The most bizarre conspiracy theory in a year filled with bizarre conspiracy theories is the QAnon conspiracy theory that China is actively at war with the United States on the Canadian border.
On December 8, 2020, a small earthquake was detected in Maine, near the border with New Brunswick, Canada.
The QAnon conspiracy version is that there were nearly 50,000 Chinese soldiers massed on the US-Canadian border ready to invade. But the soldiers were destroyed by bombs that were the real cause of the earthquake.
The Maine National Guard actually put out a statement denying that there was a military conflict between China and the United States at the Canadian border,
“The Maine National Guard has no knowledge of any such troop movement or military action, and would undoubtedly have been made aware through military or emergency management channels if such a significant event were to occur in the state of Maine,” Maj. Carl Lamb told Task & Purpose in a statement on Wednesday. “In addition to constantly maintaining a ready force, our focus right now is assisting our fellow citizens by responding to requests from Maine Emergency Management Agency and Maine CDC in response to COVID-19.”
On December 8, an Air National Guard pilot involved in training exercises was killed after his F-16 crashed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. QAnon folks quickly claimed was that Chinese forces on the Canadian border shot down the F-16.
Qanon folks picked up the thread this week in the aftermath of the horrific Christmas Day suicide bombing that occurred in Nashville when Anthony Quinn Warner detonated his explosives-filled RV. QAnon folks started circulating videos and claims online that the explosion was actually a missile strike, possibly connected to China.