QAnon is turning into a literal pyramid scheme

Conspiracy theories have a lot in common with multi-level marketing schemes, in the sense that all of the worst people you know from high school post about them on Facebook and try to get other people involved. So it was just a matter of time before someone tried to turn the most famous conspiracy theory in America into a literal pyramid scheme. According to The Daily Beast, the genius currently doing just that is Phil Godlewski, a conspiracy theorist who has QAnon true believers buying up silver.

The idea of buying up precious metals isn’t exactly a new one, especially for a community that is definitely doomsday prepper-adjacent. Typically, the idea is that the financial systems will collapse and money will become valueless, while things like gold and silver will still be worth something. But because this is QAnon and these people can’t just be the normal type of bonkers, they’ve got their own theory that new legislation will be passed that will eliminate income taxes, abolish all debt, and wildly benefit anyone who is holding silver. Uh, sure.

And of course, since one scam deserves another, Godlewski has managed to wrap this whole belief into a multi-level marketing scheme. You see, you shouldn’t just buy any old silver. You should buy silver through 7k Metals, which is, per The Daily Beast, a MLM company that sells metals. Godlewski is roping in QAnon followers and getting them to join the scheme by buying and selling silver to other true believers.

Godlewski, being at the top of the pyramid for the metal sales scheme, is set to make out like a bandit. Because MLMs operate by recruiting new people and allowing the people upstream to benefit from the sales of their downstream recruits, the more people join, the better the people at the top do. The people at the bottom of the pyramid, meanwhile, are often stuck with inventory they can’t sell and struggle to make enough to cover their expenses.

Maybe it’s all based on a true Q belief that this new legislation will be signed into law and everyone involved in scooping up silver from an MLM will be rich. But odds are it has more to do with Godlewski desperately needing a stream of income. He’s had quite a bit of financial and legal trouble in the past, per previous reporting from The Daily Beast, including serving jail time for bouncing a check for $21,000 and falsifying bank records. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of corrupting a minor and was indicted for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old.

You might remember that QAnon spawned out of Pizzagate, a movement that accused Democratic politicians of organizing a child sex trafficking ring that ran out of the basement of a pizzeria. The guy Q adherents are currently giving money to was actually accused of sleeping with a minor. But they’re giving him money anyway because he’s promising wealth and salvation. That’s about all you need to know about how serious the movement is.