For New York Magazine’s September 28-October 11, 2020 issue, writer Simon van Zuylen-Wood examines the grotesque conspiracy theory QAnon, which has twenty-four followers running for Congress in November. He writes: “…the emergence of [Georgia Congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor] Greene and the QAnon candidates suggests not so much a collective mental breakdown as a rupture in the fabric of shared reality. Come January, Greene may look around Capitol Hill and perceive a different world from her Republican colleagues, as though she were wearing a VR headset.”
Van Zuylen-Wood tells Press Room: “For many QAnon believers, the conspiracy theory seems to function not just as a kind of religious belief system, but an elaborate role-playing fantasy. And now, those of them running for office have added a real-life, high-stakes dimension to the game.”