The Other Pandemic cover art

The Other Pandemic

How QAnon Contaminated the World

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Other Pandemic

By: James Ball
Narrated by: Ned Rudkins-Stow
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

 Bloomsbury presents The Other Pandemic by James Ball, read by Ned Rudkins-Stow.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist James Ball takes us into the depths of the internet to trace the origins and rapid ascent of QAnon, the movement that mutated from a niche online conspiracy theory into the world’s first digital pandemic.

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. In this gripping investigation, Pulitzer Prize winner James Ball decodes the cryptic language of the online right and with a surgeon’s precision 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 Ball takes us 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.

*A Financial Times Book to Read in 2023*©2023 James Ball (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Content Creation & Social Media Elections & Political Process Media Studies Politics & Government Social Media Social Sciences Thought-Provoking Technology

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Conspirituality cover art
Easy Money cover art
How They Broke Britain cover art
Homegrown cover art
QAnon and On cover art
Chasing Shadows cover art
The Undertow cover art
What Went Wrong with Brexit cover art
How Westminster Works . . . and Why It Doesn't cover art
Silicon Values cover art
QAnon and the Battle for Your Mind cover art
The Conspiracy Tourist cover art
The Decade in Tory cover art
Social Capital: Life online in the shadow of Ireland’s tech boom cover art
Pastels and Pedophiles cover art
The Great Awakening cover art

Critic reviews

In his new book about the QAnon movement, the investigative journalist James Ball teases out the global network of people who have essentially given up on the notion of objective reality, from bored teenage trolls to duplicitous politicians and crazed billionaires … Ball takes to his task with a convert’s zealotry (Ethan Croft)
An insightful book about the conspiracy movement compares it persuasively to a self-replicating disease … A disturbing study of the origins and resilience of an exceptionally versatile and pernicious network of paranoid digital malcontents (Rafael Behr)
All stars
Most relevant
a really valuable book on the growth of conspiracy theories which widens into a look more generally at the causes of maladaptive thought. Given I have a close relative who has jumped down the rabbit hole I was fascinated to read of how the accretion of conspiracy theories has taken place. it would be interesting to hear some further info on what creates the fertile ground for minds to believe this bs, how involved is big oil and other businesses in helping perpetuate it for their benefit (Eg climate change) and more advice on how to help people who think they have 'done their own research', which usually get confirmation from the biased.
the narration is not intrusive and is secondary to the story.

a red pill antidote - recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The author clearly understands the places online where q anon started and describes the conditions that allowed it to spread. A look at the roots and evolution of the disease rather than looking at the symptoms only as other works do. A really good listen.

Engaging new persepctive

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s a very good established written word of what is currently being ignored by powerful people who could help to stop the vicious spread of some of the content that is spoken about in this concise book. It is scary to know that this is happening at all. It took me a while to get used to the guys voice who’s reading it but it actually matches the seriousness of the topics in it.

Really good & ‘scary’ content

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you are familiar with QAnon through podcasts you will still learn something new from this book, and the final chapter that explores solutions to wider disinformation sharing was well considered. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in technology, conspiracy theorists and/ or cults.

Well researched with clear narrative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s practical pragmatic and insightful. A good listen full of interesting and engaging points that really unpacks and recontextualises the circumstances that brought about QAnon. Essential reading.

Really excellent listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews