QAnon[a](/ˈkjuːənɒn/CUE-ə-non,or/ˈkjuːænɒn/CUE-an-on) is afar-rightAmerican political conspiracy theoryandpolitical movementthat originated in 2017.[1][2]QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". Those claims have been relayed and developed byonline communitiesandinfluencers.Their core belief is that acabalofSatanic,[3][4][5]cannibalisticchild molestersis operating a global childsex traffickingring that conspired against PresidentDonald Trump.[9]QAnon has direct roots inPizzagate,an Internet conspiracy theory that appeared one year earlier, but also incorporates elements of many different conspiracy theories and unifies them into a larger interconnected conspiracy theory.[10]QAnon has been described as acult.[10][11]
Followers believe theTrump administrationsecretly fought the cabal of pedophiles, and would conduct arrests and executions of thousands of cabal members on a day known as "the Storm" or "the Event".[12]QAnon conspiracy believers have namedDemocraticpoliticians, Hollywood actors, high-ranking government officials, business tycoons, and medical experts as members of the cabal.[13]QAnon has also claimed that Trump stimulated the conspiracy ofRussian interference in the 2016 United States presidential electionto enlistRobert Muellerto join him in exposing the sex trafficking ring, and to prevent acoup d'étatbyBarack Obama,Hillary Clinton,andGeorge Soros.[14][15]QAnon is described asantisemiticor rooted in antisemitic tropes, due to its fixation on Jewish financier Soros and conspiracy theories about theRothschild family,a frequent target of antisemites.[16][17]
Although it has its origins in older conspiracy theories, the first post by Q was in October 2017 on the website4chan.Q claimed to be a high-level government official withQ clearance,with access to classified information about the Trump administration and its opponents.[18]Q soon moved to8chan,making it QAnon's online home.[19]Q's often cryptic posts became known as "drops", and were collected by aggregator apps and websites. QAnon became aviral phenomenonbeyondthe internetand turned into a political movement. QAnon followers began to appear atTrump campaign ralliesin August 2018,[20]and Trump amplified QAnon accounts on Twitter.[21]QAnon's conspiracy theories have also been relayed by Russian and Chinese state-backed media, social mediatrollaccounts,[26][22][27]and the far-rightFalun Gong–associatedEpoch Media Group.[33]
Since its emergence in American politics, QAnon spawned movements around the world. The exact number of QAnon adherents is unclear.[5][34]After increased scrutiny of the movement, social media platforms such as Twitter[35]and Facebook[36]began taking action to stop the spread of the conspiracy theory. QAnon followers have perpetrated acts of violence.[37]Members of the movement took part in the2020 United States presidential election,during which they supportedTrump's campaignand wagedinformation warfareto influence voters.[38][39]AfterJoe Bidenwon, they were involved inefforts to overturn the resultsof the election. Associates of Trump, such asMichael Flynn,[43]Lin Wood[48]andSidney Powell,[54]have promoted QAnon-derived conspiracy theories. When these tactics failed, Trump supporters – many of them QAnon followers –attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.The Capitol attack led to a further, more sustained social media crackdown on the movement and its claims.[55][56]
Background
Pizzagate
According to QAnon researcher Mike Rothschild, "while Q has a number of precursor conspiracy theories and scams... no conspiracy theory feeds more immediately into Q thanPizzagate".[57]The Pizzagate theory began in March 2016 withthe leakof Clinton campaignerJohn Podesta's emails, which promoters of the theory believed contained asecret codedetailingchild sexual abuse.[58]Pizzagate followers said that high-profile Democrats were sexually abusing children ata Washington, D.C. pizzeria,which led to an armed attack on the establishment by a gunman who believed the conspiracy theory.[59]
The allegations of child sexual abuse and the centrality of theClinton familyto this abuse became a key part of the QAnon belief system,[58]but in time the Clintons' centrality was de-emphasized in favor of more general conspiratorial claims of an alleged worldwide elite of child sex traffickers.[60]Q referred to Pizzagate claims without using the term.[58]QAnon followers often used the hashtag #SaveTheChildrento promote the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.[61]This caused protest from the unrelated non-governmental organizationSave the Children.[62]
Influence of 4chan culture
Theinvestigative journalismwebsiteBellingcatcalled /htg/ or "Human Trafficking General" threads on the/pol/board of 4chan "the missing link" between Pizzagate and QAnon. Instead of focusing on a limited supply of email material to comb through, the /htg/ culture allowed users to actively participate in the imagined storylines. A key /htg/ poster was Anonymous5 (also known as "Frank" ), who claimed to be achild prostitutioninvestigator. But the lack of a coherent narrative was a constraint on the /htg/ trend, and it never achieved Pizzagate's popularity.[63]
The main tenets of the QAnon ideology were already present at 4chan before Q's appearance, including claims thatHillary Clintonwas directly involved in apedophile ring,thatRobert Muellerwas secretly working with Trump, and that large-scale military tribunals were imminent. His posts specifically targeted individuals who were hated in the community beforehand, namely Clinton,Barack Obama,and George Soros. Bellingcat says that the idea of the "Storm" was copied from another poster named Victory of the Light, who predicted the "Event", in which mass, televised arrests of the "Cabal" were forthcoming.[63]
Previous "anons"
In its most basic sense, an "anon"is an anonymous or pseudonymous Internet poster.[64]The concept of anons "doing research" and claiming to disclose otherwise classified information, while a key component of the QAnon conspiracy theory, is not exclusive to it. Q was preceded by so-called anons who also claimed to have special government access. On July 2, 2016, the anonymous poster "FBIAnon", a self-described "high-level analyst and strategist" who claimed to have "intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the Clinton case", began posting false information about the2016 investigationinto theClinton Foundationand claimed that Hillary Clinton would be imprisoned if Trump became president. Around that time, "HLIAnon", standing for "High-Level Insider Anon", hosted long question-and-answer sessions, dispensing various conspiracy theories, including thatPrincess Dianawas murdered after trying to stop theSeptember 11 attacks.Soon after the2016 United States elections,two anonymous posters, "CIAAnon" and "CIAIntern", falsely claimed to be high-rankingCentral Intelligence Agency(CIA) officers, and in late August 2017, "WHInsiderAnon" offered a supposed preview that something that was "going to go down" regarding leaks that would affect theDemocratic Party.[65]
Origin and spread
A4chanuser named "Q Clearance Patriot" first appeared on the site's/pol/board on October 28, 2017, posting in a thread titled "Calm Before the Storm",[1]a phrase Trump had previously used to describe a gathering of American military leaders he attended.[1]"The Storm" later became QAnon parlance for an imminent event in which thousands of alleged suspects would be arrested, imprisoned, and executed for being child-eating pedophiles.[12]The poster's username implied that they heldQ clearance,[66][67]aUnited States Department of Energysecurity clearancerequired to accessTop Secretinformation on nuclear weapons and materials.[68]
Q's first post said that Hillary Clinton was about to be arrested, which would cause massive unrest and be followed by numerous other arrests. A second message was posted a few hours later, saying that Clinton was being "detained" though not arrested yet and that Trump was planning to remove "criminal rogue elements". The post also alluded cryptically toGeorge Soros,Huma AbedinandOperation Mockingbird.[69]
Q's activity surged in November, with most posts expanding upon previous theories about Hillary Clinton. Other conspiracy theories were added involving Barack Obama, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.[70]AnInternet communitydeveloped around analyzing posts attributed to Q, and several conspiracy theorists became minor celebrities in the community.[71][72]Followers started looking for "clues" to confirm their beliefs, including common phrases and occurrences. In November 2017, Trump sipping water from a bottle was interpreted as a secret sign that the mass arrests would soon take place.[73]
QAnon went further than Pizzagate by implying a worldwidecabaland incorporating elements from other conspiracies. One of the earlier rumors QAnon followers spread was that such figures as Hillary Clinton, her daughterChelsea,and SenatorJohn McCainhad already been arrested and indicted, and were wearing anklemonitoring braceletsduring their public appearances.[73]In the following months, the QAnon community helped spread other rumors such as the "Frazzledrip"theory, which purported the existence of a"snuff" videoshowing Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin murdering a child, drinking her blood and taking turns wearing the skin from her face as a mask.[74][75]
In November 2017, two 4chan moderators, Paul Furber (also known as "BaruchtheScribe",[65]a South African conspiracy theorist with an interest in U.S. politics)[76]and Coleman Rogers (also known as "Pamphlet Anon" ),[65]worked withYouTuberTracy Diaz to promote QAnon to a wider audience.[77][78]This involved setting up the r/CBTS_Streamsubreddit,where subscribers came to talk about QAnon. The subreddit was permanently closed in March 2018 due to incitement of violence andposting private information.[65]QAnon spread to other social media, including Twitter and YouTube.[71]Rogers and his wife, Christina Urso, launched Patriots' Soapbox, a YouTube livestream dedicated to QAnon, which they used to solicit donations. Future U.S. representativeLauren Boebertwas a guest on Patriots' Soapbox during her 2020 congressional campaign.[77]Posts by Q moved to8chan,with Q citing concerns that the 4chan board had been "infiltrated".[65]Thereafter, Q posted only on 8chan.[19]In August 2019, 8chan was shut down after it was connected with theEl Paso shootingand other violent incidents. Followers of QAnon then moved to Endchan, until 8chan was restored under the name 8kun.[79][39]
Mainstream attention
QAnon first received attention from the mainstream press in November 2017.Newsweekcalled it "Pizzagate on steroids".[73]Gossip columnistLiz Crokin,a Pizzagate follower, was one of the first public figures to embrace QAnon. She went on to become one of the movement's most prominentinfluencers.[81]Fox NewspersonalitySean Hannityand comedianRoseanne Barrspread the news about it to their social media followers in early 2018,[82]and the conspiracy theory gained traction on the mainstream right.[83]At this time,InfoWarshost and far-right conspiracy theoristAlex Jonesclaimed to be in personal contact with Q. This led to the presence of QAnon followers at a July 2018Trump rallyfor themidterm electionsinTampa,Florida, the first visible presence of the QAnon movement at Trump rallies.[84]
Some Christian pastors introduced their congregations to QAnon ideas. The Indiana-based Omega Kingdom Ministry tried to combine QAnon and Christianity, with Q posts and Bible quotes both read during church services.[85]Some Christians, such as pastor Derek Kubilus, call QAnonheresy,[86]but most U.S. pastors have not taken a stand against it.[87]More generally, QAnon's rise coincided with increasing radicalization and violent episodes in American far-right movements.[88]
QAnon-related merchandise was widely available onAmazon's online marketplace in 2018.[89]QAnon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening,a book said to be authored by a group of 12 QAnon followers, neared the top of Amazon's bestsellers list in 2019, possibly throughalgorithmic manipulation.[90][91]Also in 2019, QAnon blogger Neon Revolt (an alias of former aspiring screenwriter Robert Cornero Jr.) self-published the bookRevolution Q: The Story of QAnon and the 2nd American Revolution,which became an influential text among the QAnon community and was also distributed by Amazon.[92]In 2020,Politiconoted that 100 titles associated with QAnon were available on Amazon Marketplace, in many different languages and with generally positive reviews.[93]
Sites dedicated to aggregating the Q posts, also called "drops"[94]or "Q drops",[95][79]became essential for their dissemination and spread. QMap was the most popular and famous aggregator, run by a pseudonymous developer and overall key QAnon figure known as "QAPPANON".[96][97]QMap shut down shortly after the Britishfact-checkingorganizationLogicallypublished a September 2020 report[98]that identified QAPPANON as a New Jersey-based security analyst named Jason Gelinas.[97][99]Multiple online communities were created around QAnon: in 2020, Facebook conducted an internal investigation that revealed that the social network hosted thousands of QAnon-themed groups and pages, with millions of members and followers.[100]
According toReuters,Russian-backed social media accounts promoted QAnon claims as early as November or December 2017.[24]Russian government-funded state media such asRTandSputnikhave amplified the conspiracy theory since 2019, citing QAnon as evidence that the United States is divided by internal strife.[22]In 2021, a report from theSoufan Center,a research group focused on national security, found that one-fifth of 166,820 QAnon posts in the United States between January 2020 and February 2021 originated in foreign countries, primarily Russia and China, and that China was the "primary foreign actor touting QAnon-narratives online".[27][101][102]The far-rightFalun Gong-associatedEpoch Media Group,includingThe Epoch Times,has also been a major promoter of the conspiracy theory.[33]
University of Southern Californiaprofessor and data scientist Emilio Ferrara found that about 25% of accounts that use QAnon hashtags, retweetInfoWarsor had retweetedOne America News Networkwerebots.[103]
International following
Marc-André Argentino, a researcher of the movement, noted in August 2020 that QAnon-dedicated Facebook pages existed in 71 countries worldwide.[104]In January 2021, researcher Joel Finkelstein toldThe Washington Postthat the German and Japanese QAnon movements were "strong and growing",[105]though according to a laterNew York Timesreport, the Japanese version (also known as "JAnon" [Japanese:Jアノン])[106]remains afringe beliefeven among conspiracy theorists.[107]Three pro-QAnon groups in Japan are known to exist as of 2022: J-Anon, QArmyJapanFlynn and YamatoQ.[108][109]In April 2022, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested several members of YamatoQ forbreaking into a health clinic which provided COVID-19 vaccinations.[110]
Between March and June 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic,QAnon activity nearly tripled on Facebook and nearly doubled onInstagramand Twitter.[111]By that time, QAnon had spread to Europe, fromthe Netherlandsto theBalkan Peninsula.[112]
In Germany, far-right activists and influencers have created a German audience for QAnon on YouTube, Facebook, and Telegram, estimated at 200,000 in 2020. GermanReichsbürgergroups adopted QAnon to promote its belief that modern Germany is not a sovereign republic but rather a corporation created byAllied nationsafterWorld War II,and expressed hope that Trump would lead an army to restore theReich.[112]A March 2022 study by theCenter for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy,a German think tank, found that more than one in ten people in Germany agreed with QAnon's theories and thatAlternative for Germany(AfD) andFreedom Party of Austria(FPÖ) voters were more likely to believe in QAnon.[113][114]
In Russia, a similar conspiracy theory, the "Soviet Citizens"—which claims the Russian Federation is a Delaware-based LLC that occupies the legal territory of the Soviet Union—also became susceptible to QAnon beliefs.[115]
According to a 2020 survey, one in fourBritonsbelieved in QAnon-related theories, though only 6% supported QAnon.[116]In October 2020, anti-racist advocacy groupHope not Hatesaid that British influencer Martin Geddes ran "one of the most popular QAnon Twitter accounts in the world".[117]In October 2021, Rémy Daillet-Wiedemann, a French QAnon-associated conspiracy theorist,[118][119]was charged with terrorismfor having planned a coup against the French government. Various associates of Daillet-Wiedemann were also arrested and charged in late 2021[120]and early 2022.[121]
ManyCanadianshave also promoted QAnon.[122][123][124]In July 2020, a gunman and QAnon followerdrove a vehicle into the groundsofRideau Hall,the temporary residence of Canadian prime ministerJustin Trudeau,to "arrest" Trudeau over COVID-19 restrictions and firearm regulations.[125][126][127]A February 8 article inThe Guardiandescribed the 2022convoy protests in Canadaas the result of coordination between QAnon, conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccine and anti-government organizations.[128]Romana Didulo,a Philippines-born Canadian woman claiming to beCanada's rightful "Queen",built an online following in the course of 2021, creating a cultlike organization using QAnon andsovereign citizenconcepts. Because of Didulo's network of followers and calls for violence, researchers identified her in 2022 as one of the most dangerous QAnon influencers in Canada.[129][130][131]
Cam Smith, an Australian researcher tracking far-right activity online, noticed mentions of QAnon in Australia's local communities as early as 2018.[132]In 2020, whenlockdown measureswere imposed inMelbourneto contain an outbreak of COVID-19, a group of QAnon adherents fromQueenslandtraveled there to protest, promoting QAnon as they went.[133][132]A 2020 paper by theInstitute for Strategic Dialoguerevealed that Australia was the fourth largest producer of QAnon content, after the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.[132]
The movement has spread to Spain and Latin America,[134]with countries likeCosta Rica,Colombia,Argentina,Mexico,Paraguayand Brazil having an online presence.[135]La Naciónreported in 2020 that the Facebook page "QAnon Costa Rica" was spreading misinformation and fake news, called to depose PresidentCarlos Alvaradoand praised right-wing figures such as far-right presidential candidateJuan Diego Castro Fernández,and controversial deputiesDragos Dolanescu ValencianoandErick Rodríguez Steller.[136]In Spain, the far-rightVox partywas accused of endorsing anti-Biden conspiracy theories linked to QAnon in its Twitter account by claiming that Biden was the candidate "preferred by pedophiles".[137]AnRTVEnews report found that most Spanish QAnon supporters identified Vox as their preferred political party.[138]
Pastel QAnon
Pastel QAnon, identified byConcordia Universityresearcher Marc-André Argentino,[139][140]is a collection of techniques aimed predominantly at indoctrinating women into the conspiracy theory, mainly on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, Telegram and YouTube.[141]It co-opts the aesthetics and language ofsocial media influencers,often using personal anecdotes and gateway issues (i.e. child sex-trafficking) to frame QAnon beliefs as reasonable.[142]
Claims
Q's posts
Q made thousands of posts on 4chan and 8chan/8kun.[94]These "drops" were often allusive, cryptic, and impossible to verify;[143]some included strings of characters that are allegedly coded messages.[144]Q used a conspiratorial tone, with phrases like "I've said too much" or "Some things must remain classified to the very end". To sustain faith in a final victory over the "cabal", Q used recurring phrases such as "Trust the plan", "Enjoy the show", and "Nothing can stop what is coming".[79]Q's messages typically claimed that everything was going as planned, that Trump was in control, and that all his adversaries would end up in prison.[69]Q also encouraged followers to do their own research by telling them to "Follow the White Rabbit".[c]QAnon followers used the "White Rabbit" reference both as ahashtag[145][73]and as the name of aFacebook groupthat had around 90,000 members in 2020.[146]
Many early posts advanced claims about "deep state"collusion with foreign powers. In 2018, Q mentionedgeopoliticalconspiracies such as theObama administrationhaving planned to send technology to Iran and North Korea. Later, Q found new targets such asPlanned Parenthood,which they accused of harvesting fetuses for profit, orRuth Bader Ginsburg,who they said was a member of the cabal. Over the years, other topics of interest includedRussian interference,child trafficking,Jeffrey Epstein,AntifaandHunter Biden.[70]Becoming increasingly vague over time, Q's posts allowed followers to map their own beliefs onto them and develop new variations of the theory.[147]
The authorWalter Kirnhas described Q as an innovator among conspiracy theorists by enthralling readers with "clues" rather than presenting claims directly: "The audience for internet narratives doesn't want to read, it wants to write. It doesn't want answers provided, it wants to search for them."[148]But Q often made specific predictions that did not prove correct:[149]
- Hillary Clinton was about to be arrested and would attempt to flee the country[d]
- John Podestawould be arrested on November 3, 2017, and public riots would be organized to try and prevent the arrest of other public officials[69]
- A major event involving theDepartment of Defensewould take place on February 1, 2018
- People targeted by Trump would commit suicideen masseon February 10, 2018
- There would be a car bombing in London around February 16, 2018
- A "smoking gun" video of Hillary Clinton would emerge in March 2018
- Something major would happen inChongqingon April 10, 2018
- There would be a "bombshell" revelation aboutNorth Koreain May 2018
- TheTrump military paradewould "never be forgotten"[e]
- TheFive Eyes"won't be around much longer"
- Mark Zuckerbergwas going to leave Facebook and flee the United States[f]
- Twitter CEOJack Dorseywould be forced to resign "next" (in the context of the prediction of Zuckerberg's resignation)[g]
- Pope Franciswould have a "terrible May" in 2018
On multiple occasions, Q has dismissed these incorrect predictions as deliberate, claiming that "disinformation is necessary".[151][152][153]This has led Australian psychologistStephan Lewandowskyto emphasize the "self-sealing" quality of the conspiracy theory, highlighting its anonymous purveyor's use ofplausible deniabilityand noting that evidence against it "can become evidence of [its] validity in the minds of believers".[150]The numerous false, unsubstantiated claims Q has posted include:
- That theCIAinstalledNorth Korean leaderKim Jong-unas apuppet ruler[154]
- That U.S. Representative and formerDemocratic National CommitteechairDebbie Wasserman SchultzhiredSalvadorangangMS-13to murder DNC stafferSeth Rich[155][156][h]
- An apparent suggestion thatGerman chancellorAngela MerkelisAdolf Hitler's granddaughter[161]
- That Obama, Hillary Clinton,George Soros,and others are planning a coup against Trump and are involved in an international child sex-trafficking ring[162][163]
- That theMueller investigationwas a counter-coup led by Trump, who pretended to conspire with Russia to hire Mueller to secretly investigate the Democrats[15]and expose the child sex-trafficking ring[164]
- That theRothschild familyleads a satanic cult,[14]a centuries-old antisemitic trope against the family[165]
After Trump lost the2020 election,the rate of Q's posts sharply declined[70]and Q stopped posting altogether one month later. The last "drop" for 18 months was on December 8, 2020.[166]Mike Rothschild, author of a book on QAnon, said that he doubted Q would ever come back, as the movement had "outgrown the need for new drops" and Trump's election loss had invalidated the core QAnon prophecy. But he added that Q might resume posting if "the community really needed new drops to keep it moving forward".[167]
On June 24, 2022, Q, or someone who possesses their details, posted on8kunafter an 18-month hiatus.[168][169]The post claimed thatCassidy Hutchinson,who testified at thesixth public hearing on the January 6 Attack,was involved in a plot to disparage Trump.[170][171][needs update]
The cabal and "the Storm"
QAnon's core beliefs are that the world is controlled by a secret cabal ofSatan-worshipping child molesters, Trump is secretly battling to stop them, and Q reveals details about the battle online. The cabal is thought to cover up its existence by controlling politicians, mainstream media, and Hollywood.[172]Q's revelations imply that the cabal's destruction is imminent but also that it will be accomplished only with the support of the "patriots" of the QAnon community.[79]This will happen at a time known as "the Event" or "the Storm", when thousands of people will be arrested and possibly sent toGuantanamo Bay prisonor face military tribunals. The U.S. military will then take over the country,[173]and the result will be salvation and utopia.[174]
QAnon followers believe the cabal includesDemocratic Partypoliticians like Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, business people like George Soros[10]andBill Gates,[175]religious leaders likePope Francisand theDalai Lama,[10]Anthony Fauci,[79]and entertainers likeOprah Winfrey,Ellen DeGeneres,[10]Lady Gaga[176]andChrissy Teigen.[175][177]Tom Hanksis a special target for QAnon believers. When Hanks went into quarantine at the beginning of theCOVID-19 pandemic,they spread a rumor that he had been arrested on child abuse charges. Other similar allegations followed and in July 2021, some QAnon adherents took seriously an article fromReal Raw News,afake news website,that claimed the U.S. military had executed Hanks.[178][176]
One key tenet in QAnon's narrative until the 2020 election was the recurring prediction that Trump would be reelected in a landslide and spend his second term bringing about "the Storm" by undoing thedeep state,disbanding the cabal and arresting its leaders.[179]After Trump lost and Q stopped posting, QAnon followers continued to search for previously unseen clues in old posts or creating new spin-offs of the theory.[167]They subsequently made predictions about Trump remaining president or returning to power, such as:
- Joe Biden's inaugurationon January 20, 2021, would be an elaborate trap set for the Democrats, who would be arresteden masseand executed while Trump retained power.[180]
- Trump would be inaugurated on March 4, 2021, as the 19th president.[181]
- Trump would be inaugurated again on March 20, 2021. After this did not happen, QAnon adherents predicted it would happen on August 13, 2021.[182]
- TheArizona auditwould prove election fraud, handing the state to Trump, and other states would follow suit in a "domino effect",resulting in Trump being reinstated as president.[167]
- The2021 California gubernatorial recall electionresult would be proven fraudulent, which would catalyze a national fraud audit, resulting in Trump returning to power.[183]
- John F. Kennedy(the 35th president of the United States, who wasassassinated in 1963) or his sonJohn F. Kennedy Jr.(whodied in a plane crash in 1999) would appear alive in front of a crowd in Dallas on November 2, 2021, and announce Trump's reinstatement as president and the installation of Kennedy Jr. as vice president.[184]
Child sex trafficking and satanic sacrifice
QAnon effectivelymerged with Pizzagateby incorporating its beliefs - namely, that children are being abducted in a child trafficking ring, which followers equate with the cabal. They also see Trump as the only person fighting this criminal network.[185]Added to this is the belief that politicians and Hollywood elites engage in "adrenochromeharvesting ", in whichadrenalinis extracted from children's blood to produce thepsychoactive drugadrenochrome.[186][i]This comprises claims that children are tortured, or sacrificed inSatanicrituals, to harvest the adrenaline that comes from fear.[187]The aforementioned "Frazzledrip" video in which Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin allegedly murdered a child was said to depict an "adrenochrome harvest".[75]One version of the QAnon theory posits that the child abusers use adrenochrome as anelixir to remain young.[189]In reality, adrenochrome is synthesized solely for research purposes and has no medical uses.[190][191][192]
In June 2020, a group led by QAnon promoter Timothy Charles Holmseth, which called itself the Pentagon Pedophile Task Force despite having no connection withthe Pentagonor any U.S. governmental agency, attracted attention by spreading false claims about tens of thousands of children being held hostage and tortured in New York City.[193][194]Also by 2020, some followers began using the Twitter hashtag #SaveTheChildren (#SaveOurChildren was also used),[195]co-opting a trademarked name for the child welfare organizationSave the Children.[196]This led to an August 7 statement by Save the Children on the unauthorized use of its name in campaigns.[197]In September, Facebook and Instagram tried to prevent #SaveTheChildren from being associated with QAnon by redirecting users who searched for the hashtag to the child welfare group.[198]In October, Facebook announced it would try to limit the hashtag's reach.[199]
In the same period, QAnon followers also created a conspiracy theory that falsely accused furniture companyWayfair,a competitor of Overstock in which QAnon promoterPatrick Byrnehad been the CEO, of selling expensive furniture to launder money gained from child sex trafficking.[200][201]
Similar groups in both the U.S. and the U.K. helped organizestreet proteststhat they say raise awareness of child sexual abuse and human trafficking.[202][203]These protests and hashtags have often avoided social media restrictions[204]and tend to attract more women and a more politically diverse and younger crowd than typical QAnon groups, including people opposed to Trump and his leadership. These groups are considered to be linked to thePastel QAnoncommunity.[205]
QAnon's child abuse allegations against popular entertainers are based on the unproven claims of the actorIsaac Kappy,who in 2018 accused multiple Hollywood stars of pedophilia.[176][206][207]
Travis View wrote in aWashington Postcolumn that QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theorists harm the credibility of the fight against child sexual abuse, as their baseless claims are a distraction from actual crimes. Followers of these theories have also credited themselves for arrests of criminals in which they had no part: QAnon promoter Jordan Sather creditedJeffrey Epstein's arrest to 4chan and 8chan, while none of the investigative reporting nor the indictment referenced these forums.[208]Some ofthe conspiracy theoriesaboutEpstein's deathhave also brought people to QAnon.[185]
In May 2022,The New York Timesreported that QAnon supporters were intercepting child migrants at theMexico–United States borderand collecting information about their families on the premise that they were falling prey to sex-trafficking schemes.[209]
Other QAnon beliefs
QAnon Anonymous,a podcast dedicated to analyzing and debunking the QAnon movement, calls it a "big tentconspiracy theory "due to its ability to evolve and add new claims. QAnon has incorporated elements from many other preexisting conspiracy theories, such as those aboutthe Kennedy assassination,U.F.O.sand9/11.[10]In 2018,Liz Crokinsaid thatJohn F. Kennedy Jr.fakedhis deathand that he is Q.[210][211]Other followers adopted variations of the Kennedy conspiracy theory, asserting that a Pittsburgh Trump supporter named Vincent Fusca is Kennedy Jr. in disguise and would be Trump's 2020 running mate.[211]In November 2021, hundreds gathered inDealey Plazain Dallas, the site ofPresident Kennedy's assassination,believing they would witness the return of Kennedy Jr., or both Kennedys. Attendees expected the event would herald Trump's reinstatement as president, that Trump would step down to allow Kennedy Jr. to become president, and that Kennedy Jr. would then nameMichael Flynnas his vice president.[212][213][214]According to QAnon researcherWill Sommer,about 20% of QAnon followers believe the JFK Jr. theory, while the majority finds it too "farcical on its face".[211]
Due to the overlap between the two movements, some QAnon followers have joined thesovereign citizens,a loose grouping ofvexatious litigantsandtax protesterswhose set ofpseudolegalbeliefs implies that most laws and taxes are illegitimate and can be safely ignored if one uses the correct procedures.[216][217]In 2022, theAnti-Defamation Leaguereported that sovereign citizen ideology was attracting a growing number of QAnon adherents, as their belief in theBiden administration's illegitimacy meshed well with sovereign citizens' broaderanti-governmentviews.[218]
In 2018, Q said that "vaccines [not all]" were part of theBig Pharma conspiracy.[219]Later on, as anxiety and isolation linked to theCOVID-19 pandemicfostered arise of conspiracy theoriesandanti-vaccine discourse,many in the movement used the pandemic to promote QAnon.[219]Very little of this was directed by Q posts, and Q did not mention the pandemic until March 23, 2020 (when they called COVID-19 the "China virus"),[220]not using the name "COVID-19" until April 8.[70]But influencers in the QAnon community were openlyanti-mask[69]andanti-vaccine,[221][222][223][224]and helped spreaddenialism[81]as well as other misinformation about the pandemic.[225][226][227]QAnon conspiracy theorists touted drinking an industrialbleach(known as MMS, orMiracle Mineral Solution) as a "miracle cure" forCOVID-19.[228][229][230]Q suggested thathydroxychloroquine,endorsed by Trump at the time, was a cure for the disease, and accused Democrats of forcing infected patients into nursing homes, deliberately causing most COVID-related deaths in the U.S.[70]Some QAnon followers have said that the pandemic is fake; others have claimed that the "deep state"created it.[79]QAnon adherents also helped promote the conspiratorial videoPlandemic.[69]
In March 2022,CNN,France 24,andForeign Policyreported that QAnon promoters were echoingRussian disinformationthat createdconspiracy theories about United States-funded laboratoriesin Ukraine.[231][232][233]Russian state media falsely claimed that "secret United States biolabs" were creating weapons, a claim refuted by the U.S., Ukraine, and the United Nations.[232]In reality, the laboratories were firstestablished to secure and dismantlethe remnants of theSoviet biological weapons program,and since then have been used to monitor and prevent new epidemics. The laboratories are publicly listed, not secret, and owned and operated by host countries such as Ukraine, not the U.S.[231][232][234]QAnon followers have claimed to justify theRussian invasion of Ukraineas an effort byPutinand Trump to destroy "military" laboratories in Ukraine.[231][232]
Until the invasion of Ukraine, QAnon-adjacent groups were hostile to China. In March 2022, analyst Elise Thomas wrote in a report for theInstitute for Strategic Dialogue:"The dynamics of the invasion are shifting their views. In an astoundingly short space of time,Xi Jinpingappears to have been recast from a villain to a hero in the QAnon conspiracy pantheon. "[235][236]
Supporters have also become invested in theNESARAeconomic conspiracy theory. In 2022,Bellingcatreported that many QAnon-relatedTelegramchannels were becoming increasingly devoted to NESARA content.[237]
Some adherents expressed belief in thereptilian conspiracy theory,asserting that the Satanic cabal alleged to be in power consists of shapeshiftingreptilian humanoids.According to multiple news reports, this led some to kill suspected "lizard people". A California father attempted to kill his children for fear that they had inherited "serpent DNA" from their mother, while aSeattle-based member of the far-rightProud Boyswho frequently alluded to and promoted QAnon-linked material on Facebook, sought to murder his brother on suspicion of reptilian ancestry.[238]
Analysis
Identity of Q
The Qpersonais claimed to be that of a well-connected individual with access to highly sensitive government information, who put themself at risk by disclosing the information online. Q used a calm, authoritative tone, rarely interacted with other posters, and never argued with those who disagreed with their claims. In 2021,Bellingcatanalyzed several little-known posts published by Q during the days that followed the first "drops". While containing text identical to later messages unambiguously authored by Q, these also showed Q being "out of character" and behaving in a manner similar to 4chan's other anonymous posters.Bellingcat's theory is that the author of these messages[j]had not yet perfected the Q persona and was still settling into the voice of theironline alter ego,which implies that Q was originally one 4chan poster among many instead of a powerful government insider.[239]
Multiple people
By 2020, it became accepted among researchers that the pseudonymous entity known as Q has been controlled by multiple people in cooperation.[77]Astylometric analysishas suggested that two people likely wrote Q's posts, and that their "distinct signatures clearly correspond to separate periods in time and different online forums".[240][241]An analysis ofmetadataof images posted by Q found that they were likely posted by someone in thePacific Time Zone.[242]
By design, anonymousimageboardssuch as 4chan and 8chan obscure their posters' identities.[77][243]Those who wish to prove a consistent identity between posts while remaining anonymous can use atripcode,which associates a post with a unique digital signature for any poster who knows the password.[79][244]There have been thousands of posts associated with a Q tripcode.[79]The tripcode associated with Q has changed several times, creating uncertainty about the poster's continuous identity.[79]Passwords on 8chan are also easy tocrack,and the Q tripcode has been repeatedly compromised and used by people pretending to be Q.[245]When 8chan returned as 8kun in November 2019 after several months of downtime, the Q posting on 8kun posted photos of a pen and notebook that had been pictured in earlier 8chan posts to show the continuation of the Q identity, and continued to use Q's 8chan tripcode.[79]
Paul Furber and the Watkins family
Before Q's 2021 reappearance, 8kun changed itssalt,meaning it would have been impossible for a user to have the same tripcode as before. Yet Q's tripcode remained the same as it was in 2020. Soon after, 8kun changed its salt back to the original. Jim Watkins also confirmed the new Q drops' authenticity within hours of their publication.[246]Fredrick Brennan,the original owner of 8chan, said in June 2020 that "Q either knows Jim or Ron Watkins or was hired by Jim or Ron Watkins".[79][247]He later said that "If [Jim Watkins is] not 'Q' himself, he can find out who 'Q' is at any time. And he's pretty much the only person in the world that can have private contact with 'Q'."[248]
In September 2020, Brennan speculated that the Q account was initially run by another person, with Jim and Ron Watkins taking over in late 2017[247]or early 2018. Brennan's theory is that the original 'Q' poster wasJohannesburgresident Paul Furber,[249]a 4chan and 8chan moderator and one of the first online commentators to promote QAnon.[77][76]Evidence for this theory includes that Q's first password ( "Matlock" )[250]was cracked on New Year's Day 2018[251]and, due to the nature of tripcodes,[250]Furber was asked to verify that the new Q (with a new password/tripcode)[252]was the same IP address as the old Q. Furber described this as "a lot of work", but something he'd been "called to do".[250]Brennan further suspects that Ron Watkins seized control of the account from Furber by using hisloginprivileges as 8chan's administrator.[252]Furber has denied ever being Q.[249]Both Jim and Ron Watkins have said they do not know Q's identity and have denied being Q.[79][253][247]
The documentary filmmakerCullen Hobackspent three years investigating the origins of QAnon and its connection to 8chan, conducting extensive interviews with Jim and Ron Watkins and Brennan. In the last episode ofQ: Into the Storm,the 2021HBOdocuseries he produced from this research, Hoback showed his final conversation with Ron Watkins, who stated on camera:
I've spent the past... almost ten years, every day, doing this kind of research anonymously. Now I'm doing it publicly, that's the only difference.... It was basically... three years of intelligence training teachingnormieshow to do intelligence work. It was basically what I was doing anonymously before but never as Q. [Watkins then laughed and added:] Never as Q. I promise. Because I am not Q, and I never was.[254][255]
Hoback viewed this as an inadvertent admission by Watkins, and concluded from this interview and his other research that Watkins is Q.[256]Watkins again denied being Q shortly before the series premiered.[257]
On February 19, 2022,The New York Timesreported that analysis of the Q posts by two independentforensic linguisticsteams usingstylometrytechniques indicated that Paul Furber was the main author of the initial Q posts, and Ron Watkins took over in 2018. Furber said Q's writing style had influenced his own, not the other way around.[76]
Slogans and vocabulary
The spread of QAnon has been accompanied by a series ofslogans,catchphrases,buzzwordsandhashtagsthat helped boost its popularity and online presence. Terms likethe cabalorthe Storm,and Q's recurring phrases like "Trust the plan" or "Enjoy the show" are among the most popular.[79][189]Q's "drops" are also known as "crumbs" (Q has used the term)[95]or "breadcrumbs".[258]In turn, followers of the conspiracy who analyze these posts have called themselves "bakers" who assemble the "crumbs" to make "dough", or "bread", as they weave the clues into a better understanding of the narrative.[95]
One early rallying cry among QAnon followers was "Follow theWhite Rabbit".[73]A popular QAnon slogan is "Where we go one, we go all" (frequently abbreviated as "WWG1WGA" ),[k]first used by Q in April 2018.[70]The phrase "Do your own research" (or "Do the research" ) encourages people to look for "clues" that will confirm QAnon narratives. "Q sent me" has been a declaration of "allegiance" to Q.[189]
Other common phrases in QAnon parlance include "white hat" (a Trump supporter), "black hat" (someone in league with thedeep state),[258]"Great Awakening" (the point at which the public wakes up to the truth), "red pill"[l]( "taking the red pill" means achieving QAnon awareness), or "sheeple"(a disparaging term for people who believe the mainstream media narrative).[259]"17anon" has sometimes been used as an alternative spelling of QAnon (Q being the 17th letter of the Alpha bet) and a way of circumventing social media algorithms.[189]
Derivative elements
As it incorporates elements from many other conspiracy theories, QAnon displays similarities with previous narratives, imagery andmoral panics,whether political or religious in nature. InSalon,Matthew Rozsa wrote that QAnon may best be understood as an example of what historianRichard Hofstadtercalled "The Paranoid Style in American Politics",the title of his 1964 essay onreligious millenarianismandapocalypticism.[5][172]LikePizzagate,[260]QAnon has some resemblance to theSatanic panicof the 1980s, whenhundreds of daycare workers were falsely accusedof abusing children.[261][262][263][264]
Christian themes
QAnon's "explicitly Christian" vocabulary[265]echoes Christian tropes, such as the "Storm" (theGenesis flood narrativeorJudgment Day), the "Great Awakening" (evoking the reputed historical religiousGreat Awakeningsof the early 18th century to the late 20th century), and an emphasis onprophecy,[5][265]leading it to be sometimes construed as anemerging religious movement.[79][266]QAnon followers, while seeing Trump as a flawed Christian, also view him as amessiahsent by God "who will triumph over Satan through a series of cataclysmic events".[267][4]According to one QAnon video, the battle between Trump and "the cabal" is of "biblical proportions", a "fight for earth, of good versus evil". Some QAnon supporters say the coming reckoning will be a "reverserapture":"a revelation that means not only the end of the world but a new beginning ", according to American political authorAlexander Reid Ross.[174]
The movement "strikingly builds on Christian dualism".[267]Theological frameworks such aspresuppositionalism,which claims that all true knowledge is revealed by God as opposed to faulty human reason, have been argued to lead to dualisticus–versus–themthinking which easily expands from the theological sphere to the political in QAnon.[268]
Religious studies scholarJulie Ingersollargues that evangelicals have "helped make widespread acceptance of QAnon possible by weaving their theological commitments to apocalypticism, conspiracies and persecution narratives into the larger American culture."[269]Messianic, apocalyptic, andspiritual warfarethemes popular in evangelical media beginning in the 1970s – as well as conspiracy theories popularized among the demographic such as theNew World Order– have been described as influences on the QAnon belief system, as well as aspects of QAnon that appeal to evangelicals.[270][271]The apocalyptic stories are seen by Christians as fictional depictions of real future events, giving them real-world significance.[272][270]American studies scholar S. Jonathon O'Donnell argues that QAnon, which sees Trump as fighting a demonic deep state, has significant commonalities with Christian spiritual warfare – and their followers overlap as well.[273]"QAnon is, in effect, one partFrank Perettispiritual warfare, one partLeft Behindseries apocalypticism, and one partElders of Zionantisemitic conspiracy theory, packaged together in a tantalizing, self-involving variation onCelebrity Apprenticereality television and social media ", writes one scholar.[270]
Antisemitism
According to theAnti-Defamation League,while "the vast majority of QAnon-inspired conspiracy theories have nothing to do withanti-Semitism","an impressionistic review "of QAnon tweets about Israel, Jews, Zionists, the Rothschilds, and Soros" revealed some troubling examples ".[17]Ethan Zuckermanand Mike McQuade have argued that QAnon "is more anti-elite than explicitly anti-Semitic".[8]The Washington PostandThe Forwardmagazine have called QAnon's targeting of Jewish figures likeGeorge Sorosandthe Rothschilds"striking anti-Semitic elements" and "garden-variety nonsense with racist and anti-Semitic undertones".[15][274]AJewish Telegraphic Agencyarticle in August 2018 asserted: "Some of QAnon's archetypical elements—including secret elites and kidnapped children, among others—are reflective of historical and ongoing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories."[16]
QAnon'sadrenochrome-harvesting claims have been linked toblood libelby the followers (who believe in the truthfulness of both)[275]and people who have researched QAnon. Blood libel is amedievalantisemitic myth that says Jewish people murder Christian children and use their blood to makematzoforPassover.[186][276][277][261]In February 2022, social media users shared images of a sculpture ofSimon of Trent,whose death was falsely blamed on the town's Jewish population, as evidence that elites harvest adrenochrome from children's blood.[278][279]
Genocide scholarGregory Stantonhas called QAnon a "Nazicult rebranded ", and a version ofThe Protocols of the Elders of Zion,a fabricated antisemitic text published in 1903, deriving fromantisemitic canards.[280][281]Republican QAnon follower Mary Ann Mendoza was noted for her reference to the antisemitic text. She retweeted a Twitter thread about theRothschild family,Satanic High Priestesses, and American presidents saying, "The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zionis not a fabrication. And, it certainly is not anti-Semitic to point out this fact. "[282][m]An April 2021Morning Consultpoll found that 49% of Americans who believe in QAnon agree with theProtocols,and that 78% of Americans who agree with theProtocolsalso believe in QAnon.[285]
In 2021, the Anti-Defamation League reported thatneo-Naziswere exploiting the absence of leadership among QAnon adherents onTelegramto promote antisemitic conspiracy theories.[286]QAnon conspiracy theorists have promotedEuropa: The Last Battle,a neo-Nazi propaganda film which promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories, includingHolocaust denial.[287][288][289]They have also promoted content fromDisclose.tv,[290]a German disinformation outlet with a following that includes Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis.[291][292][289]
Appeal
Experts have classified QAnon's appeal as comparable to those ofreligious cults.[11]According to an expert in online conspiracy,Renee DiResta,QAnon's pattern of enticement is similar to that of cults in the pre-Internet era where, as the targeted person was led deeper and deeper into the group's secrets, they become increasingly isolated from friends and family outside the cult.[293]Online support groups developed for those whose loved ones were drawn into QAnon, notably thesubredditr/QAnonCasualties, which grew from 3,500 participants in June 2020 to 28,000 by October.[294]QAnon virtual communities have little "real world" connection with each other, but online they can number in the tens of thousands.[293]Rachel Bernstein, an expert on cults who specializes in recovery therapy, said, "What a movement such as QAnon has going for it, and why it will catch on like wildfire, is that it makes people feel connected to something important that other people don't yet know about.... All cults will provide this feeling of being special. "There is no self-correction process within the group, since the self-reinforcing true followers are immune to correction, fact-checking, or counter-speech, which is drowned out by the cult'sgroupthink.[293]QAnon's cultish quality has led to its characterization as a possibleemerging religious movement.[79][295][296][297][298]It has also been called asyncretic movement.[299]
Travis View, a researcher who studies QAnon, says that it is as addictive as a video game, and offers the "player" the possibility of being involved in something of world-historical importance. According to View, "You can sit at your computer and search for information and then post about what you find, and Q basically promises that through this process, you are going to radically change the country, institute this incredible, almost bloodless revolution, and then be part of this historical movement that will be written about for generations." View compares this to mundane political involvement in which one's efforts might help to get a state legislator elected. QAnon, says View, competes not in the marketplace of ideas, but in the marketplace of realities.[301]The belief in "The Plan" that Q alleged was in place to defeat the deep state and the cabal boosted the confidence of QAnon followers, who were told that things were happening behind the scenes and that victory would inevitably follow if they trusted Trump and the secret plan.[189]QAnon believers try to solve riddles presented in Q's posts by connecting them to Trump speeches and tweets and other sources.[65]The New Yorkerhas likened QAnon to "a form of interactive role-playing".[302]Some followers used a "Q clock" consisting of a wheel of concentric dials to decode clues based on the timing of Q's posts and Trump's tweets.[79]
American sociologistMark Juergensmeyersays he "find[s] QAnon consistent with many other extremist religiopolitical movements... including those that have arisen in response to the recent global crises of mass migration, economic globalization, and now a global pandemic".[303]Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism atCalifornia State University, San Bernardino,said QAnon has "the visceral appeal of an anti-elite message that is elastic enough to capture a lot of folks who feel fear and disenfranchisement from the current political system".[304]ScholarMia Bloomdescribes it as "unique among conspiracy theories in its ability to mutate and adapt to its environment," stating "[i]t has successfully absorbed local grievances abroad and takes on whatever local issues are central". She also argues that QAnon's acceptance of movements such as vaccine skepticism have helped it spread into unexpected demographics that share those commonalities.[305]
Survey data showed in late 2020 that a quarter of those who knew about QAnon thought there was some truth to it. In a conspiracy theory environment, primary institutions of society that once served as trusted impartial authorities are easily rejected if they contradict the theory, making it difficult to counter the thinking of QAnon followers.[306]
Disillusionment
Travis View says:
People in the QAnon community often talk about alienation from family and friends.... Though they typically talk about how Q frayed their relationships on private Facebook groups. But they think these issues are temporary and primarily the fault of others. They often comfort themselves by imagining that there will be a moment of vindication sometime in the near future which will prove their beliefs right. They imagine that after this happens, not only will their relationships be restored, but people will turn to them as leaders who understand what's going on better than the rest of us.[307]
Disillusionment can also come from the failure of the theories' predictions. Q predicted Republican success in the2018 US midterm electionsand claimed thatAttorney GeneralJeff Sessionswas involved in secret work for Trump and that despite outward tension, the two were allies. When Democrats made significant gains and Trump fired Sessions, many in the Q community were disillusioned.[308]Further disillusionment came when a predicted December5 mass arrest and imprisonment inGuantanamo Bay detention campof Trump's enemies did not occur, nor did the dismissal of charges against Trump's former national security advisorMichael Flynn.For some, these failures began a separation from QAnon, while others urgeddirect actionin the form of an insurrection. PsychologistRobert Liftonsaid such a response to a failed prophecy is not unusual: apocalyptic cults such asHeaven's Gate,thePeople's Temple,theManson Family,andAum Shinrikyoresorted tomass suicideormass murderwhen their expectations did not materialize. Lifton called this "forcing the end".[307]View echoed the concern that disillusioned QAnon followers might take matters into their own hands[174]as Pizzagate followerEdgar Maddison Welchdid in 2016,Matthew Phillip Wrightdid atHoover Damin 2018, andAnthony Comellodid in 2019, when he murderedMafiaBossFrank Cali,believing he was under Trump's protection.[309]In February 2019,Liz Crokinsaid that she was losing patience waiting for Trump to arrest the supposed members of the child sex ring, and warned that people might conduct "vigilante justice".[310]
Theinauguration of Joe Bidenas president was a disappointment for QAnon followers, who were convinced thatBiden had won the election through voter fraudand his victory would be invalidated. Many QAnon adherents believed that something momentous would happen during the ceremony, and Trump would remain in power. The inauguration ultimately went on as planned.[311]According to a book on the psychology of QAnon followers,Pastels and Pedophiles: Inside the Mind of QAnon,"The inauguration was a particularly difficult prophecy to get wrong, and the result has been that some QAnon believers experienceddeep melancholy,suicidal ideation,or engaged inself-harm".[312]On inauguration day,Ron Watkinswrote in a message board post: "We gave it our all, now we need to keep our chins up and go back to our lives as best we are able. We have a new president sworn in and it is our responsibility to respect the Constitution."[313][314]Other QAnon followers believed Biden's inauguration was "part of the plan".[314][n]Conservatives such asSteve Bannonand Bill Still denounced QAnon, calling it apsyopcreated by U.S. intelligence or theFBI.[320][321]In a leaked conversation, Michael Flynn, once among the highest-profile QAnon supporters, called it a "disinformation campaign to make people look like a bunch of kooks", suggesting that it might have been conducted by "the Left" or the CIA.[322]
After Biden's inauguration, analysts expressed concern that the disillusionment could lead hardline QAnon adherents to be recruited by groups such as thealt-right,white nationalistsorneo-Nazis.[323]
A group ofTelegramchannels called the Sabmyk Network has been promoting a variation of QAnon by targeting followers of the conspiracy theory who have been disillusioned by Q's failures in prediction.[324]Set up by German artist Sebastian Bieniek, the network (described as anew religionor cult) shares QAnon beliefs[325]but also believes in a leader-prophet, Sabmyk, who will lead humanity's "awakening".[324]The network has tried to link Trump to Sabmyk.[325]
Demographics
According to an August 2018Qualtricspoll forThe Washington Post,58% of Floridians were familiar enough with QAnon to have an opinion about it. Of those who had an opinion, most were unfavorable. The average score on thefeeling thermometerwas just above 20, a very negative rating, and about half of what other political figures enjoy.[326][327]Positive feelings toward QAnon were strongly correlated with susceptibility to conspiracy thinking.[327]
According to a March 2020Pewsurvey, 76% of Americans had never heard of QAnon, 20% had heard "a little about it", and 3% said they had heard "a lot".[328][329]In September 2020, a Pew survey of the 47% of respondents who said they had heard of QAnon found that 41% of Republicans and those who lean Republican believed QAnon was good for the country, compared to 7% of Democrats and those who lean Democratic.[330]
An October 2020Yahoo-YouGovpoll found that even if they had not heard of QAnon, a majority of Republicans and Trump supporters believed top Democrats were engaged in sex-trafficking rings and more than half of Trump supporters believed he was working to dismantle the rings.[331]
In February 2021, anAmerican Enterprise Institutepoll found that 29% of Republicans believe the central claim of QAnon, that "Donald Trump has been secretly fighting a group of child sex traffickers that include prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites."[332]A March 2021Public Religion Research Institute(PRRI) andInterfaith Youth Coresurvey found similar results: Republicans (28%) were twice as likely as Democrats (14%) to agree that the "elites" would soon be swept from power by a coming "storm"; Republicans (23%) were three times as likely as Democrats (8%) to agree that "Satan-worshipping pedophiles" control the government and media; and Republicans (28%) were four times as likely as Democrats (7%) to agree that "true American patriots may have to resort to violence" to resolve the situation.[333]
Surveys have found that conspiracy theories such as QAnon are most popular amongwhite Americans,especiallyevangelicals.A May 2021 PRRI survey confirmed that white evangelicals are among QAnon's strongest supporters, but also found thatHispanicProtestantsare drawn to the movement in even larger proportions.[334]According to the PRRI's figures, the core QAnon belief that global elites form a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles and child sex traffickers is held in the U.S. by 26% of Hispanic Protestants, 25% of White evangelical Protestants, 24% of other Protestantsof color,18% ofMormons,16% of HispanicCatholics,14% ofAfrican AmericanProtestants, 14% of other Christians, 13% of non-Christian religious people, 11% of White Catholics, 11% ofreligiously unaffiliatedpeople, 10% of whitemainline Protestants,and 8% of Jews.[335]
An analysis of four 2021 PRRI surveys showed that belief in QAnon increased in the U.S. after Trump left office. In March 2021, 14% of Americans considered themselves QAnon believers, increasing to 17% by October. In the average of the four surveys, about 22% of Americans believed that there was a "storm coming soon that will sweep away the elites in power", and 16% shared the core QAnon belief that the government, the media and the financial elite are controlled by Satanic pedophiles.[336][337]
Incidents
QAnon's followers have been part of controversial, sometimes violent events.[37]In 2020, QAnon followers were involved in thepresidential election,during which they supported Trump's campaign. QAnon personalities moved to dedicated message boards, where they organized to wageinformation warfareto influence the election.[38][39]One in 50 tweets about voting in the2020 United States presidential electioncame from QAnon accounts. Two in 25 accounts using the hashtag #voterfraud, which spread unsubstantiated allegations ofvoting fraud,were QAnon accounts.[338]
Attempts to overturn the 2020 U.S. election
QAnon followers supported the efforts of Trump's legal team to overturn the election throughmultiple lawsuitsand submitted conspiracy theories of their own. They theorized that voting machines made byDominion Voting Systemshad deleted millions of votes for Trump. This was repeated on the far-right cable news outletOne America News Network,and Trump tweeted the segment to his followers.[339][340]
One specific QAnon-affiliated conspiracy theory, known asItalygateand pushed in the last weeks of Trump's presidency, alleged that the American election had been rigged using technology from theUnited States Embassy in Romewith the help of an Italian hacker, an Italian general and theVatican.[341][342][343]
Several elected leaders, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Arizona House Election Chairwoman Kelly Townsend were well known QAnon adherents before the 2020 election and who helped lead attempts to overturn the election in the aftermath.[344][345][346]In June 2020, Townsend posted a QAnon video with a flaming "Q" to her social media and follows high-profile QAnon accounts.[344]Some local Arizona politics reporters have referred to Townsend as the QAnon Queen of the Legislature.[347]
Based on a misinterpretation of theDistrict of Columbia Organic Act of 1871by thesovereign citizen movement,[348]according to which it transformed the federal government into a corporation and rendered illegitimate every president elected thereafter, some QAnon followers claimed that the 18th president (Ulysses S. Grant,in office from 1869 to 1877) was the last legitimate president. They believed that Trump would be sworn in as the 19th president on March 4, 2021. The original inauguration date until theTwentieth Amendmentchanged it to January 20 in 1933, and that he would restore the federal government.[349]Based on intelligence that an identified but undisclosed militia group might attempt an attack on theCapitolon that date, the U.S. Capitol Police issued an alert on March 3. House leadership subsequently rescheduled a March 4 vote to the previous night to allow lawmakers to leave town.[350]
TheAnti-Defamation League,British security firmG4S,and nonpartisan governance watchdog Advance Democracy Inc, studied QAnon posts and warned of the potential for violence on January 6, 2021.[351][352][353]Violence did occur that day, as the attempts to overturn the election culminated with theattack on the U.S. Capitol.Multiple QAnon-affiliated protesters participated in the disturbance. Rioters were either seen wearing clothing with Q-related emblems or identified as QAnon followers from video footage.[354][355]One participant whose attire and behavior attracted worldwide media attention wasJake Angeli,a QAnon supporter nicknamed the "QAnon Shaman".[356]Ashli Babbitt,a rioter who was shot dead by police as she was trying to break into the Speaker's Lobby, was a committed follower of QAnon.[357][358]The day before the attack, she had tweeted: "the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours".[359]
The attack led to a crackdown on QAnon content on social media.[360][55]On April 19, 2021, theSoufan Centerreported that Russia and China had amplified and "weaponized" QAnon at the time of the Capitol attack "to sow societal discord and even compromise legitimate political processes."[361][362]
German coup attempt
Several QAnon adherents were charged with participation in the 2022 coup d'état plot in Germany, which involved groups of far-right activists and conspiracy theorists, such as theReichsbürger movement.[363]
Reactions
Media, advocacy groups, and public figures
Journalists have debunked QAnon's basic tenets.[364]In 2018,The Washington Postcalled its proponents "a deranged conspiracy cult"[15]and "some of the Internet's mostoutréTrump fans ".[326]
In December 2017, the Russian television networkRTaired a segment discussing "QAnon revelations", calling the anonymous poster a "secret intelligence operative inside the Trump administration known by QAnon".[67]On March 13, 2018,Cheryl Sullenger,vice president of the anti-abortion groupOperation Rescue,called QAnon a "small group of insiders close to President Donald J. Trump" and called their posts the "highest level of intelligence to ever be dropped publicly in our known history".[365][366]On March 15,Kyiv-basedRabochaya Gazeta,the official newspaper of theCommunist Party of Ukraine,published an article calling QAnon a "military intelligence group".[367]On March 31, actorRoseanne Barrappeared to promote QAnon, covered byCNN,The Washington Post,andThe New York Times.[368][369][370][371]Radio talk show hostLionelbecame an outspoken QAnon supporter.[372]In April and October 2021, actorJim Caviezelappeared at conservative conferences and endorsed aspects of the QAnon.[373][374]
In June 2018, aTimemagazine article listed Q among the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet in 2018. Counting more than 130,000 related discussion videos on YouTube,Timecited the wide range of the conspiracy theory and its more prominent followers and news coverage.[375]On July 4, theHillsborough CountyRepublican Partyshared on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts a YouTube video on QAnon, calling them a "mysterious anonymous inside leaker of deep state activities and counter activities by President Trump". The posts were soon deleted.[376]
In August 2018, following the presence of QAnon supporters at Trump's Tampa, Florida rally for the midterm elections,[15][377]MSNBCnews anchorsHallie Jackson,Brian Williams,andChris Hayesdedicated portions of their programs to the conspiracy theory.[378][379][380]PBS NewsHouralso ran a segment on QAnon the next day.[381]In August,Washington Posteditorial writer Molly Roberts wrote, "'The storm' QAnon truthers predict will never strike because the conspiracy that obsesses them doesn't exist. But while they wait for it, they'll try to whip up the winds, and the rest of us will struggle to find shelter."[382]
Commenting in 2022 on the influence of QAnon on public discourses, social scientistDonald Moynihansaid that "the most vivid importation of the QAnon worldview" was the use of the termgroomersand other phrases associated with theLGBT grooming conspiracy theory.He accusedChristopher Rufo,one of its main promoters, of having "construct[ed] a new moral panic using QAnon messaging", which he likened to "theMcCarthyitetactic of attaching a negative label "(in that case, pedophilia) to" people holding different beliefs ".[383]
Official responses
FBI domestic terrorism assessment
In May 2019, an FBI "Intelligence Bulletin" memo from thePhoenixfield office identified QAnon-driven extremists as adomestic terrorismthreat. The document cited arrests related to QAnon, some of which had not been publicized before.[384]According to the memo, "This is the first FBI product examining the threat from conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists and provides a baseline for future intelligence products.... The FBI assesses these conspiracy theories very likely will emerge, spread, and evolve in the modern information marketplace, occasionally driving both groups and individual extremists to carry out criminal or violent acts. "[384][385]
According to FBI's counterterrorism director Michael G. McGarrity's testimony before Congress in May, the FBI divides domestic terrorism threats into four primary categories, "racially motivated violent extremism, anti-government/anti-authority extremism, animal rights/environmental extremism, and abortion extremism", which includes both abortion-rights and anti-abortion extremists. The fringe conspiracy theory threat is closely related to the anti-government/anti-authority subject area.[384][385]On December 19, 2018, a Californian man whose car contained bomb-making materials he intended to use to "blow up a satanic temple monument" in theSpringfield,Illinois, Capitol rotunda to "make Americans aware of Pizzagate and theNew World Order,who were dismantling society "was arrested.[384]The FBI said another factor driving the intensity of anti-government extremism is "the uncovering of real conspiracies or cover-ups involving illegal, harmful, or unconstitutional activities by government officials or leading political figures".[384]
Congressional resolution
In August 2020, twoU.S. Representatives,DemocratTom Malinowskiand RepublicanDenver Riggleman,introduced a bipartisansimple resolution(H. Res. 1154) condemning QAnon.[386][387]Malinowski said the resolution's aim was to repudiate "this dangerous, anti-Semitic, conspiracy-mongering cult that the FBI says is radicalizing Americans to violence".[386]The resolution urged law enforcement and homeland security agencies "to continue to strengthen their focus on preventing violence, threats, harassment, and other criminal activity by extremists motivated by fringe political conspiracy theories" and encouraged theU.S. intelligence community"to uncover any foreign support, assistance, or online amplification QAnon receives, as well as any QAnon affiliations, coordination, and contacts with foreign extremist organizations or groups espousing violence".[387]
In September 2020, Malinowski receiveddeath threatsfrom QAnon followers after being falsely accused of wanting to protect sexual predators. The threats were prompted by aNational Republican Congressional Committee(NRCC) campaign advertisement that falsely claimed that Malinowski worked against plans to increase registration for sex offenders in a 2006 crime bill while he was working as a lobbyist forHuman Rights Watch.[388][389]
The resolution passed on October 2, 2020, in a 371–18 vote.[387][388]Seventeen Republicans (includingSteve King,Paul Gosar,andDaniel Webster) and one independent (Justin Amash) voted no; RepublicanAndy Harrisvoted "present".[387][388]According to Will Sommer inThe Daily Beast,the resolution does not have the force of law.[390]Before the vote, Malinowski toldSlatemagazine, referencing the NRCC ad: "I don't want to see any Republicans voting against fire on the House floor this week and then continuing to play with fire next week by running these kinds of ads against Democratic candidates."[391]
Republican politicians and organizations
In 2019, two Republican congressional candidates expressed support for QAnon theories.[392][393]In early 2020,Jim Watkinscreated the "Disarm the Deep State"super PAC,whose stated aim was to "mobilize a community of patriots in order to remove power from Deep State members".[394]In November 2020, it was reported that the PAC had raised just $4,736, including a $500 loan from Watkins's lawyer.[395]
In 2020, there were 97 QAnon followers in theprimaries,of whom 22 Republicans and two independents ran in theelections of that year.[396]BusinesswomanMarjorie Taylor Greenewon an August 2020 runoff to become the GOP nominee in the14th Congressional District in Georgia.In 2020, she said many of Q's claims "have really proven to be true".[397]Months into the Trump presidency, she stated in a video: "There's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it".[398][399]Jo Rae Perkins,the 2020 Republican Senate candidate in Oregon, tweeted a video on the night of her May primary victory showing her holding a WWG1WGA sticker and stating that she "[stood] with Q and the team. Thank you Anons, and thank you patriots." She expressed regret at having later deleted the video on the advice of a political consultant.[400]The next month she took the "digital soldiers oath" that Q had requested followers to do three days earlier.[401][402]
On June 30, 2020, incumbent Republican U.S. representativeScott Tiptonlosta primaryforColorado's 3rd congressional districttoLauren Boebertin an upset. Boebert expressed tentative support for QAnon in an interview, but after winning the primary, attempted to distance herself from those statements, saying "I'm not a follower."[403][404]Boebert was elected to Congress that November.[405]Angela Stanton-King,a Trump-backed candidate running for the Georgia House seat of the late congressmanJohn Lewis,posted on Twitter thatBlack Lives Matteris "a major cover up for pedophilia and human trafficking" and "the storm is here". Stanton-King told a reporter that her posts did not relate to QAnon, asserting, "It was raining that day." Weather records did not show precipitation in her area on the day of the post.[406]
In August 2020,The New York Timessaid that theTexas Republican Party's new slogan ( "We Are the Storm" ) was taken from Q. Texas Republican Party officials denied this, saying it was inspired by a biblical passage and has no connection to QAnon.[407][408]In May 2021, representativeLouie Gohmertand Texas Republican Party chairmanAllen Westattended the "For God & Country: Patriot Roundup" conference organized by QAnon followers in Dallas.[42]
Also in August 2020, representativeLiz Cheneybecame the highest-ranking House Republican to take a stand against QAnon, which she called a "dangerous lunacy that should have no place in American politics". Other Republican Party members who have spoken out against QAnon include senatorBen Sasse,former Florida governorJeb Bush[409]and senator and former presidential candidateMitt Romney.[410]In March 2021, representativePeter Meijersaid that the Republican Party should unequivocally condemn QAnon and other conspiracy theories, and commented: "The fact that a significant plurality, if not potentially a majority, of our voters have been deceived into this creation of an alternate reality could very well be an existential threat to the party". RepresentativeAdam Kinzingerlaunched aPACcalled "Country First", aimed at countering conspiracy theories and Donald Trump.[411]
In April 2024, theWashington Postpublished an article saying that since 2021 QAnon had "mostly evaporated" after Q stopped posting new messages, but that the movement and its worldview had "largely been folded into the broader Republican Party".[412]
Connected individuals
Donald Trump
According toMedia Matters for America,as of August 2020, Trump had amplified QAnon messaging at least 216 times by retweeting or mentioning 129 QAnon-affiliated Twitter accounts, sometimes multiple times a day.[413][21]QAnon followers came to refer to Trump as "Q+".[79]On August 24, 2018, Trump hostedMichael William "Lionel" Lebron,a leading QAnon promoter, in theOval Officefor aphoto op.[414]Shortly after Christmas 2019, Trump retweeted over a dozen QAnon followers.[415]
On August 19, 2020, Trump was asked about QAnon during a press conference; he replied: "I don't know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate."[416][417]An FBI Field Office in Phoenix has called QAnon a potentialdomestic terrorthreat, but Trump called QAnon followers "people who love our country".[416][418]When a reporter asked Trump if he could support a notion that suggests he "is secretly saving the world from this satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals", he responded: "Well, I haven't heard that, but is that supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing?" Presidential candidateJoe Bidenresponded that Trump was aiming to "legitimize a conspiracy theory that the FBI has identified as a domestic terrorism threat".[419][420]
On October 15, 2020, when given the opportunity to denounce QAnon at a "town hall" -style campaign event, Trump refused to do so and instead pointed out that QAnon opposes pedophilia.[421]He said he knew nothing else about QAnon and told his questioner,Savannah GuthrieofNBC News,that no one can know whether the premise of QAnon's conspiracy theory is true. "They believe it is a satanic cult run by the deep state," Guthrie informed him. When Guthrie asserted that the conspiracy was not true, Trump responded, "No, I don't know that. And neither do you know that."[422]
In September 2022, anAssociated Pressanalysis found that Trump was embracing QAnon more openly than before. Trump was reposting Q drops and QAnon memes onTruth Social,and more than a third of the accounts he had reposted in the last month had themselves shared QAnon slogans, videos or imagery. Trump has played the songMirrorsat public events. The song has been associated with QAnon since it was re-published asWWG1WGAby a YouTube user named "Richard Feelgood". The song's author, Will van de Crommert, has disavowed Trump and QAnon.[423][424][425]
Mike Pence
On August 21, 2020, Vice PresidentMike Pencesaid that he did not "know anything about" QAnon except that it was a conspiracy theory that he "dismisse[d] out of hand".[426]When asked whether he would acknowledge the administration's role in "giving oxygen" to the belief, Pence shook his head and said, "Give me a break."[426]Pence also commented that the media giving attention to QAnon amounted to "[chasing]shiny objects".[427]
After the election, as the date of the2021 United States Electoral College vote countapproached and Pence showed no intention of blocking the certification of Biden's win, QAnon figures vilified him as a traitor.[428]After Pence's lawyers fought a lawsuit that aimed to make him refuse to count electoral votes for Biden,Lin Woodsaid that Pence would "face execution by firing squad" for "treason".[429]A few hours before the count started on January 6, Wood tweeted that Pence should resign immediately and that charges should be brought against him.[430]After the attack on the Capitol, Wood called Pence a "child molester" on Twitter.[431]After his Twitter account was suspended, Wood usedParlerto call again for Pence's execution by firing squad.[432]
Michael Flynn
Former lieutenant general and head of theDefense Intelligence AgencyMichael Flynn, who served as Trump'sNational Security Advisor,became popular among QAnon followers, who took a 2016 quote from Flynn about Trump having been elected by an "army of digital soldiers"[433]and started calling themselves "digital soldiers".[434]QAnon followers also adopted three stars as a symbol to display solidarity with Flynn, as a reference to Flynn having been a three-star general in the U.S. army.[435][436]
In August 2019, a "Digital Soldiers Conference" was announced for the next month in Atlanta. The stated purpose was to prepare "patriotic social media warriors" for a coming "digital civil war" against "censorship and suppression". The announcement of the event prominently displayed a Q spelled in stars on the blue field of anAmerican flag,with the three stars making up the tail of the "Q" being highlighted separately to reference Flynn's military status.[437][438]Scheduled speakers for the event, which was hosted byYippyCEO Rich Granville,[439]included Flynn andGeorge Papadopoulos,as well asGina Loudon,a Trump friend and member of his campaign media advisory board, singerJoy Villa,and Bill Mitchell, a radio host and ardent Trump supporter.[437][438]
On July 4, 2020, Flynn posted to his Twitter account a video of himself leading a small group in an oath with the QAnon motto, "Where we go one, we go all".[440]Analysts said the oath was part of QAnon's attempt to organize "digital soldiers" for the political and social apocalypse they see coming. Flynn's apparent declaration of allegiance to QAnon made him the most prominent former government official to endorse the conspiracy theory.[40]Member of Trump's legal team and Flynn's representativeSidney Powelldenied that the oath was related to QAnon.[o]During the preceding days, numerous QAnon followers took the same "digital soldier oath" on Twitter, and used the same #TakeTheOath hashtag Flynn did.[443][444]
After his November 2020 pardon and the election results, Flynn became more closely associated with QAnon, endorsing a website that sold QAnon merchandise,[434]creating a Digital Soldiers media company,[41]and saying he planned to launch a news media outlet also called "Digital soldiers".[434]He appeared on various far-right media, pushing QAnon-affiliated conspiracy theories. Flynn's activism fueled speculation among QAnon followers that he would help them take control,[41]or that he was Q himself.[434]QAnon supporters expressed their commitment in social media posts by using the phrase "Fight like a Flynn" or variations thereof.[189]
In February 2021, several weeks after theCapitol riot,Flynn distanced himself from QAnon theories by saying in an interview: "There's no plan. There's so many people out there asking, ‘Is the plan happening?’ We have what we have, and we have to accept the situation as it is." But he did not outright disavow the QAnon movement.[41]In May 2021, Flynn was a keynote speaker at the "For God & Country: Patriot Roundup" conference organized inDallas, Texasby QAnon influencer John Sabal.[42][445]At the end of the year, though, Flynn appeared to have rejected QAnon as a whole.[322]
In March 2021, Flynn's brother, retired lieutenant general Jack Flynn, and his wife filed a $75 million defamation suit against CNN, alleging the network had falsely accused them of being QAnon followers. They asserted that the video Flynn had posted in July 2020, which CNN had broadcast, depicted their pledging an oath to the Constitution, not to QAnon. The suit claimed Flynn alone had recited the QAnon motto, "where we go one, we go all", though the video showed all the other participants had done so. The plaintiffs also said they "are not followers or supporters of any extremist or terrorist groups, including QAnon".[446][447][40]In December 2021, federal district court judgeGregory Howard Woodslargely rejected CNN's motion to dismiss the case, allowing it to proceed to determine whether the Flynns had been portrayed in a false light.[448]
Lin Wood
Attorney Lin Wood, who worked with Trump's reelection campaign and participated in the election lawsuits, promoted QAnon conspiracy theories. His Twitter profile included the hashtag #WWG1WGA, a slogan associated with QAnon.[44]Among other baseless QAnon-associated claims, he accused Chief JusticeJohn Robertsof child rape and murder. Wood also claimed that QAnon supporterIsaac Kappywas murdered for attempting to transmit information to Trump.[45]On January 11, 2021,Delaware Superior CourtJudge Craig A. Karsnitz cited Wood's social media postings in his reasons for an order revoking Wood's right to appear before the court.[46]Karsnitz said that he had "no doubt" that Wood's tweets played a role in inciting the attack on the Capitol.[47]
Sidney Powell
Attorney Sidney Powell, a member of Trump's legal team, denied knowledge of QAnon in January 2020,[53]though in the following months she retweeted major QAnon accounts and catchphrases and appeared on QAnon channels on YouTube.[52]
After leaving Trump's team, Powell remained involved in post-election lawsuits and was embraced by QAnon followers, discouraged that predictions of a Trump landslide victory and coming revelations about his enemies had not materialized.[51]Powell's evidence in thelawsuitshe filed in Georgia to overturn the election result included anaffidavitfromRon Watkins.In this document, Watkins stated that his reading of an online user guide for Dominion Voting Systems software led him to conclude that election fraud might be "within the realm of possibility". Watkins did not provide any evidence of fraud.[50]
In May 2021, Powell asserted that Trump "can simply be reinstated", that "a new inauguration date is set". The date for this was supposedly August 13 of the same year.[49]
Kelly Townsend
Former Arizona State SenatorKelly Townsendis a longtime conspiracy theorist, feeding conspiracies such as theObama birther conspiracyto Trump before he was elected.[449][450][451]She posted the QAnon "Q" symbol to her social media account in 2018 and has consistently aligned with QAnon theories, including calling all vaccines "communist".[452]In 2021, Townsend supported activists active in theelection denial movementin a spirit similar to the events that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, urging parents to take control of school board meetings related to COVID-19 restrictions and mask mandates.[453]Throughout the process of securing the Arizona audit conducted by QAnon conspiracy theorist Doug Logan from Cyber Ninjas, Townsend worked closely with QAnon adherentLiz Harris,who rented one of her condos to QAnon board owner Ron Watkins so he could run for office in Arizona in 2022.[454][455]
Along withRoger StoneassociateJerome Corsi,SheriffJoe Arpaio,and 2020 Maricopa County Sheriff candidate and then chief Arpaio staffer Jerry Sheridan, Townsend worked with informantDennis Montgomery.[456]In 2020, she worked with Corsi again, claiming the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and emailing Corsi a document of Arizona senators endorsing Trump electors in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election.[457]In the lead-up to January 6, 2021, Townsend sponsored a bill that would designate Trump electors from Arizona and promoted the Arizona audit and stolen election claims.[458][459]
Liz Harris
After Arizona legislative QAnon adherentKelly Townsendwas voted out of office in the 2022 midterms,Liz Harris,also a prominent QAnon influencer, was elected for a short time before being expelled for lying during an ethics investigation.[460][461]
Online
QDrops app
QDrops, an app that promoted the conspiracy theory, was published on theAppleApp StoreandGoogle Play.[462]It became the most popular paid app in Apple's online store's "entertainment" section in April 2018, and the tenth-most popular paid app overall. It was published by Tiger Team Inc, a North Carolina couple, Richard and Adalita Brown.[463][464][465]On July 15, 2018, Apple pulled the app after an inquiry fromNBC News.[466]
In mid-May 2020, Google removed three other apps – QMAP, Q Alerts! and Q Alerts LITE – from the Android app store for violating its terms of service.[467][468]
Anti-QAnon subreddits
Some social media forums, such as the subreddits r/QAnonCasualties and r/ReQovery, aim to assist either former followers and supporters of QAnon conspiracies or those whose family members engaged in the conspiracy.[306]
Removal of content
In March 2018,Redditbanned one of itscommunitiesdiscussing QAnon, /r/CBTS_Stream, for "encouraging or inciting violence and posting personal and confidential information".[469]Some followers moved toDiscord.[470]Several other communities were formed for discussion of QAnon, leading to further bans on September 12, 2018, in response to these communities "inciting violence, harassment, and the dissemination of personal information", which led to thousands of followers regrouping onVoat,[471]aSwitzerland-based Reddit clone that has been described as a hub for the alt-right.[472][473]In early 2019, Twitter removed accounts suspected of being connected to the RussianInternet Research Agencythat had disseminated a high volume of QAnon-related tweets that used the #WWG1WGA slogan.[23]
In May 2020, Facebook announced its removal of five pages, 20 accounts, and six groups linked to "individuals associated with the QAnon network" as part of an investigation into "suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior" ahead of the2020 United States election.[474][475]On August 19, Facebook expanded itsDangerous Individuals and Organizations policyto address "growing movements that, while not directly organizing violence, have celebrated violent acts, shown that they have weapons and suggest they will use them, or have individual followers with patterns of violent behavior". As a result of this increased vigilance, Facebook reported having already "removed over 790 groups, 100 Pages and 1,500 ads tied to QAnon from Facebook, blocked over 300 hashtags across Facebook and Instagram, and additionally imposed restrictions on over 1,950 Groups and 440 Pages on Facebook and over 10,000 accounts on Instagram".[476][477][478]In the month after its August announcement, Facebook said it deleted 1,500 QAnon groups; such groups by then had four million followers. In October 2020, Facebook said it would immediately begin removing "any Facebook Pages, Groups and Instagram accounts representing QAnon, even if they contain no violent content". The company said it would immediately ban any group representing QAnon.[479][480][481]
In July 2020, Twitter announced it was banning more than 7,000 accounts connected to QAnon for coordinated amplification of fake news and conspiracy theories. In a press release, Twitter said, "We've been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm. In line with this approach, this week we are taking further action on so-called 'QAnon' activity across the service." It also said that the actions could apply to over 150,000 accounts.[482][483]
Facebook banned all QAnon groups and pages in October 2020. That day, QAnon followers speculated that the action was part of a complex Trump administration strategy to begin arresting its enemies, or that Facebook was attempting to silence news of this occurring; neither is true. Some followers speculated that a Justice Department "national security" news conference scheduled for the next day would relate to charges against Democrats, including Hillary Clinton. The Justice Department actually announced the investigation and arrest ofIslamic Statemembers.[484]Etsy also announced that it would remove all QAnon-related merchandise from its online marketplace.[485]The products were still available there as of January 2021.[486]
In an interview with CNN, YouTube CEOSusan Wojcickisaid much QAnon material was "borderline content" that did not explicitly break its rules, but that changes in the site's methodology for recommendations had reduced views of QAnon-related content by 80%.[487]Three days later, YouTube announced that it had modified its hate and harassment policies to bar "content that targets an individual or group with conspiracy theories that have been used to justify real-world violence", such as QAnon and Pizzagate.[488][489]It would still allow content discussing QAnon if it did not target individuals.[490]
Hashtags and accounts associated with QAnon have since been banned by numerous social networks including Facebook,[491][492]Twitter,[493]TikTok,[494]andInstagram.[495]In particular, the2021 United States Capitol attackled to a crackdown on QAnon-related content on social media platforms during the days that followed. Twitter suspendedLin Wood's account on January 7[496]and those ofSidney Powell,Michael Flynnand other high-profile QAnon figures the next day.[497]On January 12, Facebook and Twitter announced that they were removing "Stop the Steal" content and suspending 70,000 QAnon-focused accounts, respectively.[360][55]More waves of deletions followed on various platforms.[56]Amazon removed a pro-QAnon book after theCapitol riots,and many platforms took action against QAnon-related content after the incident.[498]In May 2021, a report published by theAtlantic Councilconcluded that QAnon content was "evaporating" from the mainstream web.[167]
Migration to alt-tech
The mass deletions of QAnon-related accounts on the most popular social media outlets led many members of the movement to migrate toalt-techplatforms. Notably,Parlergrew in popularity among QAnon followers and conservatives in general in early 2021.[p]Gabalso became increasingly popular in these environments, especially after Parler went offline for several weeks following the Capitol attack.[504]
In the course of 2021, various alt-tech platforms allowed QAnon influencers and adherents to regroup, with Gab andTelegrambecoming particularly important hubs of QAnon communities.[505][506][286]
Return to Twitter/X
In April 2022, QAnon followers celebratedElon Musk'sproposed purchase of Twitter,believing that Musk's free speech approach would allow them back onto the platform.[507]AfterMusk acquired the platformin October of the same year, various QAnon-related accounts were reinstated and resumed posting about the conspiracy theory.[508]By December the conspiracy theory began to make a comeback on Twitter.[509][510]Suspected Q authorRon Watkinswas subsequently reinstated on the platform in January 2023[511]while in March Musk defended the "QAnon shamon" by calling forJacob Chansleyto be freed.[512][513]In May, theAnti-Defamation Leaguedocumented a surge of QAnon content on Twitter, now X, described as a resurgence.[514]
See also
- Apophenia,the tendency to perceive connections and meaning between unrelated things
- Cult of personality
- List of conspiracy theories
- Secret decoder ring,a promotional item that taps into a common fascination with secret codes
- Sound of Freedom,2023 film with alleged ties to the QAnon movement
- "Epstein didn't kill himself"
- Boogaloo movement
- Mike Cernovich
- Jesselyn Cook
Further reading
- Badham, Van (2022).QAnon and On: A Short and Shocking History of the Internet Conspiracy Cults: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults.Melbourne: Hardie Grant Books.ISBN9781743797877.OCLC1285976834.Excerpt.
- Beverley, James A. (2020).The QAnon Deception: Everything You Need to Know about the World's Most Dangerous Conspiracy Theory.EqualTime Books.ISBN979-8582465898.
- Bleakley, Paul (2021). "Panic, Pizza and Mainstreaming the Alt-Right: A Social Media Analysis of Pizzagate and the Rise of the QAnon Conspiracy".Current Sociology:00113921211034896.doi:10.1177/00113921211034896.
- Breland, Ali (August 20, 2020)."The Summer QAnon Went Mainstream".Mother Jones.Foundation for National Progress.Archivedfrom the original on October 12, 2023.RetrievedJanuary 8,2024.
- Enders, Adam M.; Uscinski, Joseph E.; Klofstad, Casey A.; Wuchty, Stefan; Seelig, Michelle I.; Funchion, John R.; Murthi, Manohar N.; Premaratne, Kamal; Stoler, Justin (2022)."Who Supports QAnon? A Case Study in Political Extremism".The Journal of Politics.84(3).University of Chicago Press:1844–1849.doi:10.1086/717850.S2CID232161773.
- Forberg, Peter L. (2022)."'No Cult Tells You to Think for Yourself': Discursive Ideology and the Limits of Rationality in Conspiracy Theory QAnon "(subscription required).American Behavioral Scientist.doi:10.1177/00027642221091199.
- Hodwitz, Omi, Steff King, and Jordan Thompson (2022). "QAnon: The Calm Before the Storm".Society:1–12.doi:10.1007/s12115-022-00688-x.
- Sommer, Will (2023).Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America.New York: Harper.ISBN9780063114487.
- Westmark, Colton; Adam, McMahon (2022). "Identifying QAnon Conspiracy Theory Adherent Types".New Political Science.44(4).Taylor & Francis:607–627.doi:10.1080/07393148.2022.2129927.S2CID252980185.
Notes
- ^The term originally referred to the anonymous poster "Q",but the media soon used the compound" QAnon "as a collective term for either the conspiracy theory or the far-right community driving and discussing it.
- ^The other circular patch is the SWAT team emblem. Regulations forbid wearing either.[80]
- ^After a line of dialogue from the filmThe Matrix,which in turn referencedAlice's Adventures in Wonderland.
- ^"HRCextradition already in motion effective yesterday with several countries in case of cross border run. Passport approved to be flagged effective 10/30 @ 12:01am. Expect massive riots organized in defiance and others fleeing the US to occur.US M's will conduct the operation whileNGactivated. Proof check: Locate an NG member and ask if activated for duty 10/30 across most major cities. "—QAnon's first post on the/pol/message board of4chan,on October 28, 2017[150]
- ^The parade was canceled.
- ^A claim made in April 2018
- ^Dorsey remained CEO of Twitter until November 2021, when he was replaced byParag Agrawal.
- ^This is a version of theSeth Rich murder conspiracy theory,which is connected to the broaderClinton body count conspiracy theory,that had developed in the 1990s.[157]The claims of this conspiracy theory were propagated from the same venues asPizzagate,[158]and both shared common attributes.[159][160]
- ^Adrenochrome has become the subject of a number of myths sinceHunter S. Thompsonmentioned it in his 1971 bookFear and Loathing in Las Vegas.[187][188]
- ^That author being the "Original Q" under the multiple individuals hypothesis
- ^Derived from the 1996 filmWhite Squalland sometimes misattributed toJohn F. Kennedy.[258]
- ^A reference toThe Matrix,like the "Follow the White rabbit" slogan.
- ^Mendoza sits on the advisory board ofWomen for Trumpand was scheduled to speak at the 2020 Republican convention until news of her Twitter activity came out;[283]she later denied knowing the content of the thread.[284]
- ^Some thought that Biden's inauguration was pre-recorded, with Trump being sworn in as President in a secret ceremony away from the cameras.[315]Others thought that the inauguration was illegitimate because Biden was sworn in on a leather-bound bible (which Q supporters incorrectly say meant he didn't actually swear on the Bible),[316]or that the Bible he was sworn in on was related to theFreemasonsor theIlluminatiin preparation for aNew World Order(it was actually aCatholic Bible).[317]Others thought the inauguration was legitimate, a part of a ruse by Trump to entrap Biden and the deep state.[316]Some posited that Trump would actually rule as "shadow President" during Biden's term, and others that Biden had been part of QAnon all along and would be the one bringing down the cabal.[318]Many focused on the idea that there were 17 flags on the dais that Trump gave his farewell address on, and the fact that Q is the 17th letter of the Alpha bet.[319]
- ^She said it was engraved on a bell onJohn F. Kennedy's sailboat. This is not true, although the quote has been attributed to Kennedy by Q. Kennedy's sailboat,Victura,did not have a bell, and the phrase does not appear on theKennedy family's yacht, theHoney Fitz.The phrase is shown on a boat in the 1996 movieWhite Squall,and screenshots from this movie have been spread by QAnon followers as supposed proof of their claims.[441][442]
- ^A lot of Parler's content related to QAnon or far-right extremist ideologies,[499][500]and it was taken down by Amazon Web Services in the days following the Capitol attack.[501]Although mentions of QAnon or related hashtags on Parler were lower than mainstream platforms' slowest days,[502]Parler conversations were less critical of the movement, and tended to focus on support for Trump.[503]
References
- ^abcMartineau, Paris (December 19, 2017)."The Storm Is the New Pizzagate – Only Worse".New York.ISSN0028-7369.Archivedfrom the original on March 25, 2018.RetrievedMarch 26,2018.
- ^Wendling, Mike (July 22, 2020)."QAnon: What is it and where did it come from?".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on January 11, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 28,2024.
- ^
- Guglielmi, Giorgia (October 28, 2020)."The next-generation bots interfering with the US election".Nature.587(7832): 21.Bibcode:2020Natur.587...21G.doi:10.1038/d41586-020-03034-5.PMID33116324.
- Collins, Ben;Zadrozny, Brandy(August 10, 2018)."The far right is struggling to contain Qanon after giving it life".NBC News.RetrievedApril 19,2021.
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Prosecutors accuse Chansley of being a flight risk who can quickly raise money through non-traditional means as 'one of the leaders and mascots of QAnon, a group commonly referred to as a cult (which preaches debunked and fictitious anti-government conspiracy theory)'.
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Washington Post national technology reporter Craig Timberg... tells Fresh Air[,] 'Some researchers think it's a cult...'
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To hear Rein Lively describe her experiences with QAnon, it sounds, I say, very much like a cult... "It is a decentralised online conspiracy theory cult," agreesJoseph Uscinski,professor of political science at the University of Miami and author ofConspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them.
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He and other researchers have also chronicled an increasingly global QAnon movement that could outlast its potential weakening in the United States as events and an aggressive crackdown by social media platforms limit the ideology's reach among Americans. The QAnon followings in Germany and Japan are particularly strong and growing, said Finkelstein, whose research group tracked a surge in QAnon terms the morning of the January6 Capitol attack, including one that said "qarmyjapanflynn".
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But it flopped in Japan, a country that's no stranger to conspiracy theories. Even as Western media has portrayed otherwise, there are hardly any Q followers among the Japanese and it has failed the test for the nation's conspiracy connoisseurs. "It's too naïve for our readership," Takeharu Mikami, the editor of Mu since 2005, told theAsahi Shimbunnewspaper last month.
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Biden es el... preferido de los pederastas.
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Several QAnon adherents have tried to question 8kun owner Jim Watkins, who had confirmed the new drops were 'real' within hours of them being posted... Watkins has largely avoided these questions and has attacked some users who've expressed skepticism about the new posts... Q stopped posting on 8kun in December 2020, shortly after former president Trump's defeat in the 2020 election. Q's unexpected return has reinvigorated the QAnon community... [But] why would Q return after so many months of silence? Researchers have put forth a range of theories: Perhaps the Watkinses thought new drops would revive 8kun's declining user base, or maybe they felt threatened by an imitator Q account on Trump's new Truth Social platform...
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Similarly, in the group for Disclose.tv, a sketchy news aggregator site that began as a paranormal and conspiracy theory forum, users shared links to other channels filled with neo-Nazi propaganda.
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On the Discord and Telegram group message for Disclose.tv, anti-vax conspiracies, antisemitism, racism, and transphobia are easy to find. On these platforms, messages run the gamut from moderate political beliefs and chatting about aliens to outright Holocaust denial and Nazism.
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Piper and Thomas found what they described as "hate speech and Holocaust denial" flourishing in Disclose.TV's groups on the Discord app and Russia-based messaging service Telegram.
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A Twitter account linked to Babbitt, which was reviewed extensively by Law&Crime Wednesday night, indicates that Babbitt was a staunch QAnon follower who retweeted dozens of conspiracy-theory-laden missives originally posted by Georgia attorney L. Lin Wood.
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- ^Bloom & Moskalenko 2021,p. 2, Chapt. 1.
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External links
- Dunning, Brian(July 28, 2020)."Skeptoid #738: The QAnon Conspiracy".Skeptoid.RetrievedJanuary 8,2024.
- "QAnon Offenders in the United States"(PDF).University of Maryland.National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism(START) and Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS). May 26, 2021.
