FBI bulletin concedes that conspiracy theories might be fueled in part by actual conspiracies

FBI bulletin concedes that conspiracy theories might be fueled in part by actual conspiracies

Bureau’s Phoenix Field Office warns that adherents of Pizzagate and QAnon “Very Likely” to be motivated to violence

Written by
Edited by Michael Morisy

In a Federal Bureau of Intelligence bulletin dated May 30th, 2019, the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office warned that it was “Very Likely” that “Fringe Political Conspiracy Theories” would eventually motivate its adherents to violence.

The bulletin, first reported on by Yahoo News! And later published by Public Intelligence, specifically identifies two of these “Fringe Political Conspiracy Theories” as Pizzagate and QAnon …

And noted that believers in both of these conspiracy theories had cited those beliefs as motivation for criminal activities.

Somewhat surprisingly, the bulletin later goes on to concede that the conspiratorial mindset underpinning such theories may be influenced by “the illegal, antidemocratic, or harmful activities by high level government officials and political elites” …

also known as actual conspiracies. The bulletin doesn’t cite any specific examples of these activities, but dedicated MuckRock readers will know that there are more than a few to pick from.

The full bulletin is embedded below.

Image via Warner Bros.