QAnon
QAnon, also referred to monoliterally as Q, is the originator of a conspiracy theory popularized by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump. The theory involves a series of cryptic internet postings by a person claiming to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the United States. QAnon's posting campaign is also referred to as The Storm, detailing a supposed secret counter-coup by the Trump administration against the alleged "Deep State".
Adherents believe Q's claim that he is a "high-level government insider with Q clearance"[1][2] — a United States Department of Energy security clearance comparable to a United States Department of Defense Top Secret clearance with Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Access (TS-SCI).
Origin
A person identifying as "Q Clearance Patriot" first appeared on the /pol/ board of 4chan on October 28, 2017, posting messages in a thread entitled "Calm Before the Storm".[3]
Reactions
Fox News anchor Sean Hannity has tweeted about QAnon, and the Russian government-funded network RT News has discussed the topic.[2] The conspiracy theory has been promoted by Alex Jones and Jerome Corsi.[4]
On March 13, 2018, Operation Rescue vice president and pro-life activist Cheryl Sullenger referred to QAnon as a "small group of insiders close to President Donald J. Trump" and called his internet postings the "highest level of intelligence to ever be dropped publicly in our known history".[5][6]
On March 31, 2018, US actress Roseanne Barr appeared to promote the conspiracy theory, which was subsequently covered by CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.[7][8][9][10]
Reddit banned one of its communities discussing QAnon, /r/CBTS_Stream, for “encouraging or inciting violence and posting personal and confidential information.” Following this, some followers moved to Discord.[11][12]
See also
References
- ^ Colburn, Randall (December 19, 2017). "There's a new, insane conspiracy theory tearing up 4chan". AV Club.
- ^ a b Gander, Kashmira (January 15, 2018). "What is The Storm? Conspiracy theory that mysterious White House official leaks secrets". International Business Times.
- ^ Martineau, Paris (December 19, 2017). "The Storm Is the New Pizzagate — Only Worse". NY Mag.
- ^ Hayden, Michael Edison (February 1, 2018). "How "the storm" became the biggest fake news story of 2018". Newsweek.
- ^ Blue, Miranda (March 15, 2018). "Operation Rescue Hypes QAnon 'Blockbuster Intel Drop' About Planned Parenthood | Right Wing Watch". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ^ Sullenger, Cheryl (March 13, 2018). "Blockbuster Intel Drop Reveals Trump is Trying to "End" Planned Parenthood – Twitter Attempts Censorship". Operation Rescue. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ^ Cole, Devan (December 19, 2017). "Roseanne tweets support of Trump conspiracy theory, confuses Twitter". CNN. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
- ^ Weigel, David (March 31, 2018). "Analysis | The conspiracy theory behind a curious Roseanne Barr tweet, explained". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
- ^ Bowden, Tohn (March 31, 2018). "Roseanne Barr faces backlash over Trump conspiracy theory tweet". The Hill. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ Goldberg, Michelle (April 6, 2018). "Opinion | The Conspiracy Theory That Says Trump Is a Genius". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Alexander, Julia (March 15, 2018). "How closely do Discord and Reddit work together?". Polygon. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ^ Wyrich, Andrew (March 15, 2018). "Reddit bans popular deep state conspiracy forum for 'inciting violence'". Retrieved April 5, 2018.