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QAnon

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QAnon (/kjuːəˈnɒn/) refers to a conspiracy theory centered on Q, an online handle used on several image boards by a presumably American[1] pseudonymous individual or group of individuals[2][3][4] claiming to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the United States, and detailing a supposed secret counter-coup against the alleged "deep state". Q has also accused numerous Hollywood actors, politicians, and other high-ranking officials of engaging in an international child sex trafficking ring.[5][6]

The conspiracy theory, mainly popularized by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump under the names The Storm and The Great Awakening, has been widely characterized as "baseless",[7][8][9] "unhinged",[10] "evidence-free",[11] and a "deranged conspiracy cult".[12]

Posting campaign

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",[1] which was a reference to Trump's cryptic description during a gathering of himself and United States military leaders as "the calm before the storm".[1][13] Q later moved to 8chan, citing concerns that the 4chan board had been compromised by "bad actors".[2]

The poster's handle implied that the anonymous poster holds Q clearance,[14][15] a United States Department of Energy security clearance required for access to Top Secret information about nuclear weapons and materials.[16]

False claims

QAnon's posting campaign has a history of false, baseless and unsubstantiated claims. For example, QAnon has claimed on multiple occasions that North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un is a puppet ruler installed by the Central Intelligence Agency.[17]

On February 16, 2018, QAnon falsely accused U.S. Representative and former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of hiring El Salvadorian gang MS-13 to murder DNC staffer Seth Rich.[13][18]

Identity

There has been much speculation regarding the motive and the identity of the poster, with theories ranging from the poster being a military intelligence officer, to the posting campaign being an alternate reality game by Cicada 3301, to Donald Trump himself.[3]

Beliefs

QAnon adherents believe that Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, George Soros, and other high-level officials are planning a coup while simultaneously involved as members of an international child sex trafficking ring. According to this idea, the Mueller investigation is actually a countercoup led by Donald Trump, who pretended to collude with Russia in order to hire Robert Mueller to secretly investigate the Democrats.[12]

Other beliefs are that the Rothschild family are the leaders of a satanic cult, and that certain Hollywood stars are pedophiles.[6] By interpreting the information fed to them by Q, QAnon adherents come to these conclusions.[12]

Incidents

Accusations of inciting violence

On March 14, 2018, Reddit banned one of its communities discussing QAnon, /r/CBTS_Stream, for "encouraging or inciting violence and posting personal and confidential information".[19] Following this, some followers moved to Discord.[20]

Hoover Dam incident

On June 15, 2018, a man armed with an AR-15[citation needed], later identified as Matthew P. Wright of Henderson, Nevada,[21] was arrested on terrorism charges after driving an armored vehicle to the Hoover Dam and blocking traffic for almost two hours on what he said was a mission involving QAnon: to demand that the Justice Department "release the OIG report" on the conduct of FBI agents during the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.[4][7][22] Since a copy of the OIG report had been released the day prior, the man had been motivated by a Q "drop" which claimed the released version of the OIG report had been heavily modified.[7]

QDrops

An app called "QDrops" which promoted the conspiracy theory was published on the Apple App Store and Google Play. It became the most popular paid app in the "entertainment" section of Apple's online store in April 2018, and the tenth most popular paid app overall. Apple pulled the app after an inquiry from NBC News.[23]

Harassment of Jim Acosta and condemnation from the White House

Responding to a question by David Martosko of The Daily Mail asking if the White House encouraged the support of "QAnon fringe groups"—in light of their hostile behavior toward CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta at a Trump rally in Tampa, Florida[24]—White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders denounced "any group that would incite violence against another individual", without specifically responding to the QAnon mention.[25] She added that President Trump "certainly doesn't support groups that would support that type of behavior".[26][27]

Reception

Fox News commentator Sean Hannity has tweeted about QAnon, and the Russian government-funded network RT News has discussed the topic.[15]

The conspiracy theory was initially promoted by Alex Jones and Jerome Corsi,[13] but in May 2018 Right Wing Watch reported that Jones and Corsi had ceased to support QAnon, declaring the source to now be "completely compromised".[28]

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".[29][30]

On March 15, 2018, Kiev-based Rabochaya Gazeta, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Ukraine, published an article calling QAnon a "military intelligence group".[31]

On March 31, 2018, U.S. actress Roseanne Barr appeared to promote the conspiracy theory, which was subsequently covered by CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.[32][33][34][35]

On June 26, 2018, WikiLeaks publicly accused QAnon of "leading anti-establishment Trump voters to embrace regime change and neo-conservatism".[tweet 1] QAnon had previously pushed for regime change in Iran.[36] Two days later, the whistleblower organization shared an analysis by Internet Party president Suzie Dawson, claiming that QAnon's posting campaign is an "intelligence agency-backed psyop" aiming to "round up people that are otherwise dangerous to the Deep State (because they are genuinely opposed to it) usurp time & attention, & trick them into serving its aims".[tweet 2]

On June 28, 2018, a Time magazine article listed the anonymous "Q" among the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet in 2018. Counting more than 130,000 related discussion videos on YouTube, Time cited the wide range of this conspiracy theory and its more prominent followers and spreading news coverage.[37]

On July 4, 2018, the Hillsborough County Republican Party shared on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts a YouTube video on QAnon, calling QAnon a "mysterious anonymous inside leaker of deep state activities and counter activities by President Trump". The posts were then deleted.[22][38]

On August 1, 2018, following the en masse presence of QAnon supporters at the July 31 Trump rally in Tampa, Florida,[12][39] MSNBC news anchors Hallie Jackson, Brian Williams, and Chris Hayes dedicated a portion of their respective television programs to the conspiracy theory.[40][41][42] PBS NewsHour also ran a segment dedicated to the conspiracy theory the following day.[43]

On August 4, 2018, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked to comment on the conspiracy theory in his "ask me anything" session on the /r/The Donald subreddit. In response to the question "is Q legit?", Spicer answered "no".[44]

See also

References

Sources

  1. ^ a b c Martineau, Paris (December 19, 2017). "The Storm Is the New Pizzagate – Only Worse". New York Magazine. ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Philipp, Joshua (July 2, 2018). "The 'Q' Phenomenon". The Epoch Times. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Rothschild, Mike (May 29, 2018). "Who is Q Anon, the internet's most mysterious poster?". The Daily Dot. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Brean, Henry (July 13, 2018). "Suspect in Hoover Dam standoff writes Trump, cites conspiracy in letters". Las Vegas Review-Journal. ISSN 1097-1645. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  5. ^ Bort, Ryan (August 1, 2018). "As QAnon Goes Mainstream, Trump's Rallies Are Turning Darker".
  6. ^ a b Laviola, Erin (August 1, 2018). "QAnon Conspiracy: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 43 (help)
  7. ^ a b c Bank, Justin; Stack, Liam; Victor, Daniel (August 1, 2018). "What Is QAnon: Explaining the Internet Conspiracy Theory That Showed Up at a Trump Rally". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  8. ^ Zadrozny, Brandy; Collins, Ben (July 18, 2018). "Like the fringe conspiracy theory Qanon? There's plenty of merch for sale on Amazon". NBC News. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  9. ^ Rupar, Aaron (May 29, 2018). "ABC cancels Roseanne Barr's show after she posts racist, conspiratorial tweets". ThinkProgress. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  10. ^ Culp-Ressler, Tara (March 31, 2018). "Roseanne Barr promotes an unhinged pro-Trump conspiracy theory on Twitter". ThinkProgress. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  11. ^ Hall, Ellie (August 2, 2018). "What Is QAnon? Here's What You Need To Know About The Baseless Mega-Conspiracy Theory: For the most part, the nonsensical conspiracy theory's adherents were largely confined to fever-swamp corners of the internet. That is changing, and things are getting dangerous". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d Stanley-Becker, Isaac (August 1, 2018). "'We are Q': A deranged conspiracy cult leaps from the Internet to the crowd at Trump's 'MAGA' tour". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 1, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  13. ^ a b c Hayden, Michael Edison (February 1, 2018). "How 'the Storm' Became the Biggest Fake News Story of 2018". Newsweek. ISSN 0028-9604. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  14. ^ Colburn, Randall (December 19, 2017). "There's a new, insane conspiracy theory tearing up 4chan". AV Club.
  15. ^ a b Gander, Kashmira (January 15, 2018). "What is The Storm? Conspiracy theory that mysterious White House official leaks secrets". International Business Times.
  16. ^ "Departmental Personnel Security FAQs". U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  17. ^ Caffier, Justin (June 12, 2018). "A Guide to QAnon, the New King of Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories". Vice. ISSN 1077-6788. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  18. ^ Rothschild, Mike (March 19, 2018). "The QAnon Conspiracy Is the Oldest Scam Out There". The Daily Dot. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  19. ^ Wyrich, Andrew (March 15, 2018). "Reddit bans popular deep state conspiracy forum for 'inciting violence'". Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  20. ^ Alexander, Julia (March 15, 2018). "How closely do Discord and Reddit work together?". Polygon. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  21. ^ Morlin, Bill (July 20, 2018). "Terrorism suspect makes reference to extremist conspiracies". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  22. ^ a b March, William (July 16, 2018). "Conspiracy theorist QAnon promoted, then deleted, by Hillsborough County GOP". Tampa Bay Times. ISSN 2327-9052. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  23. ^ Collins, Ben; Zadrozny, Brandy (July 16, 2018). "Apple, Google cashed in on Pizzagate-offshoot conspiracy app". NBC News. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  24. ^ Embury-Dennis, Tom (August 1, 2018). "Trump supporters filmed hurling sustained abuse at journalists following 'Make America Great Again' rally". The Independent. ISSN 0951-9467. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  25. ^ Fredericks, Bob (July 1, 2018). "Sanders denounces media hecklers at Trump rally – then slams the media". New York Post. ISSN 1090-3321. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  26. ^ Cillizza, Chris (August 1, 2018). "QAnon is the one conspiracy theory to rule them all". CNN. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  27. ^ Huckabee Sanders, Sarah (August 1, 2018). "Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders" (Press release). James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. The White House. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  28. ^ Mantyla, Kyle (May 11, 2018). "Stick A Fork In QAnon: Alex Jones And Jerome Corsi Claim That QAnon Has Been 'Completely Compromised'". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  29. ^ Blue, Miranda (March 15, 2018). "Operation Rescue Hypes QAnon 'Blockbuster Intel Drop' About Planned Parenthood". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ Gamma, Viktor (May 25, 2018). "Доживают ли Гавайи свои последние дни?" [Are we witnessing the final days of Hawaii?]. Rabochaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  32. ^ Cole, Devan (December 19, 2017). "Roseanne tweets support of Trump conspiracy theory, confuses Twitter". CNN. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  33. ^ 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.
  34. ^ Bowden, Tohn (March 31, 2018). "Roseanne Barr faces backlash over Trump conspiracy theory tweet". The Hill. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ Webb, Whitney (June 25, 2018). "Pro-Trump Conspiracy-Monger "QAnon" Calls for Regime Change in Iran". MintPress News. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  37. ^ Chan, Melissa (June 28, 2018). "25 Most Influential People on the Internet". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  38. ^ Thomsen, Jacqueline (July 18, 2018). "Florida county GOP promoted, then deleted, conspiracy theory on Twitter". The Hill. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  39. ^ Porter, Tom (August 1, 2018). "QAnon: Conspiracy theorists determined to expose a "deep state" child abuse ring show up to support Trump in Tampa". Newsweek. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  40. ^ Jackson, Hallie (August 1, 2018). "Who is 'QAnon'? Bizarre conspiracy cult leaps from web to Trump rally". MSNBC Live. MSNBC. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  41. ^ Williams, Brian (August 2, 2018). "What does the conspiracy group QAnon have to do with Trump?". The 11th Hour with Brian Williams. MSNBC. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  42. ^ Hayes, Chris (August 1, 2018). "What is QAnon?". All In with Chris Hayes. MSNBC. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  43. ^ "How the false, fringe 'QAnon' conspiracy theory aims to protect Trump". August 2, 2018.
  44. ^ Francis, Nathan (August 4, 2018). "Sean Spicer Just Sparked A Civil War Among Reddit's Trump-Loving Corners By Saying That QAnon Is Fake". The Inquisitr. Retrieved August 4, 2018.

Tweets

  1. ^ WikiLeaks [@wikileaks] (June 26, 2016). "Why is "Qanon" leading anti-establishment Trump voters to embrace regime change and neo-conservatism?" (Tweet) – via Twitter. {{Cite tweet}}: |date= / |number= mismatch (help)
  2. ^ WikiLeaks [@wikileaks] (June 28, 2016). "This analysis, unfortunately, increasingly appears that it may be correct" (Tweet) – via Twitter. {{Cite tweet}}: |date= / |number= mismatch (help)

Further reading

  • Media related to QAnon at Wikimedia Commons
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