The Rise of "Conspirituality"

QAnon is a conspiracy theory stating that a shadowy cabal of politicians, billionaires, and celebrities is controlling the government in service of their pedophilic desires and harvesting a drug from children’s fear — and that they’re only stoppable by the heroism of Donald Trump. It’s nonsense, and after it first appeared on 4chan messaging boards a few years ago, it mostly gained traction with denizens of the dark web and some evangelical Christians. But since the COVID lockdown began, it’s started spreading to a new kind of believer — one that’s more feminine and with a cleaner aesthetic, mostly brought in through Instagram. In this moment of growth, one community in particular has found itself prey to QAnon: the yoga, wellness, and spirituality world, where skepticism about vaccines has intersected with the rapid spread of disinformation online to create a toxic stew known as “conspirituality,” a term popularized by a podcast of the same name that tracks the convergence of conspiracy theories and “faux-progressive wellness utopianism.”

In this segment, OTM producer Leah Feder speaks with Travis View, host of the QAnon Anonymous podcast, who contextualizes this latest chapter in QAnon’s spread, and Seane Corn, a yoga instructor and co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World, about what she’s been seeing in her community. She also speaks with Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami, about why members of what appears to be a progressive community might be seduced by a seemingly right-wing conspiracy theory. 

This is a segment from our September 25th, 2020 program, Spheres of Influence.

From WNYC Studios