Anderson Cooper sat down with a former QAnon believer this weekend for an interview on CNN — and in a viral moment from their conversation, the ex–conspiracy theorist admitted that he used to believe Anderson ate babies. Like, human babies.
Former QAnon believer to @andersoncooper: "I apologize for thinking that you ate babies"
But before we get into that, let's give some context here. QAnon is a far-right collective delusion that falsely claims that Donald Trump is secretly fighting against an underground pedophile network run by Democrats and Hollywood celebrities. The various claims made by QAnon are totally false and easily debunked, but its believers are fervent. Their ever-growing list of theories involve things like robots masquerading as humans, UFOs, Satanic worship, 9/11 trutherism, something called "bird aliens," and John F. Kennedy Jr. faking his own death.
One core tenet of QAnon is the idea that these imaginary Democrat pedophiles are not only molesting children, but they're also killing them and then drinking their blood so they can live longer. Disturbing? Yes. Complete and total made-up garbage that puts innocent people in danger? Also yes.
every time I post food, some q anon loser asks if it contains baby. I'm honestly just gonna start posting things to drive them even more batshit insane. also like, was I on the island, do I eat babies, or just put them on my skin, or am a pedo?? like I'm everything? pick a lane.
So in Anderson's special report on QAnon, he sat down with a former believer, Jitarth Jadeja, to ask some questions about all this — and he received an answer he didn't quite expect.
"Did you, at the time, believe that high-level Democrats and celebrities were worshipping Satan, drinking the blood of children?" Anderson asked.
"Anderson, I thought you did that," Jitarth said. "And I would like to apologize for that right now. So, I apologize for thinking that you ate babies. But yeah, 100%."
"But you actually believed that I was drinking the blood of children?" Anderson asked, taken aback. Jitarth once again confirmed that yes, he did think Anderson was drinking the blood of children to extend his lifespan.
Jitarth went on to explain that Anderson is actually a frequent target of QAnon's conspiracies, with some believers asserting that he's secretly a robot in disguise:
It's because Q [the leader of QAnon] specifically mentioned you, and he mentioned you very early on. And he mentioned you by name, and from there, he also talked about like, for example, your family. And I'm gonna be honest, people still talk about that to this day. There were posts about that just four days ago. Some people thought you were a robot.
"I didn't just believe that," Jitarth continued. "I, at one stage, believed that QAnon was part of military intelligence, which is what [Q] says. But on top of that, the people behind him were actually a group of fifth-dimensional, intra-dimensional, extraterrestrial, bipedal bird aliens known as 'blue avians.'"
"I was so far down in this conspiracy theory black hole, that I was essentially picking and choosing whatever I wanted to believe in," he concluded.
The camera then briefly cuts back to Anderson's face in the studio, which pretty much sums it all up:
The clip of their exchange is now going viral on Twitter. People are finding the moment really shocking:
@oliverdarcy @kaitlancollins @andersoncooper How does anyone get that deep into something so ridiculously insane? I know it’s spoon-fed over time, but do they ever just look at the whole picture and realize they’re being duped?
And a testament to how dangerous QAnon has become:
@oliverdarcy @andersoncooper When we say a cult that’s brainwashing people, we mean it.
@oliverdarcy @andersoncooper This is beyond crazy. This is some weird shit. Frightening.
@SarahLJorgensen @oliverdarcy As bananas as it is - I think everyone needs to stop and realise that man is millions of (mainly) americans. They are in the middle of a shared alternate reality. It's a powerful drug.
Some Twitter users reflected on the fact that Marjorie Taylor Greene, a current member of Congress, has aligned herself with QAnon:
@oliverdarcy @andersoncooper Listen to this guy's confessions and really think about this: Marjorie Taylor Greene, U.S. Representative, believes this. She's being guided by Q and by Trump. They are the motivation and inspiration for her priorities in governing.
And some just wanted to know how people like Jitarth eventually get themselves out of QAnon:
@oliverdarcy @cmclymer @andersoncooper The question in my mind is, how did he come to *NOT* believe this?
You can watch the full video of their exchange below. To learn more about the origins of QAnon's various lies, this explainer from NBC News is a must-read.
Former QAnon believer to @andersoncooper: "I apologize for thinking that you ate babies"