Imagine a deadly pathogen that, once created, could infect any person in any part of the globe within seconds. No need to wait for travellers, trains, or air traffic to spread it, all you need is an internet connection.
Join Pulitzer Prize winner James Ball in this gripping investigation that decodes the cryptic language of the online right and tracks the spread of QAnon, the world's first digital pandemic.
QAnon began as an internet community dedicated to supporting President Trump and intent on outing a global cabal of human traffickers. A short, cryptic message posted by an anonymous user to a niche internet forum in 2017 was the spark that ignited a global movement. What started as a macabre game of virtual make-believe quickly spiralled into the spread of virulently hateful, dangerous messaging - which turned into tragic, violent actions.
Incoherent, chaotic, free from agendas: QAnon is a one-size-fits all cult conspiracy. From a standoff at the Hoover Dam, to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on 6 January 2021, to protesting COVID-19 lockdowns, this digital pandemic has spread globally and shows no signs of stopping.
In The Other Pandemic James Ball will lead you into the niche pathways through which these digital pathogens spread, mutate and infect people all across the globe - but he also argues that the prognosis doesn't have to be dire. He shows us that it is possible to treat and cure this virus in order to build up our digital immune systems, and be better prepared to survive the next wave.
James Ball
James is the global editor of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, where he oversees the not-for-profit’s international reporting projects. He also works as a freelance writer and broadcaster, and is a weekly columnist for The New European.
He was previously a special correspondent at BuzzFeed UK and special projects editor at The Guardian, where he played a key role in the Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the NSA leaks by Edward Snowden, as well as the offshore leaks, HSBC Files, Reading the Riots and Keep it in the Ground projects. At WikiLeaks he was closely involved in Cablegate – the publication of 250,000 classified US embassy cables in 2010 – as well as working on two documentaries based on the Iraq War Logs.
James is the author of several books including ‘Post-Truth’, ‘Bluffocracy’ and ‘The System: Who Owns The Internet And How It Owns Us’, and he will also be signing copies of his latest book ‘The Other Pandemic’, supplied by City Books, Hove.
Our presentations take place upstairs in the Nightingale Room at the Grand Central Pub, opposite Brighton Station.
DOORS OPEN: 7pm
TALK STARTS: 7:30pm
AUDIENCE Q&A: 8:45pm
BOOK SIGNING: 9:15pm
£5* ON THE DOOR - No advance tickets
(*We are a non-profit organisation and none of our invited speakers charge for their time. All proceeds go towards our running costs that allow us to put on these events for the public.)