Donie O’Sullivan: Don’t be ‘complacent’ with conspiracy theories

CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan says that it is “not a time to be complacent” about conspiracy theories in Ireland and that there could be groups in the United States or the United Kingdom that are “pushing” or “potentially funding” them here.

O’Sullivan, from Cahersiveen in Kerry, covers the intersection of politics and technology for the US broadcaster.

“I think at times as Irish people, we sometimes look to the US and say, ‘Oh my God, that place is crazy,’ that would never happen here in Ireland. But you see some of this stuff manifesting,” O’Sullivan told Katie Hannon on Upfront: The Podcast.

LISTEN: Donie O’Sullivan tells Katie Hannon about his new documentary, QAnon and the rise of the alt right in US politics

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O’Sullivan was working for CNN in Washington DC on 6 January 2021 when supporters of then President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol building in a bid to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election won by current President Joe Biden.

O’Sullivan says that this was a “natural conclusion” to the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation.

“It was surprising and shocking. But it’s almost a natural conclusion of all of these kinds of lies and conspiracy theories. If you’re telling people their democracy is stolen and the election has been rigged. What else are you expecting people to do if they truly believe in this stuff. Which a lot of them do.”

“Over Covid, I think a lot of people’s window to the world was their computer screens and their phones. And in that moment of anxiousness and so much uncertainty, that’s really where I think conspiracy theories can come in and shine,” O’Sullivan said.

The Emmy-nominated journalist was speaking to Upfront: The Podcast about his new documentary ‘Waiting for JFK’ which traces a fringe group of conspiracy theorists in the United States who believe former US president John F Kennedy (JFK) and his son John F Kennedy Jr are still alive and are descended from Jesus Christ.

JFK was assassinated in 1963. His son died in a plane crash in 1999.

This latest conspiracy theory is an off shoot one of America’s most infamous theories, QAnon. QAnon is generally defined as an unfounded theory that claims former US president Donald Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.

While movements like the QAnon conspiracy theory have grown in popularity online and in mainstream American media and politics, they have yet to gain a major foothold in Ireland.

O’Sullivan believes the popularity of the likes of QAnon in the US stems from its adoption by certain sections of American politics including Mr Trump who has referenced the conspiracy theory in speeches and at rallies.

“There’d be times where I would be at Trump rallies and hear something almost too crazy from a voter. And we’d say, ‘Well, we can’t put that on air because that’s way too out there.’ But then Trump would turn around himself a week or two later and say the same thing over the airways,” O’Sullivan said.

“There might not be political leaders pushing it in Ireland, but you can see that there is a kind of grassroots movement, online that is pushing this. I would bet money that there are forces in the UK and in the US who are looking at what is happening in Ireland and either encouraging it or pushing it themselves or potentially funding it because that’s what we’ve seen all around the world.

“There may not be these characters in the Dáil at the moment, but there are forces no doubt trying to popularise this kind of thing in Ireland,” O’Sullivan said.

WATCH: Donie O’Sullivan on covering January 6th and what drives people to conspiracy theories

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Loneliness and lack of community are also drivers that cause people to follow conspiracy theories according to O’Sullivan.

“Whether it’s people believing stuff about elections or vaccines or QAnon or that JFK is not dead, if you really talk to people a lot of it comes down to community, everybody’s looking to be part of something. Over Covid we were all kind of forced into isolation and it really exacerbated the feelings of loneliness that we might already have.

“We all like to think that we would never go off and believe in QAnon and that JFK is alive. But I think a lot of us have had irrational thoughts and irrational beliefs in our lives. It can be something deeply personal if you’re going through depression or anxiety. This just happens to be the set of irrational beliefs that they are taking comfort in.

“I think we’re all a bit at risk of it.”

Listen to CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan chatting to Katie Hannon on Upfront: The Podcast here, on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.