QAnon
A Conspiracy Theory Gaining Momentum
QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory that believes Donald Trump is secretly fighting an elite group of Satan-worshiping pedophiles that control the world.
Pizzagate
Before QAnon, there was Pizzagate. Pizzagate was a conspiracy that arose during the 2016 presidential election.
It claimed multiple Democratic officials- including Hillary Clinton, were running a child sex trafficking ring inside of a pizzeria in Washington, D.C. The theory was quickly debunked, but it had already gone viral on social media. One man even went and shot into the pizzeria in an attempt to “investigate” the claims. To this day, no actual evidence or victims have come forward.
Pizzagate’s ideas of an elite group of pedophiles coupled along with descrediting mainstream media would become the foundation of QAnon.
Origins
In October 2017, an anonymous 4chan user named "Q Clearance Patriot" posted what they claimed to be confidential government information. The name comes from a level of government security clearance called Q clearance. This clearance is authorized for members in the Department of Energy who most likely would not have access to information Q claims to have.
Q posts are cryptic and nonsensical by design. They are “breadcrumbs” for fellow conspirators to decipher for themselves. “Bakers” are people who gather these translated clues and form them into well-rounded conspiracies.
The original Q posts were spread onto other social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit where it gained a new following. The decentralized nature of QAnon has resulted in a diverse group of believers and conspiracies.
Conspiracies
QAnon believes that President Donald Trump is secretly fighting against a group of evil pedophile elites that run the world. These evil elites are known as the cabal. The cabal are a group of rich and powerful people who have control over Hollywood, mainstream news, and politicians. Such people include George Soros, the Rothschild family, the Saudi Royal family, the Clintons, and more.
The cabal practice satanic rituals, child sacrifice, and run child
trafficking rings. Child sacrifice is done to obtain a substance
called “adrenochrome”. They believe this substance is able to maintain
it’s users youth and provide a high. While adrenochrome is a real
chemical compound in our bodies, it is not capable of any of those
claims. “Spygate” is a conspiracy in which members of the Democratic
party spied on President Trump during his 2016 campaign in order to
keep him out of office. The members of this coup were to be arrested
and tried in an event called “The Storm”.
Other conspiracies
include
Impact
Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have shut down QAnon related accounts to stop misinformation. However, such efforts haven’t slowed down the growth of QAnon conspirators. Members of the White House, including Donald Trump himself, have publicly acknowledged QAnon. President Trump has tweeted multiple times about “Spygate” and praised QAnon in a press conference for fighting off pedophiles. However, he claims to not know much about QAnon and refuses to denounce them.
Over two dozen candidates in the 2020 election were aligned with QAnon- in fact, two of these candidates won House races in Georgia and Colorado. QAnon is no longer just an online conspiracy, it’s beliefs have gone mainstream and are roping in more people. Members of QAnon are akin to members of a cult. Such devotion stems from a deep distrust of mainstream media which is conspiring against the truth. Additionally, a growing community of like-minded individuals has made it incredibly difficult to escape the conspiracy.