Is QAnon really “sophisticated and active” in Japan? No. I don’t think so. But this is more than just opinion, and given that I’m actually quoted here, I feel the need to walk you through why I believe that. (1/x https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1385782154693685248

First off, I haven't seen anything in this piece or elsewhere to date that dissuades me from what I wrote about this topic for the New York Times last month. I'm more than open to being convinced, but for the moment, the title says it all: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/opinion/qanon-japan-janon.html (2/x

Hats off to CNN for interviewing Q believers here. That's great work, and missing from so much foreign coverage of the topic. BUT, are the subjects fringe cases or indicative of a big trend? CNN would have you believe the latter. That’s where things start falling apart. (3/x

The reporting identifies two groups: QArmyJapanFlynn, and J-Anon. This is already problematic. J-Anon isn't an organization. It's a blanket term devised by local observers to describe Q-style behavior in Japan, from Covid deniers to Stop the Stealers to actual Q devotees. (4/x

The claim that Q is “sophisticated and active” in Japan hinges on Graphika research of the QArmyJapanFlynn Twitter network, which translated Q drops related info into Japanese. Founder Eri Okabayashi amassed 80K followers before account frozen in Jan. BUT (big but!) (5/x

That report is from August 2020. CNN makes no mention of one the following month by Geoff Golberg, which revealed that 95% of Eri's followers were bots. In fact the author was only able to identify 55 verified accounts among them, mostly foreign. https://geoffgolberg.medium.com/qarmyjapanflynn-qajf-the-collective-delusion-is-global-83bd33b8b692 (6/x

So the idea that QArmyJapanFlynn is wildly popular among Japanese is already a nonstarter. Okay, so what about those Stop the Steal protests in Japanese cities? They really happened, right? They did! BUT (there's that pesky “but” again) (7/x

CNN fails to note they were organized by hodgepodge of international religio-political groups such as Falun Gong, with support of Rule of Law Foundation (chairman, one Steve Bannon). They want US coverage. Thus the English chants. See photos here: https://imgur.com/gallery/GZnZ9SK  (8/x

There’s very little overlap among these groups save for a general tendency to attract people who have, for a variety of reasons, found and/or positioned themselves on the outside of mainstream society in Japan. So is J-Anon really active here? (9/x

Masks haven’t been politicized; most wear them. There’s tension over vaccinations, but that’s less about the science and more about deep-seated mistrust of politicians running the show. Even still, there’s no sign of Q infiltrating the Diet, either by force or at polls. (10/x

I feel bad doing a takedown like this, because it’s an important topic that deserves more attention. But I don’t think this piece makes its case. Please refer to my NYT op-ed for a counterpoint. (11/end