti-5G thing, and more. If you need a bit more background, you can check out super informative explainer from Business Insider on the theory’s roots and how it’s spreading here in Australia, too.
Anyway, as Junkee points out, the US-based Lee has recently been dedicating his Twitter account to dismantling much of the QAnon BS, which has been fuelling recent anti-mask, anti-lockdown and anti-social distancing protests across Australia, the US and the globe.
“If you are a QAnon believer, I’d like to gently suggest picking up the book Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan,” Lee tweeted this week. “It may not resonate, but theres no harm in giving it a read! Peace and love peace and love.”
He added: “Hi QAnon I’ve been in a cult before and from experience I can see you are one love Ben”.
Lee, himself a proponent of wellness and new age spirituality, has also been heaping pressure on wellness figures to denounce QAnon.
This week, he congratulated Off The Matt Yoga for a six-part anti-QAnon Instagram slide, which was part of a combined effort from wellness influencers to publicly denounce the movement.
“This is the moment to make clear your community will not be used as a funnel for paranoid, racist, anti-semitic theories,” he wrote.
It comes after he called on the likes of Eckhart Tolle, Gwyneth Paltrow and Deepak Chopra to use their own voices to spread awareness.
“I would like to make a public request to the leaders of new age/health and wellness industries to make clear their position in regards to the QAnon conspiracy theory/political cult,” he tweeted on September 8.
Hopefully these public figures catch Ben’s disease.
Read some of his tweets below.
Hi QAnon I’ve been in a cult before and from experience I can see you are one love Ben
— Ben Lee (@benleemusic) September 15, 2020
If you are a QAnon believer, I’d like to gently suggest picking up the book “Combatting Cult Mind Control” by Steven Hassan. It may not resonate, but theres no harm in giving it a read! Peace and love peace and love https://t.co/lrOboTIfb3
— Ben Lee (@benleemusic) September 13, 2020
For the record, I’m a big NO to conspiracy theories, spiritual/self-help gurus, racism, paranoia and unchecked capitalism. Have a nice day!
— Ben Lee (@benleemusic) August 24, 2020
