For months, child welfare organizations have been dealing with the pandemic and its impact on at-risk children.<br />But now, CNN reports workers have a new thorn in their sides: the QAnon conspiracy theory.<br />It casts President Donald Trump as the hero in a fight against the 'deep state' and a sinister cabal of Democratic politicians and celebrities who abuse children.<br />Child abuse hotline workers say believers in such unfounded theories are jamming up the lines, preventing true reports and children in need from getting through.<br />What's more, when QAnon believers invoke the names of reputable organizations in their rhetoric, it tarnishes the good names of child welfare professionals.<br />More than 100 anti-trafficking and child welfare organizations have already published an open letter warning of the dangers QAnon poses to their work.
