>>> THIS NEXT SEGMENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER "Q,"
SPECIFICALLY QANON.
SPECIFICALLY QANON. WHAT IS QANON?
WELL, IT WENT FROM -- IT WENT
MAINSTREAM DURING THE SO-CALLED
PIZZAGATE AFFAIR WHICH LED ONE
MAN TO WALK INTO A PIZZERIA IN
WASHINGTON, D.C. WITH AN ASSAULT
RIFLE BECAUSE CONSPIRACY
THEORISTS CLAIMED THAT HILLARY
CLINTON AND JOHN PODESTA RAN A
CHILD SEX RING IN THE BASEMENT.
SERIOUSLY.
SERIOUSLY. AND IT MADE NATIONAL NEWS WHEN
VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE
TWEETED AND THEN SOON DELETED A
PHOTO SHOWING HIM WITH A POLICE
OFFICER WHO WORE A PATCH WITH
THE LETTER "Q."
BUT WHAT IS IT?
SIMPLY PUT, IT’S KIND OF A
CONSPIRACY THEORY, A CONSPIRACY
THEORY FAN FICTION, IF YOU WILL,
THAT STARTED AND IS BASED ON
ANONYMOUS POSTINGS ON AN
INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD IN WHICH
SOMEONE OR IN REALITY MANY
SOMEONES POSTING AS "Q" FALSELY
CLAIM THAT THE WORLD IS RUN BY A
SAY TANNIC CABAL OF ELITES LED
BY BARACK OBAMA, HILLARY CLINTON
AND THE DEEP STATE.
AND THAT DONALD TRUMP WITH THE
HELP FROM SECRET ALLIES,
INCLUDING SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT
MUELLER, WILL EXPOSE AND DEFEAT
THIS DEEP STATE.
NOW WHERE HAVE WE HEARD THAT
TERM BEFORE?
TERM BEFORE? >> THE CRAZY ATTEMPT BY THE
DEMOCRAT PARTY AND THE FAKE NEWS
MEDIA RIGHT BACK THERE -- AND
THE DEEP STATE.
TO OVERTURN THE RESULTS OF THE
2016 ELECTION HAVE FAILED.
>> SO WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT
IT TONIGHT?
IT TONIGHT? WELL, BECAUSE SUPPORTERS OF
QANON WERE OUT IN FULL FORCE OF
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S RALLY IN GRAND
RAPIDS, MICHIGAN ON THURSDAY.
YOU CAN SEE IN THIS LINE OF
TRUMP SUPPORTERS WAITING IN LINE
TO GET INTO THE EVENT MANY
WEARING T-SHIRTS EMBLAZONED WITH
THE LETTER "Q" AND SHOUTING
QANON SLOGANS.
QANON SLOGANS. NBC REPORTER BEN COLLINS HAS
BEEN COVERING QANON FOR THE PAST
YEAR.
YEAR. HE REPORTED THE NUMBER AT THE
GRAND RAPIDS RALLY ON THURSDAY
AS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING.
NOW, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO
BACK UP ANY OF THE QANON CLAIMS.
AGAIN, ABSOLUTELY NONE AT ALL,
AND THERE IS EVEN A THEORY THAT
THE "Q" POSTERS MIGHT BE
ELABORATE PRANKSTERS MODELLING
THEMSELVES OFF AN ITALIAN BOOK.
BUT FOR THOSE WHO WEAR T-SHIRTS
AND CLAIM TO BE IN THE QANON
CLOIK
CLOIK CLIQUE, WHAT DO THEY HERE WHEN
THE PRESIDENT SAYS THINGS LIKE
THIS.
THIS. >> ALL THE CURRENT AND FORMER
OFFICIALED WHO PAID FOR AND
PROMOTED AND PERPETUATED THE
SING THE GREATEST HOAX IN THE
HISTORY OF POLITICS IN OUR
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. THEY HAVE TO BE, I’M SORRY, THEY
HAVE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE.
>> JOINING US NOW IS NBC NEWS REPORTER BEN COLLINS, WHO IS THE
PERFECT REPORTER TO TALK ABOUT
THIS BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN
REPORTING ON QANON’S PRESENCE AT
DONALD TRUMP’S RALLIES FOR THE
PAST YEAR.
PAST YEAR. BEN, SO GOOD TO SEE YOU.
WHAT DO THOSE QANON SUPPORTERS,
BELIEVERS HEAR WHEN THE
PRESIDENT SAYS STUFF LIKE THAT?
>> THEY HEAR A WINK AND A NOD,
THAT’S WHAT THEY HEAR.
NO ONE’S DENIED IT OR ANYTHING
LIKE THAT.
LIKE THAT. THERE ARE PEOPLE ON THE FRINGES
OF THE TRUMP ORBIT IN THE PAST,
BUT NO ONE HAS OUT AND OUT SAID
THIS IS CRAZY, THIS IS INSANITY,
PLEASE DON’T FOLLOW THIS THING.
THEY RELY ON THAT SORT OF WINK
AND NOD.
AND NOD. THEY RELY ON LITTLE CLUES LIKE
IT’S NUM ROLLINGEROLOGY.
>> WHAT IS THE DANGER WHEN
THEY’RE SHOWING UP WITH "Q"
T-SHIRTS AND "Q" HATS AND "Q"
PATCHES, WHAT IS THE DANGER?
>> THIS IS A MILITANT GROUP.
THERE’S BEEN TWO MURDERS TIED TO
THIS GROUP ALONE.
ONE HAPPENED A COUPLE OF WEEKS
AGO.
AGO. SOMEONE KILLED A MOB BOSS AND
HELD UP HIS HAND AND SAID "Q" ON
IT HEREIN COURT.
>> HERE IN NEW YORK CITY.
>> SOMEONE TRIED TO BURN DOWN
COMET PIZZA.
COMET PIZZA. >> SAME PIZZA PLACE --
>> BY THE WAY, PIZZAGATE IS PART
OF QANON.
OF QANON. AN HOUR BEFORE RETRIED TO BURN
THIS PLACE DOWN, HE POSTED A
QANON VIDEO FROM A VERY FAMOUS
YOUTUBER WHO HAS TENS OF
MILLIONS OF VIEWS.
>> SO WHY HAS THIS POPPED UP AT
DONALD TRUMP’S RALLIES?
I MEAN, IT WASN’T A HUGE THING
DURING THE 2016 CAMPAIGN.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> IT’S SUDDENLY MUCH BIGGER
NOW.
NOW. BUT I GUESS YOU COULD ARGUE THE
PUMP WAS PRIMED.
I DO WANT TO PLAY ONE SOUND BITE
FROM OCTOBER 13th, 2016, AND
JUST LISTEN TO THE TERMINOLOGY
DONALD TRUMP IS USING.
>> WE’VE SEEN THIS FIRSTHAND IN
THE WIKILEAKS DOCUMENTS IN WHICH
HILLARY CLINTON MEETS IN SECRET
WITH INTERNATIONAL BANKS TO PLOT
THE DESTRUCTION OF U.S.
SOVEREIGNTY IN ORDER TO ENRICH
THESE GLOBAL FINANCIAL POWERS,
HER SPECIAL INTEREST FRIENDS AND
HER DONORS.
HER DONORS. SO TRUE.
SO TRUE. >> SO THAT WAS AT THE END OF THE
CAMPAIGN.
CAMPAIGN. DONALD TRUMP DIDN’T THINK HE WAS
GOING TO WIN, LOOKING FOR
ANYBODY TO BLAME, AND HE WAS
TALKING ABOUT THIS GRAND
CONSPIRACY TO KEEP HIM OUT OF
OFFICE, TO KEEP HIM FROM
FIGHTING FOR THE PEOPLE AT THOSE
RALLIES.
RALLIES. IS THAT PART OF THE REASON WHY
THIS IS SUCH A PRIME PLACE FOR
CONSPIRACY THEORISTS TO LATCH ON
TO?
TO? >> YEAH, IT’S PERFECT FOR THEM.
WHAT IT DOES IS IT COMBINES THE
TWO KIND OF PROBLEMS THAT WE
HAVE ON THE INTERNET AND
POLITICS RIGHT NOW, WHERE HE
PRIEMS THE PUMP, LIKE YOU SAID,
AND THEN THERE ARE THESE
RECOMMENDATION ALGORITHMS ON
WEBSITES LIKE YOUTUBE AND
FACEBOOK WHERE THEY’RE SEARCHING
WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAYS.
THEY SAY, YOU KNOW, HILLARY
CLINTON EVIL OR HILLARY CLINTON
PART OF A GLOBAL CABAL OR
SOMETHING, BUT THEN THE SECOND
VIDEO AFTER THAT, THE ONE THAT
AUTO PLAYS AFTER THAT IS WHAT’S
THE GLOBAL CABAL REALLY?
OH, IT’S ABOUT PEDOPHILIA, IT’S
ABOUT KILLING AND EATING
CHILDREN.
CHILDREN. THERE WAS A LOT OF THIS THING
LAST YEAR BECAUSE IT’S A
DOOMSDAY CULT ONE DAY THERE IS
GOING TO BE A TAPE THAT COMES
OUT THAT SAYS HILLARY CLINTON IS
GOING TO CHOP THE FACE OFF A
CHILD.
CHILD. IT NEVER CAME BECAUSE IT DOESN’T
EXIST, BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER
BECAUSE THE WHOLE POINT OF IT IS
TO EXTEND THE BOUNDARIES OF HOW
EVIL THIS SET OF PEOPLE IN THE
DEEP STATE CAN BE.
>> WHAT IS THE REMEDY HERE,
THOUGH?
THOUGH? IS YOUTUBE, IS TWITTER, IS
FACEBOOK, ARE THEY LOOKING AT
THIS AND SAYING THIS IS AN AREA
THAT WE NEED TO POLICE A LITTLE
BIT MORE?
BIT MORE? DON’T YOU GET INTO A VERY
SLIPPERY SLOPE WITH FREEDOM OF
SPEECH?
SPEECH? >> WELL, THAT’S THE THING, YOU
CAN GET INTO A SLIPPERY SLOPE
WITH FREEDOM OF SPEECH, BUT THEY
HAVEN’T EVEN GONE DOWN THAT ROAD
YET.
YET. THEY CAN GIVE YOU BETTER VIDEOS
IF YOU TYPE IN "HILLARY CLINTON
EVIL."
EVIL." >> THE AUTO PLAY, ESSENTIALLY.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. LIKE THERE ARE BETTER -- THERE
ARE BETTER WAYS FOR THINGS TO
HAPPEN AUTOMATICALLY TO YOU ON
THE INTERNET.
THE INTERNET. >> BETTER ALGORITHMS.
>> YEAH, EXACTLY.
THIS ISN’T A SPEECH ISSUE.
I ALWAYS SAY IF YOU WALK INTO A
STORE, LIKE A BOOKSTORE AND SAY,
HEY, CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT WORLD
WAR II?
WAR II? IF THE BOOKSTORE IS HANDING YOU
"MEIN KAMPF" RIGHT AWAY, I’M NOT
SURE THAT’S A GOOD BOOKSTORE.
IF THE BOOKSTORE IS HANDING YOU
STUFF ABOUT WORLD WAR II, THAT’S
PROBABLY A GOOD BOOKSTORE.
THAT’S MORE WHAT WE NEED TO
START DOING ON THE INTERNET.
THIS IS HOW IT GREW.
PEOPLE HAD GOOD INTENTIONS
SOMETIMES.
SOMETIMES. PEOPLE HADDOCK INTENTIONS.
PEOPLE WANTED TO LEARN ABOUT
POLITICS AND THEY GOT
RADICALIZED OVER TIME BECAUSE
THEY WERE TRYING TO SOLVE THAT