Data scientists use machine learning to uncover the alleged identity of Q, the founder of the conspiracy movement QAnon. Writes about it The New York Times.
Two independent groups of Swiss and French linguistic researchers used different methodologies but came to the same conclusion.
The first team used software that parsed Q messages into patterns of three character sequences. The researchers then tracked how often they recurred. French scientists trained AI to look for patterns in Q messages.
Among all the authors analyzed, the researchers identified South African software developer Paul Ferber as the original author of Q who drew attention to the conspiracy theory.
Later, Arizona congressional candidate Ron Watkins also began to write under this pseudonym. He first collaborated with Ferber, and then took control of the account, moving it to his father’s 8chan imageboard, experts say.
According to French researcher Florian Cafiero, the software developed by his team identified Ferber’s style in 98% of the tests, and Watkins in 99%.
“At first, most of the text was written by Ferber. However, during the first few months, the Ron Watkins style began to appear more often, and Paul Ferber less often, until it disappeared altogether, he said.
The researchers hope that Q’s exposure will dampen QAnon’s hold on people. Despite the absence of new publications since March 2020, enthusiasm for the Deep State conspiracy theory and its involvement in the lives of citizens has remained at a high level.
Ferber and Watkins deny any connection to Q.
Recall that in April 2021, scientists created an algorithm for detecting conspiracy theories in social networks.
In January, Clearview AI reported an increase in law enforcement inquiries a day after a crowd of protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington. The January 6 attack has been linked to the QAnon movement.
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Data scientists use machine learning to uncover the alleged identity of Q, the founder of the conspiracy movement QAnon. Writes about it The New York Times.
Two independent groups of Swiss and French linguistic researchers used different methodologies but came to the same conclusion.
The first team used software that parsed Q messages into patterns of three character sequences. The researchers then tracked how often they recurred. French scientists trained AI to look for patterns in Q messages.
Among all the authors analyzed, the researchers identified South African software developer Paul Ferber as the original author of Q who drew attention to the conspiracy theory.
Later, Arizona congressional candidate Ron Watkins also began to write under this pseudonym. He first collaborated with Ferber, and then took control of the account, moving it to his father’s 8chan imageboard, experts say.
According to French researcher Florian Cafiero, the software developed by his team identified Ferber’s style in 98% of the tests, and Watkins in 99%.
“At first, most of the text was written by Ferber. However, during the first few months, the Ron Watkins style began to appear more often, and Paul Ferber less often, until it disappeared altogether, he said.
The researchers hope that Q’s exposure will dampen QAnon’s hold on people. Despite the absence of new publications since March 2020, enthusiasm for the Deep State conspiracy theory and its involvement in the lives of citizens has remained at a high level.
Ferber and Watkins deny any connection to Q.
Recall that in April 2021, scientists created an algorithm for detecting conspiracy theories in social networks.
In January, Clearview AI reported an increase in law enforcement inquiries a day after a crowd of protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington. The January 6 attack has been linked to the QAnon movement.
Subscribe to Cryplogger news in Telegram: Cryplogger AI – all the news from the world of AI!
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