“Nothing can stop it,” the account said in a message that at least 185,000 people had seen since Tuesday morning. “They can no longer hide in the shadows,” he added half an hour later. Then, 20 minutes later: “Last Hours.” It went on like this. Around 10 a.m. ET posted a nefarious image of uniformed soldiers behind a fence in Washington DC with the text “Stay home.”
A spokesman for General Hyten told CNN Tuesday morning that the account is “an absolute forgery” and added that the Pentagon is “actively working” to eliminate it. On Tuesday afternoon, the account was flagged as a “scam” with the message “Warning: Many users reported this account as a scam or as a fake account.” Since then, the account has posted some followers and many of the posts have been deleted. A Telegram spokesman told CNN: “Telegram monitors reports and warns users of fraudulent accounts in clear cases like the one you pointed out.” Facebook and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Conspiracy theory has its origins in the same thing that inspired the riot inside the Capitol on January 6: the false idea that elections were stolen and that American democracy was threatened and that someone had of doing something. Then the mutineers took charge. After the riot, similar groups of people believed they could wait again for Trump and the military to take action. But given the way conspiracy theories in general work and the way they have proliferated after the riot, it is easy to imagine that these theories spin in new ways once it is clear that no such action takes place. .
Much of the discussion about online martial law finally connects with QAnon, which has long had a promise and a desire for blood. But it is possible that people who enthusiastically discuss the possibility of a military takeover do not know the origins of their obsession. And the phenomenon doesn’t seem to be limited to a niche corner of the Internet.
Over the past two weeks, CNN has seen Trump supporters embrace the idea in large numbers and on multiple social media platforms.
On Facebook, a video in which a man warned people that they had to stock up on food before martial law was implemented was viewed more than five million times before verifying the facts and marking it as a fals. The video is no longer on Facebook, although it is unclear who removed it. CNN has contacted Facebook to comment.
On YouTube, a man previously known for his claims to have an alien mother and an alien daughter has suddenly become a star. He garnered more than 3.5 million views with a video claiming that Trump had signed the Insurrection Act, a prominent feature of many martial law conspiracy theories. Another video in which he said up to 85% of Congress could be arrested has been viewed nearly 1.7 million times. After the article was initially published, YouTube spokeswoman Ivy Choi told CNN that the company had removed the latter video after being asked by CNN, saying it had “rape.”[ed] our policy of integrity in the presidential election. ”
At TikTok, thousands if not tens of thousands of people have been watching and reacting to dozens of videos linked to conspiracy theories. These videos include topics, all tied to the same false idea that Trump is about to institute martial law: in some, people emotionally film the movement of military vehicles, convinced it’s a sign; in others, people repeat warnings about preparing with food and water; a popular theme is that Trump will use the emergency broadcast system at any time to announce the start of his movement. There are rarely signs of hesitation or concern for lives that can be lost.
– CNN’s Mallory Simon contributed the information