Ex-QAnon believer apologizes on-air to CNN's Anderson Cooper for believing he 'ate babies' and drank children's blood

CNN's Anderson Cooper asked an ex-QAnon believer about his previously-held views.

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• As part of a two-hour CNN special, Anderson Cooper interviewed a former QAnon believer.
• Jitarth Jadeja, who became disillusioned with the QAnon, said he had believed that Cooper ate babies.
• He offered an apology to the CNN anchor for his previously-held views.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

On Friday night, CNN's Anderson Cooper sat down with a former follower of the disproven QAnon conspiracy theory.

During the two-hour CNN special, Cooper asked the ex-QAnon believer about some of his previously-held views.

In an astonishing moment, Jitarth Jadeja apologized to Cooper for having thought that the CNN host had drunk the blood of children and eaten babies.

"I apologize for thinking that you ate babies," Jadeja said.

Read more: The right-wing conspiracy theories that fueled the Capitol siege are going to instigate more violence.

At the start of the interview, Cooper asked Jadeja: "Did you, at the time, believe that high-level Democrats and celebrities were worshipping Satan and drinking the blood of children?"

"I thought you did that, and I would like to apologize for that right now," he replied.

—Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 30, 2021

 

The discredited far-right conspiracy theory alleges that an elusive cabal of Satanic pedophiles, who are thought to be part of the "deep state," work together to undermine former President Donald Trump.

Many of the followers believed that Trump would eventually arrest liberal celebrities and influential Democrats and send them to Guantanamo Bay prison.

After Biden's inauguration, a significant number of QAnon followers began to realize that the conspiracy theory was a "big lie."

Jadeja, who was one of the people who became disillusioned with QAnon, was previously so deep into the conspiracy theory that, he said, he believed that Cooper was "drinking the blood of children."

He was even familiar with suggestions that the CNN host was a "robot."

Explaining why he came to believe these falsehoods, Jadeja said: "It's because Q specifically mentioned you and mentioned you early on. He mentioned you by name."

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