Before there was QAnon, there was the 'blood libel'. Forget there being parallels, one could say that the latter is simply the former, repackaged for a social media age. /1

Beginning in the High Middle Ages, as European feudal realms gave way to larger metropolises, and growing economies, it was the 'Other' who provided a useful scapegoat - the Jews. /2

Prohibited from working many professions (sometimes only permitted to be moneylenders), forced to wear special clothes and confined to ghettoes, it was easy to target Jews as those responsible for Ill fortune. /3

In order to incite the persecution of Jews, there needed to be a pretext, and along with the poisoning of water sources during the Black Death, there was the 'Blood Libel' - the supposed murder of children by Jews to collect their blood for ritual use. /4

England appears to be flashpoint for cases of the 'blood libel' in the mid to late medieval period, with a series of massacres.

The discovery of the murdered body of 'William of Norwich' in 1144 instigated this trend, with similar occurrences in Bury, Gloucester & Lincoln. /5

In many cases, local saint's cults rose up around these murdered children, even without the blessing of the centralised Church. The stories of these supposed ritual murders were repeated until they became accepted fact. /6

Indeed, it is the 'blood libel' that is considered partly responsible for the pogroms of 1189, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Jews across England - particularly in York & London. /7

Later, the 'blood libel' spread to Europe. Simon of Trent & Werner of Oberwesel, as well as the Young Girl of Pforzheim became touchstones for antisemitic hatreds. /8

While cases of the 'blood libel' decreased over time in Western Europe, in the East, they increased. As late as the early 20th century, pogroms such as that at Kishinev in modern day Moldova were instigated by murdered children being blamed on ritualised Jewish murder. /9

As late as 1929, however, 'blood libels' were still being propagated in places like rural Bavaria, and even Massena, New York. /10

Both QAnon and the 'Blood Libel' share very clear structural similarities.

Most prominently, both are predicated on the idea of children being harmed by a group of wealthy, detached 'outsiders'. /11

Both QAnon & 'Blood Libel' hold that children are being trafficked and harvested by these outsiders.

In the case of the 'blood libel", it is blood for rituals - usually at Passover - by Jews.

QAnon holds that there are satanic rituals, or the harvesting of adrenochrome. /12

Both QAnon & the 'Blood Libel' are decentralised in terms of their spread.

The 'blood libel' was not always supported by the centralised Church and sometimes actively suppressed.

QAnon is largely leaderless, relying on largely anonymous message board postings. /13

Whether by design, or the vagaries of human nature, the two conspiracy theories can be said to born of the same primal fears - outsiders harming our children for their own ends. /14

Children are harmed in our world - mostly by their family and friends. Child-trafficking occurs, and is a blight. However, the attention of millions has been coopted by a number of actors, large and small, to foster hatreds based on nonexistent atrocities. /15

I can't tell you what to say to friends and family that have fallen into this trap, and I'm sad to say that they're not the first to have been taken in, and they won't be last.

This is a pattern that keeps on repeating. /16

What you can do is refuse to engage, and to shut down any attempts to spread baseless QAnon conspiracy theories in your digital spaces.

This may mean ceasing communication with, or blocking individuals.

As hard as it sounds, this poison thrives on oxygen and space. /17

These are dark times, and more than ever we need to take note of the stories we tell.

In the past, the lie that is the 'blood libel' killed hundreds of thousands.

Will we one day say the same of QAnon? /FIN