QAnon looms behind nationwide rallies and viral #SavetheChildren hashtags

Most of the top hashtags from #SaveOurChildren posts in August are QAnon-specific."The data suggests that a relatively small number of QAnon-related Facebook groups and Instagram accounts were able to amplify and co-opt #SaveOurChildren and its related language by creating a large and unprecedented flurry of posts and activity around the hashtag,” said Rory Smith, the research manager at First Draft who wrote the analysis.Facebook cracked down on QAnon on Wednesday, removing or restricting more than 13,000 groups, pages and Instagram accounts that pushed QAnon content and “discussed potential violence.”Byers Market NewsletterThis site is protected by recaptcha Privacy Policy | Terms of ServiceThat action did not seem to affect the rallies planned for this weekend, events that largely remain on Facebook.A Facebook spokesperson told NBC News that the company was continuing to review QAnon content against the new policy, including Save the Children events.While many of the Save the Children events do not openly espouse QAnon beliefs, the group’s connection is never far.On their personal social media pages and in their mostly private Facebook groups, organizers of the largest upcoming rallies openly embrace QAnon ideology and push its content. They said that they were working to clean up the descriptions for their rallies, many of which contained hashtags belonging to the QAnon conspiracy.“Every person is going to have their own freedoms and beliefs,” Miller said of the marchers.When asked whether the organization believes that pizzagate is real, echoing one of the hashtags on its many events, Coon demured.“We will neither confirm nor deny that,” Coon said.One group that formed in July, “Freedom for the Children,” has organized more than 60 rallies in 26 states and Canada, according to their website, where they accept donations. A few local television and radio stations have advertised lists of the events on their news websites.The Colorado Times Recorder served as an outlier with its report last week: “Denver Anti-Child Sex Trafficking March Rooted in QAnon Conspiracy Theories.”All six of the rally organizers who spoke with NBC News said the point of their protests was to get media attention. (Her last name is being withheld to protect her identity from former abusers.)“There's nothing more terrifying to me as an advocate than thinking about a survivor not being able to get through to the Human Trafficking Hotline or National Human Trafficking Hotline because it's being inundated with Wayfair calls,” she said.Eliza, who is hosting a virtual event on Saturday with survivors who were abused by Epstein, was initially disheartened by QAnon supporters drowning out real calls to action to stop child sex trafficking and said she considered ending her efforts due to "constant misinformation.”Although Eliza is hopeful that the new surge of attention can raise awareness among people who want to stop real-world human trafficking, the picture of sex trafficking painted by QAnon’s version of the "Save the Children" campaign does not tend to reflect reality, she said.“We do run into this issue where we see the imagery of little white girls with chains on.