Michael Flynn, former National Security Advisor to President Donald J. Trump, endorses New York City mayoral candidate Fernando Mateo, June 3, 2021, in Staten Island, New York City. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Unraveling viral disinformation and explaining where it came from, the harm it's causing, and what we should do about it.
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Since being pardoned by former President Donald Trump last November, Flynn has fully embraced the world of conspiracy theories and repeatedly boosted outlandish and dangerous ideas. Last May during a QAnon conference in the same state, he told an audience member that he didn’t see any reason why a Myanmar-style military coup shouldn’t happen in the U.S.
Unsurprisingly, Flynn’s comments drew widespread anger and criticism. “These people hate the U.S. Constitution,” Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, tweeted.
But just as he did back in May, Flynn is now trying to walk back his comments about creating a single-religion state.However, rather than issuing a public statement, Flynn instead chose to speak to Tracy Beanz, one of the earliest QAnon promoters, who was recently elected to a leadership position in the GOP in South Carolina.“My message is and has always been, when I discuss religious persecution, that our nation was built upon a Judeo-Christian set of values and principles,” Flynn told Beanz in a comment posted on her Telegram channel.
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