Wildlandfirefighter

In relation to what? The Biden conspiracy theories? The Hillary Conspiracy Theories??

Here's a start for you, lets talks about QAnon where all this bull$hit started!

Save the Children? Extremist conspiracy movement QAnon fabricates pedophile claims against Joe Biden as election looms:

President Donald Trump recently shared a tweet with his 86 million followers that accused his Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden of being a pedophile.

It was not the first time that the baseless smear came out of the Trump camp. On Instagram in May, the president’s eldest son and campaign surrogate Donald Trump Jr. made a similar insinuation, which he later said was a joke.

How did unfounded allegations of pedophilia infiltrate American political life? They are a central tenet of the extremist conspiracy movement QAnon whose followers believe that Trump is a messianic figure battling a “deep state” of devil-worshipping, child-molesting Democrats.

Observers say the 2016 presidential election spurred the rise of conspiracy theories once confined to the fringes. With influential figures using their social media megaphones to amplify them, incendiary falsehoods are circulating in the mainstream before the November election in an alarming break from the norms of presidential politicking.

“I am amazed at how prevalent pedophilia has become in conspiracy theories just lately,” said Kathryn Olmsted, a UC Davis history professor who studies conspiracy theories and author of “Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy.”

QAnon is exploiting fears about the vulnerability of children and latching onto legitimate efforts to fight child abuse to push such allegations into everyday people’s social media feeds, said Michael Jensen, a senior researcher at the University of Maryland who

leads a team that researches domestic radicalization.

“Stories of child victimization are effective at mobilizing people to support a movement, even if it is based on conspiratorial views," Jensen said. "We are seeing this now with QAnon’s use of the ‘Save the Children’ slogan, which has generated support from more mainstream individuals who do not necessarily subscribe to all aspects of the conspiracy.”

QAnon hijacked #SaveTheChildren

On the surface, #SaveTheChildren, which began as a fundraising campaign for the Save the Children charity, and a related hashtag, #SaveOurChildren, don’t seem controversial. Who isn’t against child trafficking?

But the hijacking of the #SaveTheChildren hashtag on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is exposing unsuspecting Americans to QAnon ideology. Some are turning out to rallies in cities across the country to call for an end to child exploitation.

In recent months, millions have seen anti-child-trafficking memes, according to data from CrowdTangle, a public insights tool owned by Facebook. From June 1 to Sept. 24, there were nearly 5.3 million interactions with posts on public pages and in public groups on Facebook that mentioned #SaveTheChildren. Public posts on Instagram had about another 11.6 million interactions.

According to data prepared for USA TODAY by media intelligence company Zignal Labs, Save the Children has received nearly 2.6 million mentions on Twitter since June 1.

Bogus #Pizzagate theories return

Melissa Ryan is CEO of CARD Strategies, a firm that helps organizations counter-disinformation and extremism. Starting about six weeks ago, she began seeing members of her own family who had never mentioned child trafficking pipe up about it.

“It’s less of a barrier to entry to talk about child trafficking than it is to claim that every elite person in America is actually part of a massive pedophile ring,” Ryan said.

The phenomenon reminds her of rallies during the 2016 election for “Pizzagate,” a debunked conspiracy theory alleging that a secret cabal of elites operated a child sex trafficking ring out of a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C. A North Carolina man traveled there and fired an assault weapon, endangering families and children.

“It was always shocking to me how many older women would be at these rallies,” Ryan said. “When you talked to them, they truly believed that Pizzagate had happened and that Hillary Clinton was a pedophile.”

Primal fears about the vulnerability of children have been exploited throughout history to push bogus allegations of ritual abuse, academic scholars say.

“If you want to call someone you don’t like the worst possible thing, 'Satanic sex-trafficking baby molester' fits the bill. There’s really nothing worse you can call someone. There is no redemption after that,” said University of Miami associate professor of political science Joseph Uscinski, co-author of “American Conspiracy Theories.”

This brand of conspiracy mongering proliferated in the 1980s as the economy shifted and more women entered the workforce, says David Frankfurter, professor at Boston University and author of “Evil Incarnate: Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and Satanic Abuse in History.”
QAnon exploits fears about children

Today, baseless claims of pedophilia are feeding off a toxic mix of extreme polarization and partisanship, growing distrust in public institutions, pandemic-fueled social isolation and a no-holds-barred online culture that can instantly propel dangerous misinformation into the mainstream, observers say.

The list of those targeted by false claims they prey on children is lengthy and includes Tom Hanks, Chrissy Teigen, Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, Barack Obama and Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris. None of them has ever faced a hint of impropriety with a child.

“Right now we are living through extremely unstable and uncertain times, and that tends to make people even more anxious to look for answers and to look for villains,” Olmsted said.
Crimes against children are central to conspiracy theories

Crimes against children are the foundation of many conspiracy theories because they are so universally horrifying and can explode into national obsessions, such as the disappearance of the Lindbergh baby in the 1930s, the murder of JonBenét Ramsey in the 1990s and the sex-trafficking charges against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, says Emerson Brooking, resident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab.

“By portraying themselves as defenders of children and investigators of unspeakable crimes, the adherents of QAnon seek to seize the moral high ground. No matter how horrible the things they do, they can say that they are doing these things for a just cause,” Brooking said.

And that makes these insinuations dangerous, he warned. Dehumanizing political opponents can lead to violence.

“If you can be led to believe the person you disagree with is a monster, you can be convinced to support – even carry out – acts that once would have been considered unthinkable,” said Brooking, co-author of “LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/09/28/qanon-pedophile-claims-biden-trump-save-the-children-facebook-instagram/3522626001/

https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2020/10/20/half-trump-supporters-believe-qanon-theory-child-s

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/nov/22/instagram-posts/president-joe-biden-has-not-been-found-guilty-huma/

https://www.axios.com/2020/10/21/qanon-grows-2020-election

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/children-sex-trafficking-conspiracy-epidemic/620845/

https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-qanon.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/07/07/sound-of-freedom-qanon-theories-jim-caviezel/

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-09-15/column-qanon-conspiracy-theory-the-border-variant

https://time.com/5887437/conspiracy-theories-2020-election/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-inauguration-qanon-conspiracy-theorists-1.5882732

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

what?????

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

This has nothing to do with Q or conspiracy theories.
I thought you wanted the truth.

Child Sex Trafficking Is Not a Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory

Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Organ Removal and the Ethical and Legal Obligations of Healthcare Providers

Ex Navy SEAL: The TRUTH About Human Trafficking & Organ Harvesting Gangs
As “Sound Of Freedom” crosses $100 million in theaters, millions are now aware of the depraved industry of human trafficking. Remi Adeleke – an ex Navy SEAL turned filmmaker and author – shares his real-life experiences of fighting traffickers and organ harvesting gangs, and the horrifying ways that traffickers acquire new victims… who are often delivered directly by parents themselves.

Child labor in Africa
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children as young as 7 (and adults) are forced to labor in cobalt and lithium mines to provide materials for smart phone and vehicle batteries. The materials are sold to battery makers who supply technology and car companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, Daimler and Volkswagen.

Trafficking of Children for Prostitution and the UNICEF Response

* UNICEF supports major studies of trafficking that are taking place around the world, including a study of trafficking in the NAFTA region underway at the University of Pittsburgh.

* UNICEF provides input to "The Global Programme Against Trafficking in Human Beings", a three-year study undertaken by the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. It focuses on the role played by organized crime, trafficking patterns, the nature of the criminal syndicates involved, the role of corruption, the impact of clandestine migrant communities, the trafficking of women and children for purposes of forced/exploitative labour, commercial sexual exploitation and unlawful adoption. UNICEF is concerned to ensure that the human rights aspects of the issue are not overwhelmed by the study's focus on the criminal aspects.

* In the Asia and Pacific Region, UNICEF is a partner in a number of projects that specifically address the trafficking of women and children. They include:

the Mekong Regional Law Centre project, "Illegal Migration: The Case in Trafficking of Women and Children" (Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam), which aims to develop a practical program to improve legislation and law enforcement in the area of trafficking;

the ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) Human Resources Development Section of the Social Development Division, "Project for the Elimination of Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth in Asia and the Pacific"(Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka), which will build capacity of local government and NGO personnel through research and networking, raising awareness of policymakers, development of curriculum and training materials and sub-regional training;

the ILO-International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) project, "Combat Trafficking in Children and Women for Labour Exploitation in the Mekong Sub-region and South Asia", which aims to develop best practice guidelines based on the evaluation of pilot activities and train trainers as well as offering direct socio-economic alternatives to child and women victims of trafficking and to those at risk;

the UNDP project, "Trafficking in Women and Children in the Mekong Sub-region", which will do an inventory of UN agency, government, NGO and CBO activities addressing trafficking; assess gaps in these activities; establish mechanisms to improve communication and coordination; identify research needs and begin research;

the International Organization for Migration (IOM) project, "Return and Reintegration of Trafficked Women from China to Vietnam, Thailand to Cambodia and Cambodia to Vietnam", which will build research capacity, train border police and provide psycho-social recovery assistance to trafficking victims.

* UNICEF participates in the Regional Working Group on Child Labour (involving ILO/IPEC, Save the Children Alliance, and Child Workers in Asia).

* UNICEF supports the International Network for Girls (INfG). Organized by the NGO Working Group on Girls, the network comprises 400 NGOs in 86 countries who work with and for girls. Sexual exploitation and trafficking are two of its highest priorities.

* In Benin, UNICEF supports the Project on Children in Need of Special Protection. The project raises awareness about child trafficking and exploitation and the hazards these children face. The project also advocates for children's rights in the CRC; has set up eight educational facilities for girl domestic workers; provided community support, giving women access to loans to finance income-generating activities; and promoted girls' education.

* In Cambodia in July 1999 the Cambodian National Council for Children has launched a national 5-year plan against child sexual exploitation and trafficking.

<SNIP>

Invading the Darkness of Child Sex Trafficking

Statistics: Human trafficking
This report presents information on human trafficking worldwide.
It includes data about forced labor, sexual exploitation, forced marriages, and law enforcement globally

Wildlandfirefighter

Ok so what is your point? Just how do you think this relates to the original discussion??

Do I understand that all of this is happening around the world and that it is evil and needs to be stopped?

Hell yes!

The right wing conspiracy theory is that Biden is involved with this and that Hillary was involved in abducting children through Pizzagate and other pure BS fallacies. This started from QAnon and is pure conspiracy theory per my response above.

None of your info discusses this conspiracy theory issue at all, nor does it discuss this problem in the USA other than patients here wanting to go overseas for medical procedures involving organs from people who are not Americans.

None of this is new. Human trafficking has been going on forever. The organ transplant issue is newer, but it sure as hell did not start happening in the last few years.

Anybody that is a decent human being should think any human trafficking is pure evil. I don’t personally know of anyone who thinks human trafficking is a good thing and that includes every democrat, independent, Republican, religious zealots, atheist or anyone else I might happen to be acquainted with.

So what’s your point?

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

We'll start with your insulting Marty, you implied he is seriously ignorant and incapable of doing some research due to low IQ, told him to ask a specific question and someone on here would help point him in a direction that would significantly increase his intelligence in these matters.

You told him to help himself "and do some research on sites that actually tell the truth."

Then I came in and asked you what sites you would recommend?

You asked me to give you "a specific topic or question" and you'd give me sources to explore for myself.

I chose the topic child sex trafficking and organ harvesting.

Then you asked me, "In relation to what?" and you went off on Qanon, Biden and Hillary conspiracy theories and Trump, Trump, Trump.

The answer to your question is, "in relation to the truth."

Wildlandfirefighter

Pretty wide “specific Topic”, would you like me expand on your truth now that there is clarity of that topic. Perhaps moving into what is currently being done, what additional could or should be done, or perhaps who the major perpetrators are in the world today? Pick either sex trafficking or organ harvesting as they are really two separate topics.

Also clarify what you specifically mean “ in relation to the truth”. Do you want me to provide you a selection of sites that are misrepresenting the facts concerning child sex trafficking and organ harvesting and then provide you with a competing list of sites that have high reliability or perhaps are actual public broadcast news sources that are under FCC law to have to tell the truth in news, you know, all those stations that actually go out to the public over public broadcasting networks and that you can get on your TV with an antenna. FOX, OAN, Newsmax and a whole bunch of others are not in this category as they are cable stations and do not fall under FCC regulation.

Mikeyavelli

Oh, guess you'll have to wait until Monday.

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

We can end this discussion right here.
Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world.
Humans are kidnapped, enslaved, aborted, murdered, bought and sold for sex, forced labor, prostitution, drug smuggling and organ harvesting.

The crime syndicates and terrorist organizations that control these operations do not limit their money making enterprises to just one or two operations.

In fact, human trafficking is quickly becoming the world's most lucrative criminal enterprise, the revenue already exceeds that of the drug trade, gun running and the entire NFL combined.

Wildlandfirefighter

Then let’s agree to work together in this country, right, center and left, to do what we can to stop this vile crap.

I think we can all agree to get behind that!

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

One would like to think so.

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

OK, since the United States is among the best customers for human trafficking, harvested organs and illicit drugs that are killing an average of 100,000 young Americans every year, how about we start with closing our freaking borders?

Wildlandfirefighter

I would love to see us overhaul our immigration system and gain control over things. The Democrats have tried to do this for years,GOP keeps blocking it mostly because of the issue of dreamers. But closing the border is just BS, we can’t and don’t want to close the border, we need to better manage the border. We need better policies and laws to bring in the people we need and manage a reasonable amount of immigration. We need labor to do many things that American’s can’t or won’t do, particularly in agriculture, but many other occupations.

It’s not Biden’s fault that we have a border issue, just like it was not Trumps. We have laws that don’t work but that are still laws that must be followed.

How about we vote people into office that are not far right or far left, but in the middle like the majority of Americans (yes I consider myself in the middle).

How about our representatives start to collaborate together for the good of all.

Often we tend to go from one extreme to another in this country before we get to a common middle ground that makes sense.

Let’s stop pointing fingers and start to work together to get something done and find that middle ground

In order to do that, there is much of congress that needs to go and be replaced by people that want to work together

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

This isn't about overhauling the immigration system, this is about closing the freaking borders.
We already have an overwhelming number of illegals in our country, many of whom are up to no good, it is costing us lives, resources, and money that could have been used to boost national security.

Try entering Mexico illegally, see what happens.

Many countries have proven that border walls with advanced detection technology WORK very effectively.

So, the time has long passed to SEAL our borders and not allow one more illegal to cross the river.

Wildlandfirefighter

Well Blade, the difference between entering Mexico compared to the US you would have to prove since the vast majority of the people trying to get in along our southern border came up from Central and South American and obviously were not only able to cross into Mexico in the south, but were able to traverse across the entire country to our borders. So this point of yours is just BS.

Border walls are appropriate in places, but that is a huge cost, and staffing it would also be huge.

But yes we need to do more both through policy and law and through physical and human infrastructure.

So how do we get congress to act? The President can’t pass his own laws.

If you want to understand things easily, let’s follow the money:

Do you know what the entire budget for the Border Patrol was in 2023? It was a bit over $18 billion.

Do you know what the military budget was?

It was $816.7 billion.

Just think what we could do if for the next five years the Border Patrol budget was increased by $50 billion and the defense budget was reduced by an equal amount.

We just might be able to build all the sections of wall or other deterrence needed and we could at least triple the human component of the wall. Too bad old Trumpy couldn’t get Mexico to build that wall he wanted. Too bad Steve Bannon and his criminal partners didn’t actually use all that money that people donated to them to build the wall, but instead kept much of it for themselves. It doesn’t seem like Trump ever really cared about a wall. It was all for show to get people like you all fired up. Guess it worked.

It takes congress to build a wall. Trump had congress his first two years and did squat. Instead of bitching about it why don’t we elect people that will actually make it happen.

Marty 2020 Loc: Banana Republic of Kalifornia

Democrats don’t have a candidate who will shut the border.