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| Topics >> by >> breaking down qanon and its conspiracy |
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| Breaking Down QAnon And Its Conspiracy Theories Over the past four years, QAnon (aka a set of unfounded fringe internet conspiracy theories) gained a huge following from America's far-right. But it wasn't until 2020 that it made its way into mainstream culture. Now we've heard it mentioned in headlines, documentaries, and even in Congress. (Remember: The House got its first QAnon-supporting members in the 2020 election.) But many are still left wondering "what is it?" Here, we'll answer your QAnon Q's — including how the viral pro-Trump theories started and where it's going. And for some believers, that answer is likely jail. 안전놀이터 What is QAnon? QAnon is not just one baseless conspiracy theory — it's many. And at its core, followers believe: That the world is run by Satan-worshiping pedophiles in the biz, gov, and media worlds. And that these (read: falsely accused) child molesters include top government figures like President Biden, former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and billionaire investor George Soros — all Democrats. (Ixnay on Republicans, apparently.) Celebs like Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. And even religious figures like Pope Francis. In QAnon’s war against this faction, its emerging hero is former President Donald Trump. Supporters believe the military recruited Trump to run for president — so he could take down the evil cabal (think: a secretive clique). The Satanic pedophiles would be arrested. Some would be imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay. And others, executed. Here are a few other key terms to better understand the phenomenon. Flag these for your next Mad Libs game. Deep state: The Satan-worshiping elites (see: above) secretly controlling our politics, media, and business. They also supposedly run an underground child-trafficking ring. And want to sabotage Trump. The Storm: The day Trump would reveal and arrest the deep state. Trump fueled this phrase during a 2017 photo opp with military leaders. He ominously said, “You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm.” Followers initially believed the Storm would fall on Inauguration Day: January 20, 2021. Spoiler: That didn’t happen. The Great Awakening: No, not the five minutes after a solid nap. It’s the moment — after the mass arrest of satanic pedophiles — where everyone realizes QAnon theories were right the whole time. Spoiler 2.0: This has not happened to date. Another 'Q,' how did this start? As all 21st-century stories do: the internet. In October 2017, an anonymous account called Q Clearance Patriot surfaced on the message board 4chan. Aka a completely anonymous internet forum. (Or Reddit’s older brother.) The poster, nicknamed “Q,” claimed to be a high-ranking government insider with Q clearance. Think: a super high security authorization only given to certain people in the Department of Energy. And includes access to “special nuclear material.” Q’s posts claimed that Trump was at war with the deep state. And that the former president would reveal and arrest the evildoers. Cue, (or, Q, if you will), the Storm. It’s unclear why Trump was chosen as the leader. But Dr. Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami, said that Trump’s personal beliefs aligned pretty well with QAnon. “His entire message was that Washington is corrupt and that only an outsider can fix it,” Uscinski said. “So once you look at the views of people who claim to be QAnon believers, this all starts to make sense.” QAnon has been hailed as a far-right conspiracy movement. And research points to a more right-leaning following: A 2020 Economist/YouGov poll found that nearly 30% of Republican respondents were very favorable or somewhat favorable of QAnon. Compared to about 5% of Democratic pollers. Republicans were also more likely to not know how to feel about it, at 37% vs 8% of Democrats. But Uscinski added that it’s not that political. Q followers are “more anti-establishment, by nature.” Uscinski has studied and written about conspiracy theories for over a decade. And emphasized how this concept isn’t the first of its kind. “Ideas about there being a deep state have been around for decades. Ideas about satanic cults doing ritual sex abuse have been around for decades, if not centuries, or even millennia,” he said. “Even the idea that a pedophile deep state is working against the president isn't new.” And QAnon, like many other early conspiracy theories, holds antisemitic roots. Kathryn Olmsted, historian and history professor at UC Berkeley, said, “This goes back to the medieval era in Europe with the blood libel conspiracy theories, where Christians believe that Jews were kidnapping their children and then using their blood for religious rituals.” Today, QAnon believers are captivated by Q’s clues. The cryptic posts became known as “Q drops” or “breadcrumbs,” which followers became obsessed with solving. That added to QAnon’s popularity, Olmsted said. “Part of the appeal of QAnon is that people like to solve puzzles,” Olmsted said. “The best conspiracy theories are often like mysteries, where you want to solve the mystery.” Since then, Q has left nearly 5,000 breadcrumbs. And no topic is too far-fetched: Covid-19 being a hoax, the existence of UFOs, 9/11 as an “inside job,” JFK Jr. faking his own death. But since December 2020, Q hasn’t posted. This isn’t the first time Q’s gone AWOL. But nobody knows why they’re playing the silent game. And the absence has left followers in a frenzy. |
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