Beyond the Rabbit Hole: Mapping the Relational Harms of QAnon Radicalization

TL;DR

This study maps the personal and emotional toll of QAnon radicalization on individuals and their loved ones, using a mixed-methods approach to identify radicalization trajectories, archetypes, and emotional impacts.

Contribution

It introduces a novel empirical framework combining topic modeling, archetype identification, and emotion detection to analyze relational harms of conspiracy radicalization.

Findings

Radicalization personas predict emotional harms experienced by narrators.

Perceived ideological radicalization correlates with anger and disgust.

Personal collapse radicalization links to fear and sadness.

Abstract

The rise of conspiracy theories has created far-reaching societal harm in the public discourse by eroding trust and fueling polarization. Beyond this public impact lies a deeply personal toll on the friends and families of conspiracy believers, a dimension often overlooked in large-scale computational research. This study fills this gap by systematically mapping radicalization journeys and quantifying the associated emotional toll inflicted on loved ones. We use the prominent case of QAnon as a case study, analyzing 12747 narratives from the r/QAnonCasualties support community through a novel mixed-methods approach. First, we use topic modeling (BERTopic) to map the radicalization trajectories, identifying key pre-existing conditions, triggers, and post-radicalization characteristics. From this, we apply an LDA-based graphical model to uncover six recurring archetypes of QAnon adherents, which we term "radicalization personas." Finally, using LLM-assisted emotion detection and regression modeling, we link these personas to the specific emotional toll reported by narrators. Our findings reveal that these personas are not just descriptive; they are powerful predictors of the specific emotional harms experienced by narrators. Radicalization perceived as a deliberate ideological choice is associated with narrator anger and disgust, while those marked by personal and cognitive collapse are linked to fear and sadness. This work provides the first empirical framework for understanding radicalization as a relational phenomenon, offering a vital roadmap for researchers and practitioners to navigate its interpersonal fallout.