The QAnon crowd thinks GPS tracking data proves ‘foreign antifa’ have overrun Chicago
QAnon conspiracy theory supporters are promoting the unfounded claim that tens of thousands of antifa protesters descended upon Chicago this weekend to disrupt the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC).
But it's not just far-left Americans they're worried about. Foreign antifa is coming, too.
In a post to X on Saturday, an account known as "Tucker Carlson Network Fan Account" alleged "location data" revealed that nearly 75,000 self-described anti-fascists were planning to "create chaos" during the four-day political event.
"According to GPS tracking data: At least 53,411 foreign Antifa and 21,034 domestic Antifa are already gathering in Chicago, to create chaos during the Harris-Walz DNC," the account wrote. "Who is responsible for this coordinated protest? Obama? Soros?"
The post has more than 554,000 views, garnering a flurry of responses from apparent Trump supporters.
"Good let them have chaos I could care less," one user said.
Others began conjuring up conspiracy theories of the purpose of the imagined scenario.
"Their plan is to register out of staters from New York and California and use mail in voting to steal IL election," another said. "The riots are a distraction."
Illinois, despite the poster's concern, has gone Democrat in every election after 1988.
Some users even suggested that any purported riot would be used to blame Trump supporters.
"Just remember, very few Trump supporters cover their faces," one woman said. "The majority of these masked morons are liberals to the core."
It wasn't long before the claim made its way to the prominent QAnon promoter "The General," who repeated the allegation verbatim to their more than 75,000 followers.
The exact phrasing was also apparent on dozens of other accounts, many that had little to no followers and were recently created.
Conservative users also tagged prominent right-wing figures, such as Lara Trump and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), in an effort to bring attention to the claim.
No evidence is present on X or anywhere else online to back up the claim. No details are given on what the so-called "GPS tracking data" consists of or where it was obtained. No information is given in regard to the alleged number of foreign and domestic antifa activists, either.
Some accounts attempted to fill in the gaps by claiming that the information came from law enforcement in Chicago.
"A former Chicago detective told a friend of mine that according to GPS tracking data, at least 53,411 foreign Antifa and 21,034 domestic Antifa are already gathering in Chicago," a user named Trinity said.
Conservatives regularly fall for and promote nonsensical claims regarding antifa, including that the movement staffed so-called "supersoldiers." In one example in 2020, a family in Washington was chased and followed after fears of an antifa invasion spread online.
But this may be the first time they've feared another country is helping boost the movement.
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