CNN anchor Anderson Cooper recently interviewed Jitarth Jadeja, a former QAnon supporter, who earnestly believed in some of the most absurd conspiracy theories peddled by the mysterious Q.
As HuffPost reported, according to a clip of the interview released on Saturday, Jadeja apologized to Cooper for once thinking he “ate babies.”
“Did you, at the time, believe that Democrats, high-level Democrats and celebrities were worshipping Satan, drinking the blood of children?” Cooper asked.
“Anderson, I thought you did that. And I would like to apologize for that right now. So, I apologize for thinking that you ate babies.”
Cooper was taken aback by Jadeja’s apology and asked him to confirm that he really thought prominent political and media figures ate small children.
“Yes, I did,” Jadeja replied, noting that many QAnon followers believe that, though some actually think Cooper is a robot.
Jadeja explained that he once believed QAnon was part of “military intelligence” and stressed that he also thought aliens were involved in the QAnon movement and supporting the mysterious individual.
The man said he believed “the people behind him were actually a group of fifth dimensional intra-dimensional extra terrestrial bipedal bird aliens called blue alien.”
“I was so far down in this conspiracy black hole that I was essentially picking and choosing whatever narrative that I wanted to believe in,” Jadeja added.
Jadeja, who lives in Sydney, Australia, abandoned the QAnon movement in 2019. He claims to have been deradicalized by YouTube videos that debunked the very premise of the bizarre conspiracy theory.
Dozens of different theories fall under the umbrella of QAnon, but most of the claims are centered around the suggestion that former President Donald Trump and his allies are secretly fighting a global cabal of Satan-worshiping child traffickers.
Once a fringe phenomenon, QAnon has become part of the conservative mainstream. As Reuters reported, more than two dozen congressional candidates in the 2020 election were followers of the far-right group. Two of them, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, won seats in the House of Representatives.
Prominent Republicans, such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have denounced QAnon, saying it has no place in the GOP. However, Trump never condemned the radical movement. Instead, he promoted content associated with QAnon on his social media pages and even praised the group as patriotic.
Greene and Boebert have already been involved in a number of controversies. Greene recently came under fire for endorsing calls to assassinate prominent Democratic politicians.