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The Other Pandemic

How QAnon Contaminated the World

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The Other Pandemic

By: James Ball
Narrated by: Ned Rudkins-Stow
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Summary

 Bloomsbury presents The Other Pandemic by James Ball, read by Ned Rudkins-Stow.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist James Ball takes us into the depths of the internet to trace the origins and rapid ascent of QAnon, the movement that mutated from a niche online conspiracy theory into the world’s first digital pandemic.

Imagine a deadly pathogen that, once created, could infect any person in any part of the globe within seconds. No need to wait for travellers, trains, or air traffic to spread it, all you need is an internet connection. In this gripping investigation, Pulitzer Prize winner James Ball decodes the cryptic language of the online right and with a surgeon’s precision tracks the spread of QAnon, the world’s first digital pandemic.

QAnon began as an internet community dedicated to supporting President Trump and intent on outing a global cabal of human traffickers. A short, cryptic message posted by an anonymous user to a niche internet forum in 2017 was the spark that ignited a global movement. What started as a macabre game of virtual make-believe quickly spiralled into the spread of virulently hateful, dangerous messaging – which turned into tragic, violent actions.

Incoherent, chaotic, free from agendas: QAnon is a one-size-fits all cult conspiracy. From a standoff at the Hoover Dam, to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on 6 January 2021, to protesting COVID-19 lockdowns, this digital pandemic has spread globally and shows no signs of stopping. In The Other Pandemic Ball takes us into the niche pathways through which these digital pathogens spread, mutate and infect people all across the globe – but he also argues that the prognosis doesn’t have to be dire. He shows us that it is possible to treat and cure this virus in order to build up our digital immune systems, and be better prepared to survive the next wave.

*A Financial Times Book to Read in 2023*©2023 James Ball (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Anthropology Elections & Political Process Media Studies Politics & Government Religious Studies Social Sciences Thought-Provoking Technology
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Critic reviews

In his new book about the QAnon movement, the investigative journalist James Ball teases out the global network of people who have essentially given up on the notion of objective reality, from bored teenage trolls to duplicitous politicians and crazed billionaires … Ball takes to his task with a convert’s zealotry (Ethan Croft)
An insightful book about the conspiracy movement compares it persuasively to a self-replicating disease … A disturbing study of the origins and resilience of an exceptionally versatile and pernicious network of paranoid digital malcontents (Rafael Behr)
All stars
Most relevant
If you are familiar with QAnon through podcasts you will still learn something new from this book, and the final chapter that explores solutions to wider disinformation sharing was well considered. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in technology, conspiracy theorists and/ or cults.

Well researched with clear narrative

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If you're concerned about the damage that unmoderated mass many-to-many internet enabled communication is doing to public debate and our democratic and political systems this is required listening.

Required listening

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A highly recommended read: hugely informative, highly interesting and very insightful. Terrifying and fascinating in equal measures.

Outstanding!!

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So so interesting just how deep the roots of this go. And so interesting to hear the examples of how politicians are part of it and hiding in plain sight

Brilliant listen

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It’s practical pragmatic and insightful. A good listen full of interesting and engaging points that really unpacks and recontextualises the circumstances that brought about QAnon. Essential reading.

Really excellent listen

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