“I’m so worried about my whole family”: Modeling r/QAnonCasualties to better understand the effects of (QAnon) conspiracy beliefs on families

While we know a great deal about the—typically negative—effects of conspiracy beliefs, surprisingly we know little about the interpersonal effects of such beliefs on relationships with non-believers. QAnon-specific research is now leading the way in this regard, with a handful of surveys and interviews beginning to chart how conspiracy beliefs influence relationships with friends, colleagues, and loved ones. This paper advances that progress via a novel (to the field) methodological approach applied to a vast and unique dataset. Using large language model embeddings, and machine learning algorithms, this study categorized—and examined—over 75 thousand unique references to “family” on the public, anonymous reddit forum r/QAnonCasualties, a subreddit dedicated to specifically discussing QAnon’s effects on relationships. The model reveals a range of family discussions, from emotional tolls, and various negative effects, to potential strategies to salvage the family, and the desire to seek refuge in a support network. The results within also shed light not only on what users discuss most frequently, but also what conversations are most popular (i.e. produce upvotes)—navigating pandemic related issues (e.g. COVID-19, masks, vaccinations), holiday gatherings, and problematic social media behavior represent some of the most well-received discussions. Pleas to better understand the effects of conspiracy beliefs on families were also highly prominent, and popular, on the subreddit. Ultimately the goal of this paper is just that, to partially advance our general understanding of conspiracy belief effects on relationships, though with a more narrow focus on specific relationships (i.e. families).