QAnon

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[[File:QAnon.svg|thumb|right|165px|The QAnon symbol.]]
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{{hatnote|"The Storm" redirects here. For the [[neo-Nazi]] forum, see [[Stormfront]]; for the neo-Nazi "news" media, see ''[[The Daily Stormer]]''. For the [[Christian]] revival "Great Awakening", see [[First Great Awakening]].}}
{{cquote|[[Propaganda|Disinformation]] is real. Disinformation is necessary.|||An explanation of and by QAnon, on [[8chan]]<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/a-new-wave-of-qanon-activists-emerge-from-the-cult-of-maga/ A New Wave Of 'QAnon' Activists Emerge From The Cult Of MAGA] by Jared Holt (July 9, 2018 12:51 pm) ''Right Wing Watch''.</ref> and [[4chan]]<ref>Q !ITPb.qbhqo (November 20, 2017). [http://archive.today/2024.01.21-235052/https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/150166775#selection-4803.0-4805.0 Post #150166936 — in reply to "CBTS #444 ++ Active The Legend of Anon Senpai Edition"]. 4chan, via the "4plebs" archive and archive.today.</ref>}}
{{cquote|Public riots are being organized in serious numbers in an effort to prevent the arrest and capture of more senior public officials. On [[President of the United States|POTUS]]'[s] order, a [[Martial law| state of temporary military control]] will be actioned and special ops carried out. False leaks have been made to retain several within the confines of the [[United States]] to prevent extradition and special operator necessity.|||"Q Clearance Patriot" revealing secret "truths" and predicting chaos<ref name="nymag" /><ref name="bookofq">[https://web.archive.org/web/20180201094937/https://aim4truthblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/the-book-of-q.pdf ''The Book of Q''] (November 20, 2017) aim4truthblog.files.wordpress.com (archived from February 1, 2018).</ref>}}

'''QAnon''' (also known as '''the Storm''' or '''the Great Awakening''') is a [[far-right]] [[cult]], [[conspiracy theory]], popular [[meme]],<ref name=kym>[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/qanons-calm-before-the-storm Qanon's "Calm Before the Storm"] KnowYourMeme</ref> howling vortex of madness, and [[right-wing]] fantasy about a "[[deep state]]" conspiracy against [[Donald Trump]]. It acts as the "grand unified conspiracy theory", and also "[[Fractal wrongness|fails at every level to stand up to critical examination]]."<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|201}} Following on the heels of similar [[bullshit]] such as [[Pizzagate]] (which occupies a small spot on the QAnon map below), QAnon postulates a fantastic web of deceit that wraps up Trumpism, deep state fearmongering, [[satanic panic|Satanic]] [[pedophilia]], cannibalism rings controlled by the [[Democratic Party]], investigations into [[Russia]]n meddling in the [[2016 U.S. presidential election]], the 2017 [[Las Vegas shooting]], and [[New World Order]] [[paranoia]] into a package easily and wholeheartedly promoted by Internet cesspools and [[Alex Jones]].<ref name="splc">[https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/01/17/conspiracy-meta-theory-storm-pushes-alternative-envelope-yet-again Conspiracy meta-theory 'The Storm' pushes the 'alternative' envelope yet again.] by David Neiwert (17 January 2018) ''Southern Poverty Law Center''.</ref><ref name="nymag">[http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/12/qanon-4chan-the-storm-conspiracy-explained.html The Storm Is the New Pizzagate — Only Worse.] by Paris Martineau (19 December 2017) ''New York Magazine''.</ref> It originated in 2017 from a series of incoherent [[4chan]] posts made by someone calling themselves "Q".<ref>
[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/30/qanon-4chan-rightwing-conspiracy-theory-explained-trump What is QAnon? Explaining the bizarre rightwing conspiracy theory] by Julia Carrie Wong (30 Jul 2018) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

The name "Q" is based on the US government's top-secret {{wpl|Q clearance||.}}<ref>[https://www.the-independent.com/tech/what-is-qanon-b1790868.html What is QAnon? The origins of bizarre conspiracy theory spreading online] by Andrew Griffin (21 January 2021 13:22 EST) ''Independent''.</ref> The theories put forth in the conspiracy mirror [[antisemitic]] tropes from centuries past.<ref>[https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/tony-norman/2020/08/25/QAnon-conspiracy-theory-Elders-Zion-blood-libel-cannibalism-pedophile-Democrats-Trump/stories/202008250020 "Tony Norman: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion 2.0: The rise of QAnon"] by Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2020 August 25</ref> With that in mind, while they argue their enemies are in a secret Satanic [[Cult|cult]], QAnon can ironically be considered such as well.

Q likely wouldn't have become as widespread if it wasn't for social media, particularly [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], and [[YouTube]]. Facebook had in fact been warned about the dangers of its active promotion of conspiracies and QAnon in particular as early as 2016 and 2017 by Brooke Binkowski, then a [[Snopes]] employee on loan to them. Facebook did nothing about QAnon for as long as possible since promotion of conspiracies was basically part of their business model.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/dec/13/they-dont-care-facebook-fact-checking-in-disarray-as-journalists-push-to-cut-ties 'They don't care': Facebook factchecking in disarray as journalists push to cut ties] by Sam Levin (13 Dec 2018 03.00 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref><ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|154-155}}

QAnon's followers have been engaged in countless acts of criminal behavior incited by the conspiracy theory, resulting in the filing of criminal charges and one conviction for domestic [[terrorism]].

==Before the beginning==
Mike Rothschild traced QAnon's origins to three loosely connected, cultish [[affinity fraud]]s that preceded it: {{wpl|Omega Trust}} (1994-2001), {{wpl|Dove of Oneness}} (2001-), and the [[Dinar revaluation|Iraqi Dinar revaluation]] (c. 2006-).<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|55-66}} The three frauds shared three general features with what became QAnon: secret intelligence from a [[guru]], a massive event that is always about to occur, and a secret battle between good and [[evil]].<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|55}} Shaini Goodwin, the leader of the Dove of Oneness, was possibly the first 9/11 truther, a conspiracy theory that later was folded into QAnon.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|60-61}}

==The beginning==
The figure(s) now known as "Q" first appeared on 4chan with this post from October 28, 2017:<ref name=lafrance>[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/qanon-nothing-can-stop-what-is-coming/610567/ The Prophecies of Q: American conspiracy theories are entering a dangerous new phase.] by Adrienne LaFrance (June 2020) ''The Atlantic''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171117170808/https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/146981635/ HRC extradition 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 while NG activated. Proof check: Locate a NG member and ask if activated for duty 10/30 across most major cities.] by Anonymous ID:BQ7V3bcW No.147012719 (Sat 28 Oct 2017 13:44:28) ''4plebs.org'' /pol/ (archived from November 17, 2017).</ref>

{{cquote|[[Hillary Clinton|HRC]] extradition 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 while NG activated. Proof check: Locate a NG member and ask if activated for duty 10/30 across most major cities.}}

Another post that followed soon after implied that Hillary would soon be arrested, another failed prediction.<ref name=lafrance/> Notably, the first post started out with a lie — Hillary Clinton obviously was never extradited — and a prediction that has not come to pass after after {{age|2017|10|28}} years — also, no massive riots in the US.

It's been argued that the genesis of QAnon parallels that of [[Discordianism]].<ref name=hannen>[https://www.ft.com/video/372cac40-0f6f-498b-8c19-7b635142296e Is QAnon a game gone wrong?] produced by Tom Hannen (October 15, 2020) ''Financial Times''.</ref>  If so, we are here to cut the ''Discordian Knot'' and lay out just how batshit crazy this whole thing is.

==What???==
[[File:StormLogo.jpg|thumb|right|Sure it's a fantasy, but Trump gets to be the hero (for the only time in his life).]]

===The alleged plot===
{{cquote|What is the "storm" the POTUS spoke about? it is the draining of the swamp, a giant global hurricane of veracity.|||A somewhat more… lucid description<ref name="imgur">[https://web.archive.org/web/20181226214125/https://imgur.com/a/DTeK7 THE COMING STORM] ''imgur'' (archived from December 26, 2018).</ref>}}

QAnon's central premise is that Trump is secretly working to take down a global ring of [[elite]], [[Cannibalism|cannibalistic]], [[Satanism|Satanic]] [[Pedophilia|pedophiles]].<ref>[https://heavy.com/news/2018/08/qanon-conspiracy-trump/ QAnon Conspiracy: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know] by Erin Laviola (Updated Aug 1, 2018 at 11:32am) ''Heavy''.</ref> They also believe that the [[Trump-Russia connection|investigation into Russian meddling]] in the [[2016 U.S. presidential election|2016 election]], led by former [[FBI]] director Robert Mueller, is ''actually'' an investigation into the so-called "deep state", a cabal of evil, money-grubbing [[Alt-right glossary#Globalism|globalists]], including [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Barack Obama]], responsible for everything from a global pedophile ring to the [[2017 Las Vegas shooting]].<ref name="nymag"/> What makes this an anomaly is that it presents an alternate world in which the "good guys" are in control of the entire government. According to University of Miami professor Joseph Uscinski, in most other theories, the shadowy conspiracy in control is malevolent.<ref name="qbeast"/>

QAnon crazies also see hints in Trump's actions. According to the enlightened, when Trump awkwardly took a drink from a bottle of Fiji Water at a press conference in November 2017, it wasn't because he was thirsty; it was actually a secret signal to those in the know that the Storm had begun (or was about to begin). Because as everyone knows, Fiji is a hot spot for child trafficking.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/save/https://twitter.com/bocavista2016/status/931000013022486528/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmetro.co.uk%2F2017%2F11%2F20%2Ffollowthewhiterabbit-is-possibly-the-craziest-conspiracy-theory-of-all-time-7092659%2F TO THOSE WHO 🐇#FollowTheWhiteRabbit 🐇 You wanted a sign from @realDonaldTrump You got a sign from @realDonaldTrump 👉 #FIJI is a SOURCE country for Child-Sex Trafficking 👈] by @bocavista2016 (5:24 AM - 16 Nov 2017) ''Twitter'' (archived from May 26, 2019).</ref>

Q believers have a tremendous amount of baggage on the crazy train in the form of [[crank magnetism]]: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is actually investigating high-level Democrats, the [[Illuminati]], the [[Rothschild]] conspiracy, "Operation Mockingbird" (an alleged 20th century [[CIA]] infiltration of the [[media]]), [[fascism]], the hidden meaning of Francis Ford Coppola films, and Christian [[Revival meeting|revivalism]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/01/we-are-q-a-deranged-conspiracy-cult-leaps-from-the-internet-to-the-crowd-at-trumps-maga-tour/ ‘We are Q’: A deranged conspiracy cult leaps from the Internet to the crowd at Trump's 'MAGA' tour] by Isaac Stanley-Becker (August 1, 2018 at 6:43 AM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Oh, and J.P. Morgan had the ''Titanic'' sunk to take out his millionaire rivals,<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/08/04/how-j-p-morgan-didnt-sink-the-titanic-and-other-qanon-conspiracy-theories-debunked/ Fact-checking QAnon conspiracy theories: Did J.P. Morgan sink the Titanic?] by Erick Trickey (August 4, 2018 at 7:00 AM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> and "John F. Kennedy Jr. faked his death and joined Trump's secret evil-fighting organization, where he writes 4chan posts under the pseudonym 'Q'."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/08/05/jfk-jr-didnt-die-he-runs-qanon-and-hes-no-1-trump-fan-omg/ JFK Jr. didn’t die! He runs QAnon! And he’s No. 1 Trump fan, omg!!!] by Avi Selk (August 5, 2018, at 1:37 PM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==="Q"===
[[File:Q_post103117.jpg|thumb|right|Postings by QAnon need lots of creative "analysis"—and [[8chan|the]] [[4chan|chans]] are happy to help.]]

{{cquote|Q had the ability to survive usually only seen in cockroaches.|||Mike Rothschild<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|73}}}}

A fictional personality (or, to the faithful, an "anonymous patriot") central to the Storm, going by the name of "QAnon" ("Q" supposedly standing for Q Clearance, a mid-level Department of Energy clearance not used by law enforcement or intelligence agencies), began posting a series of messages on [[4chan]]'s /pol/ board in a thread called "CBTS" (Calm Before the Storm, or Constantly Been Talking Shite, you decide) on October 28, 2017.<ref name=kym /> In these posts, Q claimed that Trump was being protected by the military because the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service are all corrupt. Q's postings take the form of cryptic questions, each of which is supposedly a hint, clue, or riddle containing some awesome revelation that would make treasure hunter Nicolas Cage facepalm and exclaim, "Of course!" The questions are usually the type of stuff found in grade-Z spy novels and often contain their own obvious [[irony]], such as this knee-slapper:

{{cquote|Has POTUS *ever* made a statement that has not become proven as true/fact?|||"Q Clearance Patriot"<ref name=Followthewhiteradbbit>[https://web.archive.org/save/https:/twitter.com/th3wh17erabb17/status/928212576730865664 Has POTUS *ever* made a statement that did not become proven as true/fact? #followthewhiterabbit 🐇] by @TH3WH17ERABB17 (2:48 AM - 8 Nov 2017) ''Twitter'' (archived from May 26, 2019).</ref>}}

The writing style is likely based on that of {{wpl|Q (Star Trek)|Q|,}} a race from ''[[Star Trek]]'', and several people who claimed to be "Q" have cited inspiration on the character, specifically the ''Next Generation'' version of the character.<ref>[https://medium.com/@daniel.ed.morrison/the-first-q-e2b8f389d533 The First Q], ''Medium''</ref>

Eric Hoffer wrote in ''The True Believer'', his 1951 study of mass movements, that "If a doctrine is not unintelligible, it has to be vague; and if neither unintelligible nor vague, it has to be unverifiable."<ref>''The True Believer'' by Eric Hoffer (1951) The New American Library.</ref>{{rp|77}} Messages from Q meet all three of these criteria:<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|7}} [[argument by gibberish]], [[fallacy of ambiguity]] and [[Falsifiability|unfalsifiability]].

Q's postings are known among enthusiasts as "breadcrumbs", because they're thought to be tidbits of information forming a trail that leads to… well, with a bit of imagination, [[Apophenia|anywhere]].<ref name="qbeast">[https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-is-qanon-the-craziest-theory-of-the-trump-era-explained What Is QAnon? The Craziest Theory of the Trump Era, Explained] by Will Sommer (07.06.18) ''The Daily Beast''.</ref> And they're [[vague]] enough that they could apply to pretty much anything. Many sound like they were written by [[Deepak Chopra]] channeling Alex Jones. The phrase "down the rabbit hole" (a reference to [[Lewis Carroll]]'s {{wpl|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''}}) is popular among believers who feel they are lucky participants in a great adventure where nothing is [[random]] and everything has meaning; to "follow the white rabbit" is to be willingly led on a journey of ridiculous speculations regarding Q's postings.<ref name=Followthewhiteradbbit/> [[Martin Gardner]], who analyzed Carroll's two ''Alice'' novels in his book ''The Annotated Alice'', understood how easily Carroll's writings could be (mis)interpreted any way the reader desired.<ref name=gardner>''The Annotated Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass'' by Lewis Carroll & Martin Gardner (1970) New American Library.</ref> This is similar to how QAnon can be interpreted manifold ways.

{{cquote|We do not need to be told what it means to tumble down a rabbit hole or curl up inside a tiny house with one foot up the chimney. The rub is that any work of nonsense abounds with so many inviting symbols that you can start with any assumption you please about the author and easily build up an impressive case for it.|||Martin Gardner<ref name=gardner/>{{rp|8}}}}

====Q who?====
[[File:Qanon fireworks.png|thumb|right|300px|Two typically incomprehensible Q posts, just to show the kind of word salad QAnon believers were trying to pick apart.]]
Q is supposedly someone with a high-level military security clearance operating under deep cover, but they curiously prefer sending incoherent messages on a non-secure message board (8chan/8kun) that specialize in doxxing, bigotry, and child porn.<ref name=qbehind>[https://ohqlgwcdd4cw9f.github.io/q/q.html Q Behind Qanon: The Uncomfortable Evidence] ''Github''.</ref> Tripcodes, the normal password mechanism for 8chan, have been known to be insecure for a long time, and there have been freely available tripcode crackers since 2016.<ref name=qbehind/><ref>[https://github.com/meriken/merikens-tripcode-engine-v3 Meriken's Tripcode Engine] ''Github''.</ref> Q's initial passwords are known ("Matlock"{{efn|"Matlock" is undoubtedly a reference to the American TV series of the same name, ''Matlock'' (1986-1995), a mystery legal drama.<ref>{{wpa|Matlock (TV series)|''Matlock' (TV series)}}</ref>}}). One conclusion from this is that Q is "either ignorant about security or he's purposefully misleading, or both."<ref name=qbehind/> The password insecurity made it easy, at least for a time, for anyone with some technical ability to seize control of the Q account. A [[Machine learning|machine-learning]] analysis of Q drops{{efn|This is a sort of {{wpl|stylometry}} — an analysis of a person's writing style.}} by OrphAnalytics strongly suggested that there were two different authors: one on the 4chan drops and another on the 8chan/8kun drops.<ref>[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qanon-is-two-different-people-shows-machine-learning-analysis-from-orphanalytics-301192981.html QAnon Is Two Different People, Shows Machine Learning Analysis from OrphAnalytics: An algorithm-based stylometric approach provides new evidence to identify the authors of QAnon conspiracy theories] (Dec 15, 2020, 08:38 ET) ''Cision PR Newswire''.</ref> One can therefore refer to the two Qs as Q<sub>4chan</sub> and Q<sub>8chan</sub>.

Like Batman, Q's identity is supposedly a deep, dark secret, and so the [[kook]]osphere swirls with speculation. Some name "[[NSA]] whistleblower" Thomas Drake, whose anti-Obama posture gained him somewhat of a fanbase on the far-right.<ref>[https://www.fulcrumnews.com/blog/2017/12/24/wow-qanons-identity-revealed-donald-trumps-storm-is-underway Wow, QANON's Identity Revealed + Donald Trump's Storm Is Underway] (December 24, 2017) ''Fulcrum''.</ref> DoD official and Trump advisor {{wpl|Ezra Cohen-Watnick}} was also among those that followers once commonly pegged as Q (ironically enough, in 2021, he denied having anything to do with QAnon and stated that the movement should have been squashed by the authorities as soon as it surfaced).<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/19/qanon-trump-ezra-cohen-watnick-460520 ‘Are you QAnon?’: One Trump official’s brush with an internet cult gone horribly wrong] by Josh Gerstein, ''Politico'', 19 January 2021</ref> Others say it's [[Steve Bannon]]. Or Trump himself. Or [[Donald Trump Jr.]] Or an [[artificial intelligence]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCKlkgpTrXo Interviewing Liz Crokin on the Storm, Q Anon, Pedogate & Twitter Feuds (Jan 2, 2018)] by Destroying the Illusion (Jan 2, 2018) ''YouTube''.</ref>

Adding to this confusion, many "Q impostors" and fakes have appeared, as well as copycat Anons such as "MegaAnon" and "WH Anon", prompting the faithful to conclude that it's all just part of a "deep state" plot to smear QAnon.<ref>[http://archive.ph/VMwX9 Deep State Attacks Q Anon with Nazi Smear Campaign, Fake Q Postings, And Mega Anon on Q Anon] by Justin Deschamps (11/29/2017) ''Stillness in the Storm'' (archived from 27 May 2019 06:17:17 UTC).</ref><ref>[http://archive.ph/dc25A Q-Tube Updates: The Other Side of the QAnon Phenomenon with Jerome Corsi and Tracy Beanz] (January 10, 2018) ''Starship Earth: The Big Picture'' (archived from 27 May 2019 06:22:16 UTC).</ref> Coleman Rogers, the co-host of The Patriot's Soapbox livestream, allegedly showed him logging as Q on 8chan, then trying to pretend it didn't happen.<ref name=zadrozny/> One could believe he actually did this, or that he spoofed people to raise his stature and get more donations.

In [[reality]], however, the supposed deep cover agent Q<sub>4chan</sub> is most likely one or more 4chan [[troll]]s, doing it for the shits and giggles. A consensus among [[journalist]]s is that Q<sub>4chan</sub> was Paul Furber ("Baruch the Scribe"), possibly with Coleman Rogers ("PamphletAnon") or Tracy Diaz ("Tracy Beanz").<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|239}} At the very least, [[Russian]] [[Internet Research Agency|troll]] accounts were pushing the QAnon bullshit to idiots on [[Twitter]] before being purged.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/russian-troll-accounts-purged-twitter-pushed-qanon-other-conspiracy-theories-n966091 Russian troll accounts purged by Twitter pushed Qanon and other conspiracy theories. The accounts’ tweets featured the hashtag #MAGA, usually in support of Trump, almost 38,000 times — the most of any hashtag.] by Ben Collins and Joe Murphy (Feb. 2, 2019, 6:55 AM PST) ''NBC News''.</ref> As is always the case, conspiracy theorists who fell for this have never stopped to wonder if "Q" is just fucking with them.

After a month of initially posting on 4chan in 2017, Q posts migrated to 8chan, allegedly due to infiltration.<ref name=rothschild1/>{{rp|31}} On 8chan, Fredrick Brennan, a former owner of the 8chan domain, believes that Q<sub>8chan</sub> is Jim Watkins and his son Ron Watkins. The two Watkins were the final owners of 8chan and the current owners of its successor, 8kun.<ref name=lafrance/> Brennan believes that the Watkinses knew they needed Q to attract users, although they have denied knowing who "Q" is.<ref name=lafrance/> A series of email logs have shown connections between Jim Watkins and QAnon influencers.<ref name=bevensee>[https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/01/07/exposed-email-logs-show-8kun-owner-in-contact-with-qanon-influencers-and-enthusiasts/ Exposed Email Logs Show 8kun Owner in Contact With QAnon Influencers and Enthusiasts] by Emmi Bevensee & Max Aliapoulios (January 7, 2021) ''Bellingcat''.</ref> Ron Watkins, who dishonestly describes himself as "one of the top network defense analysts in the world", left the email logs open to the public.<ref name=bevensee/> Watkins gave away the game in a 2021 interview for the HBO series ''Q: Into the Storm'', effectively admitting but then moments later denying that he is Q<sub>8chan</sub>:<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/04/05/ron-watkins-qanon-hbo/ A QAnon revelation suggests the truth of Q’s identity was right there all along: The extremist movement’s leader had purported to be a top-secret government operative. But a possible slip-up in a new documentary about QAnon suggests that Q was actually Ron Watkins, the longtime administrator of the 8kun message board.] by Drew Harwell & Craig Timberg (April 5, 2021 at 10:08 a.m. PDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

{{cquote|It was basically three years of intelligence training, teaching [[Alt-right glossary#Normie|normies]] how to do intelligence work. It was basically what I was doing anonymously before, but never as Q. [then smiling and clearing his throat] Never as Q. I promise. I am not Q.}}

Nevertheless, Watkins had the motive for creating Q<sub>8chan</sub> (ownership of 8chan/8kun), and left an evidence trail that even predated the first Q post (on TheGoldwater.com in 2016-2017, a site that Watkins owns).<ref name=qbehind/>

==="The Storm"===
[[File:Stormy_Daniels_2010.jpg|130px|thumb|right|No, not ''that'' Storm, er, {{wpl|Stormy Daniels|Stormy|.}}]]

The term "the Storm" was apparently inspired by a ''[[non sequitur]]'' mumbled by Trump to the press during a routine photo-op with senior military leaders in October 2017:<ref>[http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/10/trump-calls-military-dinner-calm-before-the-storm.html Trump Won't Say Why He Called Military Dinner 'Calm Before the Storm'] by Margaret Hartmann (6 October 2017) ''New York Magazine''.</ref>

{{cquote|TRUMP: "You guys know what this represents? … Maybe it's the calm before the storm."
REPORTER: "What storm, Mr. President?"
TRUMP: "You'll find out."|||Trump, to puzzled reporters<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/us/politics/trump-calls-meeting-with-military-leaders-the-calm-before-the-storm.html What Did President Trump Mean by 'Calm Before the Storm'?] by Mark Landler (October 6, 2017) ''New York Times''.</ref>}}

Most people were content to dismiss this exchange as merely one of what would over time become many, ''many'' examples of a terminally stupid old man having a brain fart in front of a reporter. However, QAnon believers have interpreted these bizarre remarks to mean he was recruited by military intelligence to lead a "[[Coup d'état#Bloodless coup|quiet coup]]" to restore "integrity" to the U.S. government, possibly because he was surrounded by high-ranking military officers at the time; hence, he will impose [[martial law]] and unleash a "storm" of retribution against Satanic Clintonites, Democratic evildoers, Deep State dirtbags, and [[RINO]] [[cuck]]s. And according to one believer, this coup will succeed because "deep state corruption has a heavy [[Jewish conspiracy|Jewish influence]]" and "the military has a very low rate of Jewish people".<ref name=Voat>[http://archive.ph/BYE4X 4CHAN BREADCRUMBS INSIDER — Was Donald Trump Recruited by U.S. Military Intelligence to be President?] by party1981 (11/2/2017 10:33:00 PM) ''Voat'' (archived from 3 Nov 2017 04:57:19 UTC).</ref> The fate of all those arrested varies. Some people believe they'll be sent to [[Gitmo]], while others expect executions to happen en masse.

So while [[Armageddon|the shit was supposed to hit the fan]] in November 2017, with mass demonstrations (and the suppression thereof), a military coup, and the arrest of hundreds of public officials, the fact that November came and went without any of these things happening appears to have had no effect on QAnon's overzealous supporters. On the contrary, it's apparently [[cognitive dissonance|made it even more popular]].<ref>[https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/11/08/failed-prophecies-wont-stop-trumps-true-believers/ Failed Prophecies Won't Stop Trump's True Believers] by Michael Barkun (Nov 8, 2018) ''Foreign Policy''.</ref>

===Post-Mueller===
{{main|Trump-Russia connection}}
[[File:QAnon with Trump.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|A QAnon sign at a Trump rally]]

In March 2019, the Russia investigation officially ended, with Robert Mueller turning in his report to the Attorney General Barr.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2019/03/22/706016316/read-attorney-general-barrs-letter-on-mueller-report Attorney General Barr's Letter On Mueller Report] by Dana Farrington (March 22, 20195:39 PM ET) ''NPR''.</ref> There were no mentions of aliens, pedophile cults, false-flag attacks, cannibalism, or any of the other bullshit beliefs held by QAnon believers.{{fact|joke}} There's now been enough time to show that the QAnon conspiracy is still alive and well, despite having one of its core tenets disproven:<ref>[https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/29/18286890/qanon-mueller-report-barr-trump-conspiracy-theories The Mueller investigation is over. QAnon, the conspiracy theory that grew around it, is not. Why a conspiracy theory with an expiration date will endure.] by Jane Coaston (Mar 29, 2019, 5:30pm EDT) ''Vox''.</ref> Mueller is most certainly ''not'' using the Russia investigation as a secret means to destroy Hillary Clinton's supervillain organization. In fact, most QAnon believers hailed the release of the report as just another step towards Trump's endgame. The only thing they seemed to take issue with is the idea that Trump said "[[Consciousness of guilt|I'm fucked]]", because they can't wrap their heads around the idea of their Dear Leader 
bending over to take it like a man
 expressing weakness and doubt.<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-conspiracy-accounts-champion-mueller-report-democrats-guantanamo-1400774 Qanon conspiracy accounts are 'gloating' over Mueller Report, despite internal dissent] by Daniel Moritz-Rabson (4/18/19 at 7:07 PM EDT) ''Newsweek''.</ref>

Unfortunately, this is just how conspiracy theories work, and this one is no different. QAnon had a significant overlap with the conspiracy theory that Justice [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]] secretly died and had been replaced by a body double. Still, upon seeing the theory disproven, its believers doubled down anyway.<ref>[https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2019/03/18/conspiracy-theories-never-die-rbg-edition/ Conspiracy Theories Never Die: RBG Edition] by Ed Brayton (March 18, 2019) ''Patheos''.</ref> In other words, despite being unfathomably stupid, QAnon is going to live in the dark corners of the [[internet]] for a long, long time.

===Evidence against is evidence for===
[[File:QAnon's first post.png|thumb|right|475px|After {{Age|2017|10|28}} years, none of this has happened yet. (First Q post, [[4chan]])]]
{{main|1=Falsifiability|3=Escape hatch}}

A staple characteristic of conspiracy theories is that they're impossible to disprove. After all, what would be the fun in that? QAnon goes a step further: one of Q's posts explains his various false predictions and claims by saying "disinformation is necessary."<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/a-new-wave-of-qanon-activists-emerge-from-the-cult-of-maga/ A New Wave Of 'QAnon' Activists Emerge From The Cult Of MAGA] by Jared Holt (July 9, 2018, 12:51 pm) ''Right Wing Watch''.</ref> Of course it is. This explanation makes QAnon into a so-called "self-sealing" conspiracy: every time it's proven false, that's just the evil cabal making it seem that way!

Stephan Lewandowsky, a professor at the University of Bristol who studies conspiracy theories, noted this self-sealing nature:<ref>[https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/1/17253444/qanon-trump-conspiracy-theory-reddit #QAnon, the scarily popular pro-Trump conspiracy theory, explained: How a conspiracy theory that Trump and Robert Mueller are secretly working together got from Reddit to Trump rallies.] by Jane Coaston (Updated Aug 2, 2018, 12:31pm EDT) ''Vox''.</ref> 

{{cquote|Conspiracy theories often serve an ironic function of providing a sense of order in [[chaos]]. People would rather believe that there are evil masterminds out there that pull strings on cataclysmic events than accept the occurrence of random events.}}

This also helps explain the unfortunate longevity of QAnon, even with dozens of failed predictions, the most famous of which was that July 2018 would be "the month the world discovered the TRUTH."<ref>[https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/qanon-failed-predictions/ Here is every QAnon prediction that’s failed to come true] by Mike Rothschild (2018-08-27 06:30 am | Last updated 2018-08-27 11:19 am) ''Daily Dot'.'</ref>

Some failed prophecies include:<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/15/trump-has-exposed-deep-state-it-is-him/ Thanks to the Trump administration, one QAnon theory is panning out] by Dana Milbank (September 15, 2020, at 2:06 p.m. PDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

*John F. Kennedy Jr. faked his own death and later pretended to be Trump supporter Vincent Fusca, who was supposed to reveal his true identity at a Trump rally on July 4, 2019.<ref name="fusca">[https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/qanon-jfk-jr-conspiracy-theory-854938/ QAnon Followers Think JFK Jr. Is Coming Back on the 4th of July: He’s an avid Trump supporter and has been hiding in Pennsylvania for two decades, according to some people on Twitter who don’t seem to realize he’s actually dead] by EJ Dickson (July 3, 2019, 2:17PM ET) ''Rolling Stone''.</ref>
*[[Austin Steinbart]], whom many believe(d) to be Q, allegedly received messages from his future self using "[[Quantum woo|quantum computing]]". In real life, he was charged with criminal extortion and jailed for violating the terms of his pre-trial release for cheating on a required drug test.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/right-richter-austin-steinbart-man-known-as-babyq-is-in-trouble-for-using-synthetic-penis Man Known as BabyQ Is in Trouble for Using Synthetic Penis] by Will Sommer
(Updated Sep. 11, 2020 7:27AM ET; Published Sep. 11, 2020 5:05AM ET) ''Daily Beast''.</ref>
*Hillary Clinton was supposed to have been imprisoned in 2017. [[Escape hatch]]: the Hillary you see now is a [[clone]] and the real one is in prison.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-is-qanon-a-deep-look-inside-the-nutso-conspiracy-theory-infecting-our-politics Inside the Completely Nutso Universe of QAnon] by Will Sommer (Updated Aug. 21, 2020, 9:09AM ET; Published Aug. 21, 2020, 4:28AM ET) ''Daily Beast''.</ref>
*Trump actually won the 2020 election and he's going to be the one inaugurated. When January 20th came and went, predictions came in with March 4th.<ref group=note>The date of inaugurations before FDR changed it.</ref> When that failed, there were still those who insisted he'd be back [[Moving the goalposts|any day now]].

===I want to believe!===
A primary driver in the QAnon belief system (as with other conspiracy theories) is that people can connect just about anything that Q posts with all sorts of unrelated trivialities in the [[real world]]. The [[psychological]] basis for this is known as [[pareidolia]] — seeing patterns in [[random]] stimuli. This is reinforced with [[confirmation bias]]. Some crazy examples of this are QAnon believers saying that following Trump's election loss in 2020 that:<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/10/qanon-identity-crisis/ 'My faith is shaken': The QAnon conspiracy theory faces a post-Trump identity crisis] by Drew Harwell & Craig Timberg November 10, 2020, at 5:45 a.m. PST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

*"Trump's back-to-back golf outings over the weekend were proof that the president was in control and that all was going according to plan."
*"Rudolph W. Giuliani's bizarre Saturday news conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping, on an industrial block in Philadelphia between a crematorium and an adult-video store, with two Q posts in the past year in which he used the words 'landscape.'"

Of course today, they seem to have all jumped on the lazy bandwagon of "Durr, the elecition was full o' fraud! I saw somewhere that someone saw ballots being shipped somewhere, so that's why we lost."

==All aboard the crazy train!==
[[File:QAnon sign.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|Free the Clinton-Podesta Martian child sex slaves!]]

{{cquote|Mueller was hired to investigate Clinton, period. If my theory proves to be correct, this will go down as one of the most brilliant sting operations in history.|||Liz Crokin<ref>[http://archive.ph/nz3EZ How Mueller & President Trump are Pulling the Biggest Sting in History] by Liz Crokin (8 Nov 2017) ''LizCrokin.com'' (archived from 8 Nov 2017 22:43:24 UTC).</ref>}}

===Train conductors===
[[Pizzagate]] promoters such as Liz Crokin and David Seaman took a very active interest in this brand new opportunity to spread batshit insanity. Crokin claimed that [[Sean Hannity]] was privately "on board" with the conspiracy theory. Seaman, being an old Pizzagater, has plenty of experience weaving bullshit from out of thin air. On December 24, 2017, Q apparently posted a picture of [[George Washington]] crossing the Delaware River. Seaman claimed that the painting showed Washington in the act of "starting the [[American Revolution|American Revolutionary War]]" (it doesn't: the war started in Boston more than a year before), and excitedly concluded, "so in other words, the second [[revolution]] is upon us and the deep state is being taken out now".<ref>[http://archive.ph/fgf51 The S.T.O.R.M] by Edvard Munch (archived from 27 May 2019 07:26:32 UTC).</ref>  (In reality, of course, the painting depicts Washington showing dangerous irresponsibility by standing up in a boat, so it might not be such a poor metaphor for QAnon after all.)

[[File:Pence posing with QAnon police detail.jpg|thumb|left|165px|Be afraid, be very afraid, when crazy people become sheriff's deputies.<ref>[https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article222578190.html BSO sergeant who wore 'QAnon' patch in photo with Pence has been disciplined] by Carli Teproff (December 03, 2018 07:26 PM, Updated December 04, 2018 07:24 AM) ''Miami Herald''.</ref>]]

On Twitter in 2018, the main promoters ("gurus") were Dave Hayes ("PrayingMedic"), InTheMatrixxx, and QAnon76.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|144}} Then of course, there's leading [[birther]] and [[InfoWars]] esteemed crackpot [[Jerome Corsi]], who was hard at work with the stable geniuses of [[8chan]] to "decipher" Q's crumbs.<ref name="rww"/><ref name=medium>[https://medium.com/@willsommer/meet-the-storm-the-conspiracy-theory-taking-over-the-pro-trump-internet-3ec94bf7d8a3 Meet "The Storm," the conspiracy theory taking over the pro-Trump internet] by Will Sommer (Jan 12, 2018) ''Medium''.</ref> But none can hope to rival professional insanity dispenser [[Alex Jones]], who has enthusiastically endorsed "the Storm" crackpottery<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRUA7q-AoUo Exclusive: The Secrets of QAnon, The Storm, and The Deep State Counterstrike] by WE ARE Q. (Dec 30, 2017) ''YouTube''.</ref> (especially the part about a global Clinton-led pedophilia ring, which happens to fit in nicely with his claims that child sex-slaves have been kidnapped and shipped to [[Mars]]).<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/nasa-denies-that-its-running-a-child-slave-colony-on-mars NASA Denies That It's Running a Child Slave Colony on Mars] by Ben Collins (06.29.177:40 PM ET) ''The Daily Beast''.</ref> Or, well, he did, until Qanon and the merchandise around it started cutting into his bottom line and sales of [[Vitamin and mineral supplements|nutritional supplements]]. Now Jones claims that QAnon is a [[false flag]] meant to make conservatives look like a bunch of paranoid schizophrenics (as if they needed the help).<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/far-right-struggling-contain-qanon-after-giving-it-life-n899741 The far right is struggling to contain Qanon after giving it life.] by Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny (10 August 2018) ''NBC News''. {{quotebox|Infowars founder Alex Jones once promoted the theory, but then told his followers that it had been compromised. "Stick a fork in the avatar of Qanon," Jones declared in May, claiming to have spoken to the person behind the leaks that make up the theory. "It is now an overrun disinformation fount."}}</ref>

In September 2018, [[alt-right]] conspiracy theorist [[Jack Posobiec]] claimed on [[One America News Network]] that QAnon was gradually developed by two pro-Trump Twitter trolls named "Microchip" and "Dreamcatcher" in fall 2017, drawing inspiration from the 1999 novel ''Q'' by four (somewhat [[Situationist]]<ref>Ben Davis (August 8, 2018).[https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/q-anon-hoax-1329983 "Is the QAnon Conspiracy the Work of Artist-Activist Pranksters? The Evidence for (And Against) a Dangerous Hypothesis"]. ''Artnet''.</ref>) Italian authors under the pseudonym {{wpl|Luther Blissett (nom de plume)|Luther Blissett|,}} as well as from an anonymous user with the handle "FBIAnon", who proliferated on 4chan at the time of the 2016 election. Posobiec further claimed that at some point, "Microchip" and "Dreamcatcher" left, and the 8chan QAnon posts are now done by people who are in it for the money.<ref name=posobiec>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180906010950/https://www.oann.com/exposed-creator-of-qanon-speaks-for-the-first-time/ Exposed – Creator of QAnon Speaks for the First Time] by Jack Posobiec (UPDATED 7:52 AM PT — Wed. Sept. 5, 2018) ''One America News Network'' (archived from September 6, 2018).</ref><ref>[https://thefederalist.com/2018/10/29/trolling-fleecing-co-creator-q-hoax-explains-dangerous-evolution/ From Trolling To Fleecing: Co-Creator Of ‘Q’ Hoax Explains Its Scary Evolution] by Georgi Boorman (29 October 2018) ''The Federalist''.</ref>

[[Pundit]] Curt Schilling promoted QAnon on his [[Breitbart]] podcast.<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2018/06/29/breitbarts-curt-schilling-embraces-and-amplifies-absurd-qanon-conspiracy-theory/220572 Breitbart's Curt Schilling embraces and amplifies absurd "QAnon" conspiracy theory. Schilling: "It's a group of people that are very Christian-focused group of people, who believe the deep state is real — which I don't think we can deny anymore, that the deep state exists"] (June 29, 2018, 11:13 AM EDT) ''Media Matters for America''.</ref> [[Michael Salla]], [[ufologist]] and promoter of the idea that [[extraterrestrials]] are involved in [[Earth]]ly politics ([[exopolitics]]), has promoted QAnon in at least three web articles.<ref  name=salla1/><ref name="qsoros"/><ref name=salla2/> Because she didn't look dumb enough already, TV actress Roseanne Barr promoted QAnon on Twitter in 2017 and 2018 to her 900,000 followers.<ref>[https://medium.com/@willsommer/roseanne-barr-is-tweeting-about-qanon-a-new-pizzagate-style-conspiracy-theory-234526f52e54 Roseanne Barr is tweeting about QAnon, a new Pizzagate-style conspiracy theory] by Will Sommer (Mar 30, 2018) ''Medium''.</ref>

====Sidney Powell====
[[File:Sidney Powell booking photo Fulton County Georgia.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Sidney Powell in 2023: just another loser fired by Trump.]]
{{wpl|Sidney Powell||}} is a Texas attorney who first obtained prominence for defending [[Michael Flynn]] in 2019. Both Powell and Flynn are recognized as major figures within QAnon circles.<ref name=harwell2>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/12/01/powell-cites-qanon-watkins/ To boost voter-fraud claims, Trump advocate Sidney Powell turns to unusual source: The longtime operator of QAnon's Internet home] by Drew Harwell (Dec. 1, 2020 at 5:44 p.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> A year after defending Flynn, Powell joined Donald Trump's legal team, who tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election of [[Joe Biden]]… only to be fired by Trump's legal team a few weeks after the election.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/22/trump-campaign-sidney-powell-legal-439357 "Trump campaign cuts Sidney Powell from president’s legal team"] by Kyle Cheney, Politico, 2020 November 22</ref> Apparently her multiple baseless lawsuits (filled with embarrassing spelling and formatting errors)<ref>[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pro-trump-lawyer-sidney-powell-mocked-for-baseless-typo-laden-lawsuits_n_5fbfe6c4c5b66bb88c652c00 "Ex-Trump Lawyer Sidney Powell Mocked For Typo-Laden Lawsuits"] by Ja'han Jones, Huffington Post, 2020 November 26</ref> and "evidence" that consisted entirely of [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy therories]] and [[bullshit|debunked allegations]]<ref name=kraken>[https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55090145 "The Kraken: What is it and why has Trump's ex-lawyer released it?"] by Reality Check Team and BBC Monitoring, BBC News, 2020 November 28</ref> were too unhinged for Trump. Even [[Tucker Carlson]] (of all people) pushed back against her claims on one of his shows, asking to see actual evidence.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/us/politics/Tucker-Carlson-trump.html "Tucker Carlson Dared Question a Trump Lawyer. The Backlash Was Quick."] by Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times, 2020 November 20</ref>{{efn|Predictably, many QAnon supporters reacted angrily online to Carlson having the audacity to ask for actual evidence for the claims Powell was making.<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-believers-anger-tucker-carlson-trump-lawyer-evidence-voter-fraud-1548906 "QAnon Believers React With Anger as Tucker Carlson Says Trump Lawyer Provided No Evidence of Voter Fraud"] by Darragh Roche, Newsweek, 2020 November 20</ref>}} Powell has retweeted several major QAnon accounts, used rhetoric and imagery associated with QAnon on her social media,<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/wx8n8w/trumps-lawyer-sidney-powell-is-hardcore-qanon "Trump's Lawyer Sidney Powell Is Hardcore QAnon"] by David Gilbert, Vice News, 2020 November 20</ref><ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-election-lawyer-sidney-powell-is-longtime-qanon-supporter-2020-11 "An attorney leading Trump's attempt to subvert the election results is a longtime QAnon supporter"] by Tom Porter, Business Insider, 2020 November 20</ref><ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/24/business/sidney-powell-qanon/index.html "Sidney Powell is a beacon of hope to sad Qanon supporters"] by Donie O'Sullivan, CNN Business, 2020 November 24</ref> and made a live appearance on a YouTube channel run by "War Drummer",<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tty9fxVcscs "SIDNEY POWELL LIVE /// THE DEEP STATE HOAX"], Youtube, War Drummer, streamed live on November 19 2019</ref> a person who runs a heavily Q-promoting<ref>[https://archive.ph/HXeqF "Q – The Plan & Textual Time Travel",] thewardrummer.com, archived on 2020 December 1</ref> fringe conservative blog that also promotes other conspiracy theories, [[Book of Revelation|apocalyptic]] [[Christianity]], and a similar affection for embarrassing spelling mistakes.<ref>[https://archive.ph/25qfN "Pense (sic) lost to Kamala the witch."], thewardrummer.com, archived on 2020 December 1</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/0I8C9 War Drummer videos,] Youtube, archived on 2020 December 1</ref>

In December 2020, Powell, no longer representing Trump, filed an affidavit claiming voter fraud in the already-certified 2020 Georgia presidential election from Ron Watkins,<ref name=harwell/> who claimed in the affidavit to "be an information security expert with nine years of experience as a 'network and information defense analyst' and security engineer."<ref name=harwell/> The claim was largely based on his experience running the [[8chan]] (8kun) bulletin board, which he could not do particularly well (the board was down for three months in 2019).<ref name=harwell/>

In August 2023, Powell and 18 other (including Trump and Giuliani) were charged with felony interference with the 2020 Georgia election.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/trump-georgia-indictment-meadows-guiliani-084efc6796becef3714196cee3854cf6 A look at the 19 people charged in the Georgia indictment connected to Trump election scheme] by Kate Brumback & Jonathan J. Cooper (August 15, 2023) ''AP''.</ref> In an October 2023 plea deal, Powell pleaded guilty to 7 misdemeanors in exchange for testifying against the others.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/10/19/pro-trump-lawyer-sidney-powell-pleads-guilty-georgia-election-interference-case Trump co-defendant Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election-interference case] by Holly Bailey & Amy Gardner (October 19, 2023 at 10:12 a.m. EDT) ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution''.</ref>

L. Lin Wood, one of Trump's campaign lawyers, was also a QAnon promoter, having put "#WWG1WGA" in his Twitter bio. Along with Powell, he filed several bogus [[Voter fraud|election fraud]] lawsuits following Trump's loss in the 2020 election.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|172-173}}

====Michael Flynn====
{{main|Michael Flynn}}

Flynn was initially a QAnon hero, even pledging a generic oath with his family, followed by the QAnon motto "Where we go one, we go all!" and hashtag "#TakeTheOath" in July 2020.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/07/politics/michael-flynn-qanon-video/index.html Michael Flynn posts video featuring QAnon slogans] by Marshall Cohen (Updated 8:37 PM ET, Tue July 7, 2020) ''CNN''.</ref> By November 2021, however, Flynn had called QAnon "total nonsense" and a "disinformation campaign".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/29/michael-flynn-trump-ally-qanon-cia-left "Michael Flynn appears to have called QAnon 'total nonsense' despite his links: Trump ally reportedly says conspiracy theory a 'disinformation campaign' created by CIA and the left, apparent recording reveals"] by Victoria Bekiempis (29 Nov 2021 01.00 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref><ref name=harwell>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/01/03/trump-qanon-online-money-war-jan6/ "Since Jan. 6, the pro-Trump Internet has descended into infighting over money and followers: Far-right influencers and QAnon devotees are battling over online audiences in the power vacuum created by Trump's departure from office"] by Drew Harwell (January 3, 2022) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

===Notable passengers===
*Jake Angeli, aka the [[Q Shaman]], who became famous after appearing in the [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot]].
*Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in ''[[The Passion of the Christ]]'', started to praise the Q when planning his new movie about child trafficking titled ''[[Sound of Freedom]]''.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20230603081033/https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-hollywoods-jesus-jim-caviezel-went-full-qanon How Hollywood’s ‘Jesus’ Jim Caviezel Went Full QAnon] ''The Daily Beast''</ref> The movie has been showing to sold-out (but near-empty) theaters, indicating that the film's popularity is highly inflated and floating on a sea of bullshit.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/23/sound-of-freedom-qanon-movie-conspiracy-theories Sound of Freedom passed the $100m mark. Who’s really watching the movie? The ‘QAnon adjacent’ film, co-opted by the right wing, has a ‘pay it forward’ scheme resulting in sold-out shows but empty theaters] by Adam Gabbatt (23 Jul 2023 06.00 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref>
*Former congressman and professional idiot [[Louie Gohmert]], a late arrival in 2021.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-rep-louie-gohmert-minimized-jan-6-riot-at-major-qanon-conference-2021-5 Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert downplayed the Capitol riot at a major QAnon conference and posed for photos with a conspiracy theorist influencer] by Eliza Relman (May 31, 2021, 6:01 PM) ''Business Insider''.</ref>
*Matthew Lusk {{lived|1963}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190409174613/https://lusk2020.com/about_matthew About Matthew] ''Mathew Lusk, [[Republican]], for U.S. Representative from Florida District 5'' (archived from April 9, 2019).</ref> ran as a Republican for [[Florida]]'s 5th Congressional District in 2020. He stated, "I belong to no secret societies or clubs, Q is one of my issues because it's definitely a leak from high places. I follow Q, but I don’t know who or what Q is."<ref>[https://floridapolitics.com/archives/292970-q-republican-lawson Republican QAnon follower mounts 2020 challenge to Al Lawson] by A.G. Gancarski (April 8, 2019) ''Florida Politics''.</ref> Lusk also subscribes to sub-theories of QAnon, namely "Arkancide"/[[Clinton body count]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190409174141/https://lusk2020.com/home Just For the Record] (March 29, 2019 6:04 PM) ''Mathew Lusk, Republican, for U.S. Representative from Florida District 5'' (archived from April 9, 2019).</ref> deep state, and the [[antisemitic]] [[Federal Reserve]] conspiracy theory ("Federal Reserve Banksters").<ref>[https://web.archive.org/save/https://lusk2020.com/issues Issues] ''Mathew Lusk, Republican, for U.S. Representative from Florida District 5'' (archived from April 9, 2019).</ref> Fortunately for the rest of us, he bowed out of the House race before the primary.<ref>[https://ballotpedia.org/Matthew_Lusk Matthew Lusk] ''Ballotpedia''.</ref>
*[[Notch|Markus "Notch" Persson]] {{lived|1979}} tweeted, "Q is legit. Don't trust the media,"<ref>[http://archive.ph/srsfN Q is legit. Don't trust the media.] by @notch (2:40 AM - 2 Mar 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from 12 Mar 2019 18:03:38 UTC).</ref> and later confirmed that "I might be the most serious I've ever been."<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-conspiracy-minecraft-creator-notch-markus-persson-1351465 Qanon Conspiracy Endorsed By 'Minecraft' Creator Markus 'notch' Persson] by Andrew Whalen (3/4/19 at 4:46 PM EST) ''Newsweek''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190331202800/https:/twitter.com/notch/status/1101794668537208832 I might be the most serious I've ever been.] by @notch (2:41 AM - 2 Mar 2019) ''Twitter'' (March 31, 2019).</ref> This was one of the factors leading Microsoft to exclude him from the anniversary event of his creation, the popular [[video game]] ''Minecraft''.<ref>[https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/29/18522546/microsoft-minecraft-anniversary-event-notch-creator-comments-opinions Microsoft excludes Minecraft’s creator from anniversary event over his ‘comments and opinions’] by Jacob Kastrenakes (Apr 29, 2019, 11:55am EDT) ''The Verge''.</ref>
*{{wpl|Cheryl Sullenger}} {{lived|1955}} of [[Operation Rescue]] indicated her belief in QAnon based on the claim that Trump would put an end to [[Planned Parenthood]].<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/operation-rescue-hypes-qanon-blockbuster-intel-drop-about-planned-parenthood/  Operation Rescue Hypes QAnon ‘Blockbuster Intel Drop’ About Planned Parenthood] by Miranda Blue (March 15, 2018 12:44 pm) ''Right Wing Watch''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180314023808/https://www.operationrescue.org/archives/blockbuster-intel-drop-reveals-trump-is-trying-to-end-planned-parenthood-twitter-attempts-censorship/ Blockbuster Intel Drop Reveals Trump is Trying to "End" Planned Parenthood – Twitter Attempts Censorship] by Cheryl Sullenger (March 13, 2018) ''Operation Rescue'' (archived from March 14, 2018).</ref>
*Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice [[Clarence Thomas]], pushed a QAnon and a [[Sandy Hook massacre|Sandy Hook]] "truther" video to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in an attempt to have him work to overturn the [[2020 U.S. presidential election]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/24/virginia-thomas-mark-meadows-texts/ Virginia Thomas urged White House chief to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 election, texts show: In messages to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in the weeks after Election Day, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called Biden’s victory “the greatest Heist of our History” and told him that President Donald Trump should not concede.] by Bob Woodward & Robert Costa (March 24, 2022) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==Further chaos==
===A violent ride===
{{cquote|QAnon is batshit crazy. Crazy stuff. Inspiring people to violence. I think it is a platform that plays off people's fears, that compels them to do things they normally wouldn't do. And it's very much a threat.|||Senator [[Lindsey Graham]].<ref>[https://www.insider.com/sen-lindsey-graham-qanon-batshit-crazy-incites-violence-2020-8 Lindsey Graham says QAnon is 'bats--- crazy' after Trump defended the conspiracy theory's followers]. ''Insider.'' Aug 27, 2020.</ref>}}

Journalist Mike Rothschild asked {{wpl|Mark Juergensmeyer||,}} an expert in religious-based extremism, whether it was an overreaction to draw a parallel between [[Al-Qaeda]] and QAnon — in Juergensmeyer's opinion, it was not.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|106}} Since inception, QAnon by comparison has radicalized some followers much more rapidly than other religious extremist organizations, e.g. Al-Qaeda and [[Aum Shinrikyo]].<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|107}} For Al-Qaeda, it was more than 10 years; for Aum Shinrikyo, it was 11 years.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|107}} For QAnon it was October 28, 2017<ref name=lafrance/> to January 6, 2018: it was 70 days.<ref name=green>[https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/god-told-me-he-was-a-lizard-seattle-man-accused-of-killing-his-brother-with-a-sword/ ‘God told me he was a lizard’: Seattle man accused of killing his brother with a sword] by Sara Jean Green (Originally published January 8, 2019 at 6:52 pm Updated January 9, 2019 at 10:32 am) ''The Seattle Times''.</ref> Rather than acknowledge that QAnon itself is leading people to violence, QAnon followers often use the [[No True Scotsman]] fallacy to portray people committing violence in the name of QAnon as government plants.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|118}}

====2018====
[[File:Hoover Dam Matthew Wright vehicle.png|thumb|right|300px|Matthew Wright's homebrew armored vehicle used to block the Hoover Dam.]]
*In January, Buckey Wolfe was accused of "jamming the tang end of a four-foot long sharpened metal-bladed sword-like instrument" through his brother's head.<ref name=green/> Wolfe had called 911 and stated "Kill me, kill me, I can’t live in this reality" and "God told me he was a [[Reptilians|lizard]]."<ref name=green/> Wolfe was acquitted by reason of insanity and sent to a psychiatric facility.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200531053006/https://twitter.com/EmilyGorcenski/status/1243682567456534528 So I think I'm the first one to notice that Buckey Wolfe, the alleged Proud Boy who killed his brother with a sword, was acquitted by reason of insanity.] by Emily Gorcenski (16:33 - 27. März 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from May 31, 2021).</ref> Wolfe had been a member of the [[Proud Boys]], but also had made QAnon-related postings on Facebook.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/proud-boy-member-accused-of-murdering-his-brother-with-a-sword-4 Qanon-Believing Proud Boy Accused of Murdering ‘Lizard’ Brother With Sword] by Will Sommer (Updated Jan. 09, 2019 3:31PM ET / Published Jan. 09, 2019 3:25PM ET) ''The Daily Beast''.</ref>
*In March, the [[Reddit]] board for QAnon was shut down due to "encouraging or inciting violence and [[Doxing|posting personal and confidential information]]", and its moderators were banned from the site.<ref name=zadrozny>[https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-three-conspiracy-theorists-took-q-sparked-qanon-n900531 How three conspiracy theorists took 'Q' and sparked Qanon] by Brandy Zadrozny & Ben Collins (Aug. 14, 2018, 4:25 PM GMT) ''NBC News''.</ref> 
*In May, a [[charity]] group in Arizona called Veterans on Patrol was patrolling the state, searching for child [[sex trafficking]] operations after having stumbled onto a homeless shelter and coming to the dumbest possible conclusion.<ref>[https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/zm8ww8/qanon-conspiracy-theorists-are-hunting-for-child-sex-camps-in-the-arizona-desert #QANON Conspiracy Theorists Are Hunting for 'Child Sex Camps' in the Arizona Desert: A veteran’s charity in Arizona is hunting pedophiles in Tucson and asking the internet for help.] by Matthew Gault (Jun 7, 2018, 9:54am) ''Vice''.</ref>
*In June, Mathew P. Wright of Henderson, [[Nevada]] was arrested for allegedly blocking the bridge over the Hoover Dam with his home-made armored vehicle and guns; he held out a sign that was linked to QAnon.<ref>[https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2018/06/15/hoover-dam-bridge-closed-police-activity-nevada-arizona-state-line/706566002/ DPS: Man who blocked Hoover Dam bridge held sign calling for release of Comey report] by Nathan J. Fish (Published 1:55 p.m. MT June 15, 2018 | Updated 9:33 p.m. MT June 15, 2018) ''AZ Central''.</ref><ref>[https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2018/08/07/qanon-ties-two-arizona-arrests-conspiracy-theory-trump/920336002/ 2 Arizona arrests have ties to QAnon conspiracy theory movement] by Richard Ruelas (Published 12:04 p.m. MT Aug. 7, 2018 | Updated 3:00 p.m. MT Aug. 7, 2018) ''AZ Central''.</ref>
*In July, [[Pennsylvania]]n Gardner Boyd was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Trump and was reported to have made several references to QAnon.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/qanon-referenced-by-man-arrested-for-threatening-to-kill-trump QAnon Referenced by Man Arrested for Threatening to Kill Trump: Jeffrey Boyd told a Pennsylvania woman he had come from Oklahoma with a gun because of CIA mind-control and other Q-related clues. Police say he threatened the first family.] by Will Sommer (08.10.18 10:35 PM ET) ''Daily Beast''.</ref>
*In August, Forrest Clark was arrested for allegedly igniting a forest fire in Orange County, [[California]]; Clark had previously posted about QAnon and other conspiracy theories.<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/california-wildfire-suspect-posted-about-qanon-other-conspiracies_us_5b6dc69de4b0ae32af97e953 California Wildfire Suspect Posted About QAnon, Other Conspiracies: "This place is going to burn," Forrest Clark allegedly texted a volunteer fire chief two weeks before the fire.] by Sebastian Murdock (08/10/2018 03:44 pm ET) ''HuffPost''.</ref>
*In September, QAnoner/Pizzagater/[[flat Earth]]er William Douglas was charged with planning to massacre people at YouTube headquarters following the delisting of his channel.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/qanon-fan-arrested-for-threatening-massacre-at-youtube-headquarters QAnon Fan Arrested for Threatening Massacre at YouTube Headquarters: William Douglas claimed he was being censored, so like another paranoid vlogger he allegedly warned the company to stop—or else.] by Kelly Weill (Sep. 27, 2018 5:17AM ET) ''The Daily Beast''.</ref>

====2019====
*In February, in a bizarre incident of QAnon related violence, the man who shot mob boss Francisco Cali, Anthony Commelo, was a believer in QAnon and was motivated by the belief that said mob boss was a member of the [[deep state]] and as such attempted to perform a "citizen's arrest" on the man that went badly.<ref>"[https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-shot-mob-boss-francesco-franky-boy-cali/story?id=64483955 Man who shot mob boss Francisco "Franky Boy" Cali believed in QAnon]" - ABC News</ref>
*In May, QAnon conspiracists insanely misinterpreted a tweet from James Comey and came to the conclusion that the former FBI director was planning to launch a terrorist attack against a charter school; the school canceled a charity event out of fear that "internet [[vigilante]]s" would show up to cause trouble.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48231708 QAnon conspiracy theory on James Comey shuts school festival] (10 May 2019) ''BBC News''.</ref> One of the school's event coordinators later said, "We knew the theory itself was not targeting our event and in fact, it appeared that the QAnon [followers] somehow thought they were keeping us safe. But there was concern that the call-outs to the Anon communities to 'protect the children' could entice these people to show up to our event… there was no win for the festival under these circumstances."<ref>[https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/qanon-grass-valley-charter-school-foundation/ The inside story of how QAnon derailed a charter school’s annual fundraiser] by Mike Rothschild (2019-05-10 08:35 am) ''Daily Dot''.</ref>
*In May, an [[FBI]] memo from the Phoenix Field Office designated several political conspiracy theories (QAnon, Pizzagate, [[HAARP]], [[New World Order]], Sandy Hook massacre) as domestic threats with the potential to incite violence.<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/fbi-documents-conspiracy-theories-terrorism-160000507.html FBI document warns conspiracy theories are a new domestic terrorism threat] by Jana Winter (August 1, 2019) ''Yahoo News''.</ref><ref name=fbi>[https://www.scribd.com/document/420379775/FBI-Conspiracy-Theory-Redacted (U//LES) Anti-Government, Identity Based, and Fringe Political Conspiracy Theories Very Likely Motivate Some Domestic Extremists to Commit Crminal, Sometimes Violent Activity] (30 May 2019) ''FBI Phoenix Field Office'' via ''Scribd''.</ref> As evidence, the FBI cited arrests for criminal activities associated with the conspiracy theories.<ref name=fbi/>
*In December, QAnon follower Cynthia Abcug was charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping of her own son. She had lost custody of her son because she was suspected of medical child abuse and [[Factitious disorder#Factitious disorder imposed on another|factitious disorder imposed on another]].<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/colorado-mom-inspired-qanon-conspiracy-sought-kidnap-her-own-child-n1111711 Colorado woman, inspired by QAnon conspiracy, sought to kidnap her own child, police say: The woman had "gotten into some conspiracy theories and she was 'spiraling down it'" after her child was removed from her custody, her other child told police.] by Elisha Fieldstadt (Jan. 7, 2020, 9:08 AM PST) ''NBC News''.</ref> Abcug had been drawn to a litigious [[pseudolaw]] company called E-Clause{{anchor|E-Clause}}{{efn|E-Clause refers to the Emoluments Clauses of the [[United States Constitution]].<ref name=wells/>}} that was Christopher Hallett and Kirk Pendergrass (associates of {{sl|Timothy Charles Holmseth}}).<ref name=sommer1>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/qanon-promotes-pedo-ring-conspiracy-theories-now-theyre-stealing-kids QAnon Promotes Pedo-Ring Conspiracy Theories. Now They’re Stealing Kids.] by Will Sommmer (Updated Aug. 16, 2020 1:57PM ET / Published Aug. 15, 2020 5:04AM ET) ''The Daily Beast''.</ref> E-Clause was founded just before the first QAnon posting,<ref>[http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/corporationsearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=ECLAUSE%20L170002116170&aggregateId=flal-l17000211617-daa3c93c-0605-4fb1-baff-134888421bc4&searchTerm=ECLAT%20POISE%2C%20LLC&listNameOrder=ECLATPOISE%20L180001739010 E-CLAUSE LLC] ''SunBiz, The Florida Department of State''.</ref> and turned out to be a perfect instrument for grifting QAnon-believing parents who had lost custody of a child, the QAnon parents being ripe for believing that the government (specifically Child Protective Services) was part of a pedophile cabal.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|112-116}}<ref name=sommer1/>

====2020====
*QAnon supporters are also preying on the mentally ill. In January, a woman was arrested in [[Colorado]] for cooperating with QAnon crazies to kidnap her own child from the state's protective custody.<ref name="qcolorado">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2020/01/08/mother-teamed-up-with-qanon-followers-kidnap-her-son-protective-custody-police-say/ A mother teamed up with QAnon followers to kidnap her son from protective custody, police say]. ''Washington Post.'' 8 January, 2020.</ref> According to police records, the mother went "a bit crazy" after Colorado child welfare officials removed her child from her home, and she was subsequently sucked into the QAnon shitshow. She started appearing in numerous YouTube videos alleging that child protective services "has child trafficking rings in certain areas", stopped going to therapy, and allowed a heavily armed QAnon supporter to stay in her home for her "self-defense".<ref name="qcolorado"/> The woman was arrested and charged with felony conspiracy to commit kidnapping. According to police, they received a tip-off from the woman's own daughter, alerting them to the planned raid.<ref>[https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/477207-colorado-mom-accused-of-conspiring-with-qanon-group-to-kidnap Colorado mom accused of conspiring with QAnon group to kidnap child]. ''The Hill.''</ref>
*In March, Neely Petrie-Blanchard kidnapped her twin daughters, who had been assigned full custody to her mother.<ref name=wells>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-online-conspiracies-turn-deadly-a-custody-battle-and-a-killing-11617376764 How a Custody Fight Plus QAnon Turned Deadly: Christopher Hallett’s unorthodox legal theories gave Neely Petrie-Blanchard hope, and his online community of QAnon believers gave her a way to make sense of her disordered life] by Georgia Wells & Justin Scheck (April 2, 2021 11:19 am ET) ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref> Petrie-Blanchard was a QAnon follower who got involved with Christopher Hallett of {{sl|E-Clause}} to try to gain legal custody back of her children.<ref name=wells/> By November, the tide of Hallett's failed lawsuits was turning against him, as were some of his followers. Petrie-Blanchard had been working on her lawsuits with Hallett from his home when she fatally shot him in November.<ref name=wells/>
*In May, a QAnon-inspired Jessica Prim was charged with 18 counts of criminal possession of a weapon (knives). She had also threatened President Joe Biden and attempted to board the US Naval Ship ''Comfort'' on livestream video with the knives.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|117}}<ref>[https://www.insider.com/biden-qanon-supporter-arrested-attemp-live-streaming-trip-to-take-2020-5 A woman inspired by QAnon conspiracy videos was arrested after live-streaming her trip to 'take out' Joe Biden] by Margot Harris (May 1, 2020, 11:05 AM) ''Insider''.</ref>
*In June, Alpalus Slyman led police on a 100 mph (160 kph) two-state chase with his five children in his van after he binge-watched QAnon videos.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|108-109}} Slyman had been influenced by journalist-turned QAnon promoter Timothy Charles Holmseth, who claimed to be the sole journalist authorized to represent the (fictitious) "Pentagon Pedophile Task Force".<ref name=sommer1/>{{anchor|Timothy Charles Holmseth}}
*In July, Corey Hurren drove his pickup truck, which contained multiple firearms, through the gates of {{wpl|Rideau Hall||,}} an important government building in [[Canada]] where Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]] was living at the time. According to Hurren's plea, Hurren, who was suffering from major depression,<ref>[https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/corey-hurren-on-rideau-hall-attack-i-figured-as-soon-as-i-got-on-the-property-i-would-get-shot-down "Corey Hurren on Rideau Hall attack: 'I figured as soon as I got on the property, I would get shot down'"] by Adrian Humphreys, National Post, 2021 March 3</ref> wanted to arrest Trudeau over Canada's COVID-19 restrictions and its ban on assault-style firearms.<ref name="coreycbc">[https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/corey-hurren-rideau-hall-sentencing-decision-1.5943612 "Corey Hurren sentenced to 6 years in prison for breaching Rideau Hall gates while armed"] by Catharine Tunney, CBC News, 2021 March 10</ref> After fleeing his vehicle on foot, Hurren was eventually arrested and charged with threatening to cause death or bodily harm to the prime minister and multiple weapons offenses. Less than an hour earlier, Hurren had posted a meme relating to the "[[2019-20 COVID-19 outbreak#Claims that the virus was engineered|Event 201"]] COVID-19 conspiracy theory to his Instagram account. He also previously posted in March a QAnon [[meme]] referencing Q, the "white rabbit", and several other hashtags linked to QAnon (such as WWG1WGA, PizzaGate, etc.)<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/z3ez39/armed-man-corey-hurren-who-allegedly-stormed-justin-trudeaus-residence-rideau-hall-appears-to-have-posted-qanon-content "Armed Man Who Allegedly Stormed Trudeau's Residence Appears to Have Posted QAnon Content"] by Mack Lamoreux, Vice, 2020 July 3</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/06/canada-justin-trudeau-armed-man-gate-police "Armed man who broke into Trudeau residence charged with threatening to kill or injure PM"] by Leyland Cecco, Guardian, 2020 Jul 6</ref> On March 11, 2021, Hurren was sentenced to six years in prison, along with a lifetime ban on possessing any firearms, for the above incident.<ref name="coreycbc"/>
*In August, QAnoner Cecilia Celeste Fulbright was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated, chasing at least two cars, and intentionally crashing into one car and a barrier, claiming that "was a pedophile and had kidnapped a girl for human trafficking."<ref>[https://wacotrib.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/affidavit-drunk-driver-who-rammed-car-claimed-to-be-chasing-pedophile/article_5989fa98-49fb-5db1-a5f2-2cef7a42e009.html Affidavit: Drunk driver who rammed car claimed to be chasing pedophile] by Kristin Hoppa (Aug 13, 2020) ''The Waco Tribune-Herald''.</ref><ref>[https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/texas-qanon-car-attack-cecilia-fulbright/ Texas QAnon Supporter Used Car to Attack Strangers She Believed Were ‘Pedophiles’] by Julian Feeld (August 20, 2020 3:33 pm) ''Right Wing Watch''.</ref>
*In October, Emily Jolley was charged with second-degree felony obstruction of justice for allegedly kidnapping her son, for whom she did not have legal custody; Jolley was a QAnon supporter and a follower of an {{sl|E-Clause}} group on Facebook.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/another-qanon-mom-has-allegedly-kidnapped-her-kid Another QAnon Mom Has Allegedly Kidnapped Her Kid: A self-proclaimed psychic has become the latest QAnon supporter to apparently be spurred to action by bizarre child-trafficking conspiracy theories and fringe legal ideas.] by Will Sommer (Updated Oct. 01, 2020 12:51PM ET / Published Oct. 01, 2020 4:34AM ET) ''The Daily Beast''.</ref>
*Due to the violence associated with QAnon, the penny finally dropped at [[Twitter]] Safety, and QAnon activity was banned as of July 21, 2020.<ref>[http://archive.ph/Nsmtr 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.] by Twitter Safety (5:00 PM - 21 Jul 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from 22 Jul 2020 00:47:57 UTC).</ref>

=====2020 election-related violence=====
[[File:2021 storming of the United States Capitol 2021 storming of the United States Capitol DSC09265-2 (50821579347).jpg|thumb|right|350px|QAnon hat (foreground) with "WWG1WGA" during the storming of the Capitol]]
One of the first signs that the QAnon following would turn violent occurred when votes in [[Pennsylvania]] started to turn against Trump in the 2020 US elections. Two QAnon morons with AR-15s were arrested near the Philadelphia vote counting center, having apparently been traveling there to "straighten things out".<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/philadelphia-police-take-man-into-custody-in-connection-with-plot-to-attack-vote-counting-center-reports Alleged QAnon Goons With AR-15 Arrested Near Vote Center]. ''The Daily Beast.'' Nov. 06, 2020</ref>

On January 6, 2021 in Portland, Oregon, a man named Cody Levi Melby was arrested in a "Stop the Steal" rally outside the [[Oregon]] State House for firing five shots into the side of Portland's federal courthouse.<ref>[http://www.mcso.us/PAID/Home/Booking/1512655 Melby, Cody Levi] ''MCSO Inmate Data''.</ref> Melby in July 2020 had previously posted videos on [[YouTube]] sympathizing with QAnon conspiracy theories, and also [[ironically]] angrily warned [[Black Lives Matter]] protesters in Portland that "every single time you attack a government installation, or a federal facility, that is an act of treason, that is an act of sedition, that is an act of insurrection."<ref>[https://www.opb.org/article/2021/01/11/man-who-shot-federal-courthouse-in-portland-attended-stop-the-steal-protest-in-salem/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark"Man charged with shooting Portland federal courthouse attended Salem ‘Stop the Steal’ protest"] by Conrad Wilson, OPB, 2021 January 11</ref>

Douglas Austin Jensen, who wore a QAnon t-shirt, was charged with impeding the performance of a police officer and violent entry during the [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot]].<ref name=doj>[https://www.justice.gov/opa/investigations-regarding-violence-capitol Investigations regarding violence at the Capitol]. United States Department of Justice.</ref><ref>[https://conandaily.com/2021/01/09/doug-jensen-biography-13-things-about-donald-trump-supporter-from-des-moines-iowa/ Doug Jensen biography: 13 things about Donald Trump supporter from Des Moines, Iowa] by Marky O'Brien (January 9, 2021) ''CONAN Daily''.</ref>

Joshua Macias, Pennsylvania, founder of "Vets for Trump", and Antonio LaMotta were arrested in Philadelphia for bringing "two handguns, a semiautomatic rifle and a samurai sword" to a ballot-processing center in November 2020; they had driven there in an SUV with a QAnon bumper sticker.<ref name=bender>[https://www.inquirer.com/news/joshua-macias-bail-philadelphia-capitol-qanon-trump-20210108.html Prosecutors cite Capitol siege in bid to revoke bail for Vets for Trump founder caught in Philly with Hummer filled with guns] by William Bender & Jeremy Roebuck (Updated Jan 8, 2021) ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.</ref><ref>[https://www.salon.com/2021/01/26/virginia-trump-in-heels-candidate-says-capitol-attack-was-justified--because-of-covid-rules/ Virginia "Trump in heels" candidate says Capitol attack was justified — because of COVID rules: Amanda Chase says Capitol rioters were tired of being told "what we can and cannot do in the form of mandates"] by Roger Sollenberger (January 26, 2021 11:55PM UTC) ''Salon''.</ref> Macias was also observed at the 2021 Capitol riot, violating the terms of his bail from the Philadelphia arrest.<ref name=bender/>

Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. was charged with making threats against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and with illegally bringing firearms to the 2021 Capitol riot.<ref name=doj/><ref>[https://www.ajc.com/news/local/cobb-car-wash-put-billboard-linking-business-qanon-conspiracy/zFuok0RZunbVngqjtvWHCN/ Cobb car wash put up billboard linking business to QAnon conspiracy] by Ben Brasch (Aug 13, 2018) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution''.</ref>

Two of the people killed at the 2021 riot followed Q: Rosanne Boyland, who was crushed to death by the mob,<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/01/09/rosanne-boyland-trump-supporter-who-died-followed-qanon-family/6608289002/ Rosanne Boyland, Trump supporter who died, followed QAnon conspiracy, family says] by Sudhin Thanawala et al. (Published 12:27 p.m. ET Jan. 9, 2021; Updated 10:52 a.m. ET Jan. 13, 2021) ''AP'' via ''USA Today''.</ref> and Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a Capitol police officer after she broke into the building.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/09/ashli-babbitt-capitol-mob-trump-qanon-conspiracy-theory 'She was deep into it': Ashli Babbitt, killed in Capitol riot, was devoted conspiracy theorist: Babbitt, shot by police on Wednesday, saw storming of Capitol as a pivotal moment for the country] by Lois Beckett & Vivian Ho (9 Jan 2021 06.00 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

====2021====
*In January, Troy Burke from Michigan shot and killed his wife, Jessica Burke after he was convinced he was receiving messages from people within QAnon telling him to kill her. He believed his wife was a transgender offspring of Joe Biden who trafficked children for sex and had connections to the CIA.<ref>[https://www.insider.com/man-killing-wife-qanon-sex-trafficker-working-for-cia-2022-2 "Prosecutors say a Michigan man shot and killed his wife after being convinced by QAnon that she was a child sex trafficker working for the CIA"] by Cheryl Teh, Insider, 2022 February 11</ref>
*In August, in another bizarre and sad incident, a Santa Barbara surfing instructor named Matthew Taylor Coleman was charged with killing his two young children with a spear gun. Reportedly, during an interview with the FBI, Coleman explained that he was "enlightened by QAnon and [[Illuminati]] conspiracy theories", and the motivation for the murders was his belief that his wife "possessed [[Lizard people|serpent DNA]]" and had passed it on to his children, who he feared were now "monsters" as a result.<ref>[https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/story/2021-08-11/coleman-charged-mexico-killings-qanon "Santa Barbara surfer dad ‘enlightened by QAnon’ to kill his kids, feds say"] by Wendy Fry, San Diego Union Tribune, 2021 August 11</ref><ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/qanon-matthew-taylor-coleman-killed-kids-california-serpent-dna-conspiracy/ "Man says he killed his kids over QAnon conspiracy theories and "serpent DNA," fearing they'd become "monsters"], CBS News / Associated Press, 2021 August 12</ref>

As of February 2021, 56 people had committed QAnon-related crimes, including two Pizzagate-related crimes and 27 QAnon followers involved in the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot.<ref name=jensen>[https://www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_PIRUS_QAnon_Feb2021.pdf QAnon Offenders in the United States] by Michael Jensen & Sheehan Kane (February 2021) ''National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, University of Maryland''.</ref> More than two-thirds of the offenders had documented mental health issues according to court records.<ref name=jensen/> Ten of the offenders had affiliations with other extremist groups: [[sovereign citizens]] (6), [[Oath Keepers]] (2), Proud Boys (1), and Wolverine Watchmen (1).<ref name=jensen/>

====2022====
*In September, a man in Walled Lake, Michigan (Igor Lanis) shot and killed both his wife and the family dog, in addition to shooting one of his daughters in the back and the leg (reportedly leaving her with "super traumatic injuries"). When police officers went to investigate the situation, Lanis then shot at police; police officers returned fire and killed him. Lanis's other daughter, who fortunately was at a friend's house for a birthday, posted in the r/QAnonCasualties Reddit sub shortly after the incident and blamed QAnon entirely for the incident. According to her, before Mr. Lanis snapped, he had become increasingly obsessed with QAnon and other conspiracy theories online (such as the [[Big Lie]] of [[Donald Trump]] and [[COVID-19 vaccine]] conspiracy theories) after the [[2020 U.S. presidential election]]. Subsequently, as he started spending "all day and night reading stuff on his phone and laptop" immersed in conspiracy [[bullshit]], his personality became increasingly agitated and getting "really pissy over the smallest things". Lanis had no previous criminal record before this incident, and according to his daughter before going down the conspiracy rabbit hole, he was an "extremely loving and happy person", though prone to mental health issues.<ref>[https://archive.ph/oheaO "[TW] My Qdad snapped and killed my family this morning."] by u/qanonruinsfamilies, Reddit, r/QAnonCasualties, 2022 September 11, archived on 2022 September 12</ref><ref>[https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2022/09/11/walled-lake-man-killed-police-after-killing-wife-shooting-daughter/8058356001 "Daughter: Walled Lake man fell into conspiracy rabbit hole before shooting family"] by Kara Berg and Hannah Mackay, Detroit News, 2022 September 11</ref>
*In late October, the husband of [[Nancy Pelosi]], Paul Pelosi, was attacked and severely beaten with a hammer by an assailant who broke into the couple's San Francisco home and reportedly shouted "where is Nancy, where is Nancy?".<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/paul-pelosi-assaulted-156ece77186eb11b97260af3c5122f67 "Intruder attacks Pelosi’s husband, calling, ‘Where is Nancy’"] by Colleen Long, Olga R. Rodriguez, Lisa Mascaro and Michael Balsamo, AP News, 2022 October 28</ref> The alleged assailant was identified as David DePape, who previously was slightly notable as a [[nudity|nudist]] activist and [[hemp]] jewelry maker in the San Francisco Bay area in the early 2010s.<ref>[https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/What-we-know-about-David-DePape-man-accused-of-17542056.php "What we know about David DePape, man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer"] by Rachel Swan, Dustin Gardiner, and Sarah Ravani, San Francisco Chronicle, 2022 October 28</ref> However, sometime in the mid 2010s (perhaps, if one of his blogs is to be believed, due to [[Gamergate]]), DePape became more radicalized and started posting (both on [[Facebook]] and on various small blogs) angry conspiracy theories that aligned with QAnon (particularly the [[Pizzagate]]-oriented conspiracies concerning [[pedophilia]], [[transphobia]], [[COVID-19]] conspiracies, and [[antisemitism]]). In addition, DePape posted other tangentially related conspiracies, such as [[Big Lie]] content promoted by [[Mike Lindell]].<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/david-depape-alleged-paul-pelosi-attacker-shared-qanon-beliefs-1234620507/ "Paul Pelosi’s Alleged Attacker Raged About ‘Pedos,’ Shared QAnon Beliefs"] by Miles Klee and Adam Rawnsley, Rolling Stone, 2022, October 28</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20221028174642/https://www.frenlyfrens.com/blog/ Frenlyflens.com archive ]</ref><ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/28/politics/pelosi-attack-suspect-conspiracy-theories-invs "Alleged Paul Pelosi attacker posted multiple conspiracy theories"] by Casey Tolan, Curt Devine, Daniel A. Medina and Majlie de Puy Kamp, CNN, 2022 October 28</ref> On May 17 2024, DePape was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the attack.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/david-depape-man-attacked-paul-pelosi-hammer-sentenced-30-years-prison-rcna152614 "David DePape, man who attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, sentenced to 30 years in prison"] By David K. Li and Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 2024 May 17</ref>

====2023====
QAnoners Bryan Hill and Tracy Jo Remington set tripwires around their house that were connected to flashbangs.<ref name=gilbert/> Hill and Remington were charged with felony assault and conspiracy following the incident.<ref>[https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/highlands-ranch-residents-charged-with-assault-conspiracy-after-trip-wire-injures-salesman Highlands Ranch residents charged with assault, conspiracy after trip wire injures salesman] by Stephanie Butzer (Posted at 3:07 PM, Mar 16, 2023
and last updated 4:01 PM, Mar 17, 2023) ''Denver 7 ABC''.</ref> Remington indicated that she might use a sovereign citizen defense.<ref name=gilbert/> (Good luck with that.) A tripwire connected to a dangerous device is a mantrap, which is a felony in itself.<ref>[https://www.sfinelaw.com/blog/2019/october/how-setting-a-booby-trap-is-considered-a-forcibl/ How Setting a Booby Trap Is Considered a Forcible Felony] (October 17, 2019) ''Law Office of Steve Fine''.</ref>

===In the Trump administration===
[[File:Trump and Qanon.png|thumb|right|350px|Trump gives a shoutout to a Q believer.]]
{{cquote|I don't know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate. I have heard that it's gaining in popularity. I've heard these are people that love our country.|||Then-President Trump on QAnon believers.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/15/politics/donald-trump-qanon-town-hall/index.html Trump again refuses to denounce QAnon]. ''Associated Press.''</ref>}}
Trump occasionally likes to throw his most insane group of supporters a bone. At one of his rallies, he gestured approvingly towards a man with a "Q" shirt, and this happened because someone on Trump's team thought it appropriate to give the conspiracist a front-row VIP pass.<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/trump-team-gives-vip-rally-access-to-qanon-truther/ Trump Team Gives VIP Rally Access To ‘QAnon’ Truther] by Jared Holt (June 21, 2018) ''Right Wing Watch''.</ref> Trump also likes to retweet posts from QAnon accounts, which, while not directly related to the conspiracy, easily lead interested followers back to it. Most recently, he retweeted a post about Jeanine Pirro from an account that had "Q" as its profile picture.<ref>[https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/trump-twitter-qanon-avatar/ Trump retweeted a QAnon supporter during his Twitter bender] by David Covucci (2019-03-18 01:24 pm) ''The Daily Dot''.</ref> 

Trump's pastry chef at his [[Florida]] retreat is very vocal on [[Instagram]], and revealed that she sought her current job so that she could serve Trump while he takes down the alleged Democratic pedophile conspiracy.<ref name=wade>[https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-pastry-chef-qanon-799304/ Trump's Mar-a-Lago Pastry Chef Is a QAnon Believer] by Peter Wade (February 23, 2019) ''Rolling Stone''.</ref> Her posts also suggest that she has interacted with the president's security detail regularly and shows that she enjoys baking QAnon-themed pastries for Mar-a-Lago guests.<ref name=wade/>

While some Republicans do distance themselves from QAnon when confronted with the movement's most egregious behavior,<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-leaders-silent-on-qanon-believing-candidate-now-distancing-themselves/2020/06/17/e39c522c-b0c8-11ea-8f56-63f38c990077_story.html "GOP leaders silent on QAnon-believing candidate now distancing themselves"] by Colby Itkowitz, ''The Washington Post'', 2020 June 17</ref> other Republicans appeared to be willing to wink and nudge at the movement... or even outright re-tweet QAnon posters. In particular, Donald Trump was very keen on retweeting QAnon accounts (tweeting at least 90 posts from 49 pro-QAnon accounts since the [[COVID-19]] pandemic began according to a July 12, 2020 ''Politico'' analysis), knowing that these people are some of his biggest fans.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/12/trump-tweeting-qanon-followers-357238 "Trump isn't secretly winking at QAnon. He's retweeting its followers"] by Tina Nguyen, ''Politico'', 2020 July 12</ref> More troublingly, in 2020, the [[rhetoric of Donald Trump]] increasingly started to tack closely to the QAnon narrative, even if Trump did not explicitly mention QAnon in his tweets.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-the-trump-campaign-came-to-court-qanon-the-online-conspiracy-movement-identified-by-the-fbi-as-a-violent-threat/2020/08/01/dd0ea9b4-d1d4-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html "How the Trump campaign came to court QAnon, the online conspiracy movement identified by the FBI as a violent threat"] by Isaac Stanley-Becker, ''The Washington Post'', 2020 August 2</ref>

===Going viral===
[[File:Qanon book.jpeg|thumb|right|165px|These people can ''read''?]]
All of the dubious claims of this conspiracy theory have been easily [[debunked]], discredited, and immediately recognized as complete and total fabrications, slander, and [[lie]]s. Despite this, legions of rabid, [[far-right]]-wing extremists and conspiracists have embraced and promoted the theory in an increasingly crowded field of loonies inhabiting the cesspools of [[Social media platforms|social media]] and [[YouTube]].<ref name="rww">Kyle Mantyla, [http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/jerome-corsi-has-uncovered-irrefutable-proof-of-the-authenticity-of-qanon/ Jerome Corsi Has Uncovered Irrefutable Proof Of The Authenticity Of 'QAnon']. ''Right Wing Watch'', 11 January 2018.</ref> A detailed analysis of the whole fetid affair is documented in a boringly exhaustive copypasta.<ref name="bookofq" /><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190102234216/https://qanon.pub/ qanon.pub], an archive of QAnon-related posts (archived from January 2, 2019).</ref>

In April 2019, the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] documented how the conspiracy theory has strangely become a hit with the [[sovereign citizen]] movement, in a stunning example of [[crank magnetism]] in action.<ref name="splcq">[https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/04/23/qanon-conspiracy-increasingly-popular-antigovernment-extremists QAnon Conspiracy Increasingly Popular with Antigovernment Extremists] by Brendan Joel Kelley (April 23, 2019) ''Southern Poverty Law Center''.</ref> What makes this strange is that QAnon's base premise is that the government and law ultimately work. However, sovereign citizens and other anti-government extremists believe that they know the "true" law, which has been betrayed by the regular institutions of government, and that the military and Trump will help them save this mythological "true" law.<ref name="splcq"/>

QAnon has become an all-encompassing conspiracy theory. For instance, in late May of 2019, police in small-town California arrested a crazy lady for building homemade pipe bombs, and QAnon thinks that she was connected to a secret plot by James Comey to blow up a school.<ref>[https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/qanon-pipe-bomb-grass-valley-charter-school/ QAnon believers link small-town arrest to deep state conspiracy without evidence] by Mike Rothschild (2019-05-24 01:58 pm) ''Daily Dot''.</ref> This demonstrates that just about anything can be linked to QAnon if one happens to be creative enough. 

As a show of just how far this insanity has gone, a QAnon book called ''QAnon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening'' was written by many anonymous authors and reached number goddamn 2 on Amazon's algorithmically generated “hot new releases” and best-sellers lists.<ref>[https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/3/6/18253505/amazon-qanon-book-best-seller-algorithm-conspiracy How a conspiracy theory about Democrats drinking children's blood topped Amazon’s best-sellers list] by Kaitlyn Tiffany (Mar 6, 2019) ''Vox''.</ref><ref>''QAnon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening'' by WWG1WGA (2019) Relentlessly Creative Books. ISBN 1942790139.</ref> Among the book's highlights: claims that Democrats eat children, claims that Hillary Clinton runs a global Satanic cabal, and claims that the government created [[AIDS]] and [[Lyme disease]].<ref>[https://www.marketwatch.com/story/qanon-book-claiming-democrats-eat-children-is-climbing-the-amazon-charts-2019-03-05 'QAnon' book claiming Democrats eat children is climbing the Amazon charts] by Shawn Langlois (Mar 5, 2019, 12:32 p.m. ET) ''MarketWatch''.</ref> Needless to say, it's a hot mess.

The [[hacker]] group [[Anonymous]] has since denounced QAnon and [[Pizzagate]], and accused them of being created by state-backed actors and Trump supporters with knowledge of Anonymous's workings to discredit their operations.<ref>[http://archive.ph/wip/mXNz1 Pizzagate was created to discredit #OpDeathEaters, QAnon was created to discredit #Anonymous. Both were creations of prominent Trump supporters / state-backed, familiar with us and our operations. That's how we know that what we are telling you is credible.] by Anonymous (12:58 PM · Jul 10, 2019) ''Twitter'' (8 Jun 2020 15:38:52 UTC).</ref>

===Cult, religion, Russian psyop or LARP?===
{{main|1=Cult|3=Religion|5=Role-playing game}}
[[File:Virginia 2nd Amendment Rally (2020 Jan) - 49416341132.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Look, it's the official flag of dipshittery!]]
{{cquote|I look at QAnon as a cult… When you get recruited into a [[mind control]] cult, and get indoctrinated into a new belief system… a lot of it is motivated by fear.|||{{wpl|Steven Hassan}}, who as an ex-[[Unification Church|Moonie]] knows a thing or two about cults.<ref name="mittech"></ref>}}
By 2020, QAnon had nearly all of the markings of not just a conspiracy theory, but an outright [[Unified conspiracy theory|omniconspiracy]] [[cult]].<ref name=hannen/> Reports have surfaced that some QAnon adherents effectively cut off family and friends to stay with the online QAnon community.<ref>[https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/qanon-the-online-cult-that-is-a-danger-in-the-real-world/news-story/254d61eb32ec728e6181e6a9d9e33ee6 "QAnon: The online cult that is a danger in the real world"] by David Aaronovitch, The Australian Times, 2020 July 30</ref><ref>[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xwnjx4/people-tell-us-how-qanon-destroyed-their-relationships "People Tell Us How QAnon Destroyed Their Relationships"] by Mack Lamoureux, Vice, 2019 July 11</ref> According to one man who watched his girlfriend become consumed by the conspiracy, the social isolation and obsession displayed by his girlfriend was reminiscent of losing a loved one to drug addiction.<ref>[https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/qanon-conspiracy-cult-losing-family "'We Are Your Family Now': What It's Like to Lose a Loved One to QAnon"] by Quinn Myers, Mel, July 2020</ref> Some people describe that QAnon has effectively brainwashed people close to them into people they no longer know. Terms like "deprogramming" people from QAnon have increasingly appeared in the media.<ref>[https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/12/qanon-deprogramming-cult-congress-trump-conspiracy-theory-reddit/ "QAnon Destroys Lives. Now It’s Coming for Congress."] by Justin Ling, Foreign Policy, 2020 August 12</ref><ref name="mittech">[https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/26/1005609/qanon-facebook-twitter-youtuube/ "It’s too late to stop QAnon with fact checks and account bans"] by Abby Ohlheiser, MIT Technology Review, 2020 July 26</ref>

Where QAnon possibly fails the cult test is in determining who the charismatic leader is. Is it Trump, who is largely ignorant of the details of QAnon? Is it Q who is an anonymous person or persons, whose charisma would seem to be lacking? If one assumes that there is a leader of QAnon, then the 'leader' does not actually force compliance to rules and [[dogma]].<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|182-186}}

QAnon bears some resemblance to a religion with its focus on [[prophecy]], and its ability to attract white [[Evangelicalism|Christian evangelicals]],<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|186-191}} 27% of whom believe in the conspiracy theory.<ref>[https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/february/white-evangelicals-qanon-election-conspiracy-trump-aei.html QAnon Conspiracies Sway Faith Groups, Including 1 in 4 White Evangelicals: Survey examines belief in election fraud, the Deep State, and other theories on American politics.] by Jack Jenkins (February 11, 2021 10:41 AM) ''Religion News Service'' via ''Christianity Today''.</ref>

Russian [[sockpuppet|sockpuppets]] strongly promoted QAnon on social media. However, cybersecurity experts generally think that it is unlikely that Russia is actively behind QAnon, since Russian psyops have clear objectives unlike QAnon.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|192-196}}

In July 2019, a Reddit group called r/QAnonCasualties<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/QAnonCasualties/new/ r/QAnonCasualties], Reddit group</ref> was created to help people who have lost loved ones to QAnon share stories and advice, and possibly help drag their loved ones out of the wormhole.<ref>[https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/reddit-community-qanon-casualties-share-stories-of-conspiracy-cult/news-story/8a48754da503954647a61f91d22b304b "Reddit community QAnon Casualties share stories of conspiracy cult"] by Jack Gramenz, News.Com.Au, 2020 August 11</ref>

There is an argument to be made that QAnon is just a live-action puzzle-solving game,<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|196-197}} but puzzles have correct answers and QAnon never seems to have a definitive answer to the puzzles, thus making it more of a case of [[apophenia]]. Game designer Reed Berkowitz said that QAnon is not a game, but "A game that plays people."<ref>[https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qanon-580972548be5 A Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon: Playing with reality] by Reed Berkowitz (Sep 30, 2020) ''Medium''.</ref>

===Q Goes To Washington===
[[File:PerkinsSenate.png|thumb|right|385px|[[Oregon]] Republican candidate for Senate, Jo Rae Perkins, talks QAnon on [[Youtube]] with conspiracy monger Dustin Nemos.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNDLmc_ewp0 Jo Rae Perkins for Senate (Oregon) - WWG1WGA]. Dustin Nemos. ''YouTube.''</ref>]]
On August 11, 2020, QAnon (the conspiracy theory that likes to complain about the "deep state") made significant progress in becoming part of the deep state itself when Marjorie Taylor Greene defeated John Cowan in the Republican primary for Georgia's 14th Congressional District.<ref name="nytimesgreene">[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-qanon-georgia-primary.html "Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon Supporter, Wins House Primary in Georgia"] by Matthew Rosenberg, Astead W. Herndon and Nick Corasaniti, ''The New York Times'', 2020 August 11</ref> On November 3rd, Greene defeated her Democratic opponent Kevin Van Ausdal to win her Congressional seat, becoming the first open supporter of the QAnon conspiracy to win a seat in Congress.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/04/marjorie-greene-qanon-georgia-congress-election/ "Marjorie Taylor Greene, who backs QAnon and has made racist remarks, wins congressional seat"] by Andrea Salcedo, Washington Post, 2020 November 4</ref> Greene had previously praised Q as a "patriot" in a video posted to Facebook on November 2017.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rtYok4fdbQ "Marjorie Taylor Green - Qanon - The Vid She Wants To Forget.. Nov 26 2017"], posted by "Glow 4", ''YouTube'', 2020 June 4</ref> Unsurprisingly, Greene had previously made [[racist]] ranting videos on Facebook, suggesting [[Islamic]] nations routinely commit [[pedophilia]], equating [[Black Lives Matter]] activists to [[Ku Klux Klan]] members, defending [[Confederate]] statues, floating a conspiracy theory that the 2017 Las Vegas shooting was a plot to abolish the [[Second Amendment]], describing the election of [[Ilhan Omar]] as an "Islamic invasion", and evoking [[Godwin's Law]] by calling [[George Soros]] a [[Nazi]] collaborator.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/17/house-republicans-condemn-gop-candidate-racist-videos-325579 "House Republican leaders condemn GOP candidate who made racist videos"]by Ally Mutnick and Melanie Zanona, ''Politico'', 2020 June 17</ref> House Leader [[Kevin McCarthy]] could have done more to stop her campaign,<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/09/republicans-marjorie-taylor-greene-392735 "Republicans called her videos ‘appalling’ and ‘disgusting.’ But they’re doing little to stop her."] by Melanie Zanona and Ally Mutnick, ''Politico'', 2020 August 09</ref> but he remained neutral. After she added [[9/11]] conspiracies<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-republican-endorsed-by-trump-promotes-911-conspiracy-2020-8 "Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congressional candidate endorsed by Trump, claimed there's 'no evidence' a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11"] by Eliza Relman, ''Business Insider'', 2020 August 13</ref> to her bat-shit beliefs, Leader McCarthy decided to endorse her fully.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/12/politics/qanon-marjorie-taylor-greene-house-republicans/index.html "Trump and top House Republican embrace candidate who promoted QAnon conspiracy theory"] by Clare Foran, Manu Raju, and Haley Byrd, ''CNN'', 2020 August 12</ref> To no one's surprise, Donald Trump sent a congratulatory tweet in response to her winning the primary, calling her a "future [[Republican]] star".<ref name="nytimesgreene"></ref><ref>[https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article244904722.html "Who is Marjorie Taylor Greene? Trump called QAnon supporter a ‘future Republican star’"] by Summer Lin, ''Miami Herald'', 2020 August 12</ref> Greene earned a key endorsement in May 2020 from [[white supremacist]] Chester Doles, who is associated with a variety of [[skinhead]] movements, who stated in a post on Russian social media platform [[Social_media_platforms#VKontakte|VKontakte]]: "Our friend Marjorie Greene is running for Congress. She’s part of the Q movement. Good friend to have."<ref>[https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/georgia-candidates-embrace-group-with-extremist-ties/LtUVaLX44kEFMvK7ECIOdP/ "Georgia candidates embrace group with extremist ties"] by Chris Joyner and Tia Mitchell, ''The Atlanta Journal–Constitution'', 2020 May 19</ref> Greene announced that she would introduce articles to impeach Joe Biden seven days before his presidency even started.<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-linked-congresswoman-file-impeachment-articles-against-biden-january-21-1561414 QAnon-Linked Congresswoman to File Impeachment Articles Against Biden on January 21] ''Newsweek'' 13 January 2021</ref>

Such was a demonstration of how QAnon was slowly being normalized into [[Republican]] [[populism]] in 2020. In July 2020, a QAnon mug appeared in the background of a [[Fox News]] interview with New York police union head {{wpl|Ed Mullins}}<ref name="forbesqanonfox">[https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/07/18/qanons-fox-news-cameo-the-conspiracy-theorys-latest-breakout-moment/#241f2d8d621e "QAnon’s Fox News Cameo: The Conspiracy Theory’s Latest Breakout Moment"] by Jack Brewster, ''Forbes'', 2020 July 18</ref> In an interview with {{wpl|Eric Trump}} on July 25 2020, Fox News host {{wpl|Jesse Watters}} said QAnon had "uncovered a lot of great stuff".<ref>[https://www.insider.com/fox-news-jesse-watters-conspiracy-theory-qanon-great-stuff-2020-7 "Fox News host says far-right conspiracy movement QAnon uncovers 'great stuff'"] by Ellen Cranley, ''The Insider'', 2020 July 26</ref> Social media retweets, hashtags, and [[memes]] were posted by Eric Trump, White House deputy communications director {{wpl|Dan Scavino||,}} Trump's first national security advisor [[Michael Flynn]],<ref name="forbesqanonfox"></ref> and former campaign advisor [[Roger Stone]].<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/former-trump-adviser-roger-stone-says-he-hopes-qanon-source-real-1515197?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1593733353 "Former Trump Adviser Roger Stone Says He Hopes QAnon Source is 'Real'"] by Jeffery Martin, ''Newsweek'', 2020 July 2</ref>

During the 2020 [[Republican]] National Convention, a woman named Mary Ann Mendoza (who is an advisory board member for {{wpl|Women for Trump}} and was also involved with ''[[Steve_Bannon#Great_Walls_of_Fraud|We Build the Wall]]'', at the time indicted for fraud just a few days prior) was scheduled to speak about her son's 2014 death at the hands of a drunk driver who was in the country illegally. Before speaking, however, she tweeted a link to an extremely lengthy thread<ref name="batshitcrazythread">[https://archive.ph/C6OQg "‘A Gray Marble And A Den Of Vipers.’ In 1773, A Wealthy Goldsmith And Coin Dealer Named Mayer Amschel Bauer Summoned Twelve Wealthy And Influential Men To His Place Of Business In Frankfurt, Germany."], @WarNuse, Twitter, 2020 May 22, archived on 26 Aug 2020</ref> from a user whose Gab account proudly proclaims it to be affiliated with QAnon.<ref>[https://archive.ph/1CbPD @WarNuse Gab account.] Front page. Archived on 26 Aug 2020</ref> The thread imagined a Hollywood-esque conspiratorial narrative using [[Rothschild family|old Rothschild family]] and [[RMS_Titanic#It_was_an_inside_job|RMS ''Titanic'']] tropes, implying the age-old conspiracy theory that [[International Jewish conspiracy|the Jews run the world]]. (Among the many gems within this thread<ref name="batshitcrazythread"></ref> are a list of supposed "Original Federal Reserve Board Members", all supposedly linked to the Rothschild family, that didn't even include the first Federal Reserve chairman, {{wpl|Charles Sumner Hamlin}}, but did for some stupid fucking reason include the {{wpl|Bank of England}}.) Although Mendoza deleted the tweet and her speech ended up being canceled due to the ensuing uproar, Mendoza had posted other [[bullshit]] in the past (such as linking [[George Soros]] to the Rothschild family in a conspiratorial manner, to the point where ONE WORLD GOVT! was of course written in ALL CAPS!)<ref>[https://archive.ph/RM1Rp 👇👇 "These are the violent types of people that SOROS, the ROTHCHILDS and the UNITED NATIONS have NO problem using as pawns and uprooting them and bringing them to the USA to accomplish their ONE WORLD GOVT! 🇺🇸 TODAY...RIGHT NOW..WE HAVE TO FIGHT"], Tweet, @mamendoza480, 2019 June 6, archived on 2020 August 26</reF> that would not be out of place in a QAnon social media thread.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/rnc-speaker-boosts-qanon-conspiracy-theory-about-jewish-plot-to-enslave-the-world-1 "RNC Speaker Cancelled After Boosting QAnon Conspiracy Theory About Jewish Plot to Enslave the World"] by Will Sommer, Daily Beast, 2020 August 25</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/qanon-rothschilds-mary-ann-mendoza-rnc-speech-angel-mom-a9688706.html "'Angel Mom' Mary Ann Mendoza posts antisemitic QAnon conspiracy ahead of RNC speech"] by Alex Woodward, Independent, 2020 August 25</ref>

===Becoming a domestic terror threat===
[[File:Jake Angeli (Qanon Shamon), seen holding a Qanon sign (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|195px|"QAnon Shaman"  Jake Angeli]]
{{cquote|QAnon believers will confront [[fact]]s and [[reality]] in court.|||U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who is presiding over many of the 2021 Capitol riot cases<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/capitol-riot-defendants-regrets/2021/02/26/b3d06e3e-76b1-11eb-9537-496158cc5fd9_story.html Capitol riot defendants facing jail have regrets. Judges aren’t buying it.] by Rachel Weiner & Spencer S. Hsu (Feb. 26, 2021 at 9:04 a.m. PST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>}}
In 2019, for the first time, the [[FBI]] labeled "conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists" (including QAnon) as a domestic terrorism threat.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/fbi-warns-against-qanon-pizzagate-in-report-highlighting-dangers-of-fringe-conspiracy-theories "FBI Labels Fringe Conspiracy Theories as Domestic Terrorism Threat"] by Marianne Dodson, Daily Beast, 2019 August 1</ref>

In late 2020, QAnon movement adherents started focusing on supporting [[Donald Trump]]'s dubious claims over the 2020 U.S. presidential election, particularly after [[Joe Biden]] won in November and Trump responded by making baseless claims concerning electoral fraud. Due to fears concerning the incidents of real-world violence up to that point, and concerns that this violence will spill into the election itself, several social media sites started cracking down on QAnon. In July 2020, [[Twitter]] announced a crackdown on QAnon content.<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/qanon-conspiracy-twitter-bans-accounts-crackdown/ "Twitter unveils plan to limit QAnon activity in new crackdown"] by Li Cohen, CBSNews, 2020 July 22</ref> In October 2020, [[Facebook]] labeled QAnon a "militarized social movement" and completely banned QAnon across all of their platforms.<ref>[https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/6/21504887/facebook-qanon-ban-all-apps-pages-groups-instagram-accounts "Facebook completely bans QAnon and labels it a ‘militarized social movement’"] by Nick Statt, Verge, 2020 October 6</ref> Also in October 2020, [[YouTube]] updated its hate policies to “prohibit content that targets an individual or group with conspiracy theories that have been used to justify real-world violence."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/15/youtube-qanon-crackdown/?itid=lk_inline_manual_84 "YouTube joins Silicon Valley peers in preelection QAnon clampdown"] by Elizabeth Dwoskin and Isaac Stanley-Becker, Washington Post, 2020 October 15</ref> {{wpl|Etsy}} banned QAnon merchandise from its marketplace around the same time period.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/elanagross/2020/10/07/etsy-latest-to-crackdown-on-qanon-conspiracy-theory/?sh=6ab40e0864a1 "Etsy Latest To Crackdown On QAnon Conspiracy Theory"] by Elana Lyn Gross, Forbes, 2020 October 7</ref> (This "ban", however, was not super-strict; therefore it was often still relatively easy to find QAnon information on these platforms even after the crackdown took place.)<ref>[https://www.vox.com/recode/21499485/qanon-facebook-twitter-bans-republican-politics "Facebook and Twitter said they would crack down on QAnon, but the delusion seems unstoppable"] by Shirin Ghaffary, Vox, 2020 Oct 6</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/technology/facebook-tried-to-limit-qanon-it-failed.html "Facebook Tried to Limit QAnon. It Failed."] by Sheera Frenkel and Tiffany Hsu, New York Times, 2020 September 18</ref>

[[File:FBI Conspiracy Theory (Redacted) OCR.pdf|thumb|left|250px|[[FBI]] report on the domestic criminal threat from conspiracy morons.]]

Fears about QAnon violence were realized with QAnon's role in the [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot]]. On January 6th, 2021 (the day that Congress was voting to certify Biden's {{wpl|United States Electoral College|Electoral College}} win), [[Donald Trump]] organized a "Save America" rally that included inflammatory speeches by Trump, [[Rudy Giuliani]], and others.<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-told-supporters-stormed-capitol-hill/story?id=75110558 "This is what Trump told supporters before many stormed Capitol Hill"] by Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 2021 January 7</ref><ref>[https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/rudy-giuliani-speech-transcript-at-trumps-washington-d-c-rally-wants-trial-by-combat "Rudy Giuliani Speech Transcript at Trump’s Washington, D.C. Rally: Wants ‘Trial by Combat’"], Rev.Com, 2021 January 6</ref>  The rally devolved into a violent mob who attempted to siege the Capitol building. Several participants were wearing QAnon apparel, or were known as being strongly associated with the movement;<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/13/qanon-capitol-siege-trump/ "QAnon reshaped Trump’s party and radicalized believers. The Capitol siege may just be the start."] by Drew Harwell, Isaac Stanley-Becker, Razzan Nakhlawi and Craig Timberg, Washington Post, 2021 January 13</ref> many of the ludicrous claims of QAnon were shouted as the mob tried to take over the Capitol.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/07/trump-online-siege/ "Nothing can stop what’s coming: Far-right forums that fomented Capitol riots voice glee in aftermath"] by Craig Timberg, Drew Harwell, Razzan Nakhlawi and Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 2021 January 7</ref>

One woman who was part of this mob, Ashli Babbitt, attempted to break through a door in order to enter the Speaker's Lobby (where lawmakers were evacuating from at the time), and was subsequently fatally shot by Capitol police. An analysis of her social media shows how her exploration of the darker sentiments circulating in online right-wing circles, including a full embracement of QAnon conspiracy theories, had radicalized her to the point of participating in an attempted insurrection, in only a couple years' time.<ref>[https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/01/08/the-journey-of-ashli-babbitt/ "The Journey of Ashli Babbitt"], Bellingcat Investigation Team, Bellingcat.com</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2021/01/08/ashli-babbitt-shooting-video-capitol/ "Video shows fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt in the Capitol"] by Jon Swaine, Jon Swaine, Dalton Bennett, Joyce Sohyun Lee and Meg Kelly, Washington Post, 2021 January 8</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/us/who-was-ashli-babbitt.html "Woman Killed in Capitol Embraced Trump and QAnon"] by Ellen Barry, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Dave Philipps, New York Times, 2021 January 7</ref>

A man named Douglas Jensen, clothed in a Q shirt, was among the first to break into the US Capitol; he later ended up chasing and menacing a Black police officer.<ref>[https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/douglas-jensen-iowa-us-capitol-protester-qanon-trump-supporter-20210112 "QAnon backer from Iowa was among first to breach Capitol"] by Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press (posted on The Gazette), 2021 January 12</ref>

Shortly after the riots, Cleveland Grover Meredith was arrested for texting plans to shoot the Speaker of the House, [[Nancy Pelosi]]. Meredith had put up a billboard saying "#QANON" near his business in 2018, and his social media showed strong interest in far-right disinformation.<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/the-georgia-dad-who-said-that-he-wanted-to-kill-nancy-pelosi "The Georgia Dad who Said That He Wanted to Kill Nancy Pelosi"] by Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 2021 January 15</ref>

A man named Jake Angeli, aka the "[[QAnon Shaman]]" (distinguished for wearing a bizarre outfit consisting of fur, a horned helmet, and facepaint, but of course no shirt) entered the Senate floor and demanded to see the person designated to certify the election, Vice President [[Mike Pence]].<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/well-known-qanon-influencer-dubbed-230306934.html "A well-known QAnon influencer dubbed the 'Q Shaman' played a highly visible role in the Capitol siege"] by Rachel E. Greenspan, Yahoo News, 2021 January 6</ref><ref>[https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/01/06/arizona-qanon-supporter-jake-angeli-joins-storming-u-s-capitol/6568513002/ "Longtime Arizona QAnon supporter in horned helmet joins storming of U.S. Capitol"] by Richard Ruelas, Arizona Republic, 2021 January 6</ref>

This was a wake-up call to many social media companies (where, despite previous bans, plenty of baseless QAnon-oriented misinformation still remained on platforms like Facebook<ref>[https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/jan/13/false-claims-facebook-about-martial-law-insurrecti/ "QAnon posts evade Facebook ban before Inauguration Day"] by Daniel Funke, Politifact, 2021 January 13</ref>) regarding the potential violent dangers of the QAnon movement. This prompted them to ''finally'' (we hope) take heavier action and remove QAnon from their platform. Shortly after the attempted coup, [[Twitter]] suspended 70,000 QAnon accounts,<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/01/11/twitter-purge-qanon-accounts-permanent-suspension-trump-capitol-riots/6633629002/ "Twitter suspends 70,000 QAnon accounts in massive purge fter deadly Capitol siege, Trump ban"] by Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 2021 January 11</ref> and {{wpl|Amazon (company)|Amazon}} and {{wpl|eBay}} removed merchandise related to the QAnon movement.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/business/amazon-qanon.html "Amazon says it will remove QAnon products from its store."] by Karen Weise, New York Times, 2021 Jan 11</ref> This was also a wake-up call to government intelligence, who issued a bulletin labeling domestic extremists as the "greatest domestic terrorism threats in 2021", and included QAnon conspiracies as part of the possible motivation.<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/intelligence-report-capitol-riot-has-emboldened-domestic-extremists-who-now-pose-greatest-domestic-terrorism-threats-in-2021-000441645.html "Intelligence report: Capitol riot has emboldened domestic extremists who now pose 'greatest domestic terrorism threats in 2021'"] by Crystal Hill, Yahoo News, 2021 January 13</ref>

As of May 2021, 79 QAnon believers were charged with crimes; of these, 40 were charged with crimes in connection with the Capitol coup attempt.<ref>[https://www.start.umd.edu/sites/default/files/publications/local_attachments/START%20QAnon%20Research%20Brief_5_26.pdf QAnon Offenders in the United States] by Michael Jensen & Sheehan Kane (May 2021) ''National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism''.</ref> One of the alleged insurrectionists, Stephen Baker, has a priceless [[pseudonym]]: "Stephen Ignoramus". Before the insurrection, Ignoramus had been recorded on YouTube spewing forth on [[Holocaust denial]], anti-[[women's suffrage]] and rights, [[homophobia]] and racism.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/07/06/capitol-insurrection-trump-christian-nationalism-shaman/ A horn-wearing ‘shaman.’ A cowboy evangelist. For some, the Capitol attack was a kind of Christian revolt.] by Michelle Boorstein (July 6, 2021 at 4:00 a.m. PDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

===QAnon and Jews===
Despite being inherently antisemitic, the QAnon conspiracy actually has Jewish adherents, particularly orthodox Jews.<ref name=bloom>[https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/why-jews-are-susceptible-to-qanon-s-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-1.9967157 Jews of QAnon: How an Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory Is Winning Converts in Israel. The theory about a satanic cabal based on one of the world's oldest, most lethal antisemitic libels is localizing itself to make inroads into the Orthodox Jewish community in the U.S. – and now, increasingly, in Israel] by Mia Bloom & Yulie Maimon (Jul. 4, 2021 2:18 PM) ''Haaretz''.</ref> This occurred because of a QAnon campaign on [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]] called "Save the Children Israel" (which ripped off the charity {{wpl|Save the Children|Save the Children's}} logo).<ref name=bloom/> There is even a [[Hebrew]] QAnon channel on Telegram.<ref name=bloom/>

===QAnon, New Age, and the broader wellness movement===
[[File:Double protest to Open Ohio 01bIMG 0746 (49872740366).jpg|thumb|right|200px|A QAnon believer protests against vaccines. Two dumbass takes for the price of one!]]
[[New Age]], [[wellness]], and [[alternative medicine]] communities have long been known to have a more conspiracist side, including an [[War on Science|anti-science]] oriented distrust of authority,{{efn|This distrust of scientific and other mainstream authorities is usually complemented with a blind trust in chosen alternative authorities.}} and a rooting in rejected and supposedly "suppressed" knowledge. While the broader part of this loosely defined crowd is more associated with the political left, there's long been parts of it that are strongly into New World Order and shadow government conspiracies, etc., and who overlap with libertarian and sometimes alt-right influences. Perhaps the most iconic example of a New Ager inclined to fully embrace QAnon is the [[Q Shaman]], one of the more notorious participants of the [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot]], who displayed an eccentric mix of New Age and conspiratorial views.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/03/29/qanon-new-age-spirituality/ "QAnon's Unexpected Roots in New Age Spirituality"] by Marisa Meltzer, Washington Post, 2021 March 29</ref>

Long before QAnon, some wellness and New Age oriented platforms were already well known for fully embracing conspiracy theories. For example, [[Gaia Inc.]] has long been associated with promoting conspiracy theories.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-gaia-video-streaming-website-conspiracy-theories-2021-1?r=price-insider "Gaia was a wildly popular yoga brand. Now it's a publicly traded Netflix rival pushing conspiracy theories while employees fear the CEO is invading their dreams."] by Rob Price, Business Insider, 2021 Feb 14</ref> Those on this fringe side also have a long history of supporting [[anti-vaccination]] ideology. For instance, in a {{wpl|Chicago Tribune}} article in 1994, Loring Dales, the chief of the California Health Department's immunization branch at the time, described "New Age" groups (and religious groups) as a social factor driving vaccine hesitancy at the time.<ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-05-10-9405100146-story.html "An emotional debate on child vaccinations"] by Jessica Seigel, Chicago Tribune, 1994 May 10</ref> And despite being polar opposites politically, in 2017, {{wpl|Quartz (publication)|Quartz}} showed that the store of wellness-oriented [[Goop]] and conspiratorial-oriented [[Infowars]] often sold similar [[snake oil]], just with different branding.<ref>[https://qz.com/1010684/all-the-wellness-products-american-love-to-buy-are-sold-on-both-infowars-and-goop/ "All the “wellness” products Americans love to buy are sold on both Infowars and Goop"] by Nikhil Sonnad, Quartz, 2017 June 29</ref>

So, naturally, some people in these communities were susceptible to a blending of spiritual and health-related beliefs with the conspiracism of QAnon &ndash; in an example of what researchers call "[[conspirituality]]" &ndash; various conspiracy theories spreading through disinformation, and mixing with the pre-existing spirituality and often [[bullshit]] health practices of the New Age movement.<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/93wq73/conspirituality-explains-why-the-wellness-world-fell-for-qanon "‘Conspirituality’ Explains Why the Wellness World Fell for QAnon"] by Shayla Love, Vice, 2020 December 16</ref>

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], QAnon integrated the ideology of the [[anti-vaccination movement]] into their omniconspiracy cult, and while parts of the New Age world began to overlap with QAnon earlier on, this helped the conspiracy theory advance into the broader and more left-leaning [[wellness]] movement in 2020. Shared beliefs, such the notion that "[[Big Pharma]]" and other equivalent boogeymen were secretly trying to control the political and social order, helped bridge the gap.<ref>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/conspirituality-where-new-age-wellness-meets-right-wing-conspiracy-thinking/ "Conspirituality: Where New Age wellness meets right wing conspiracy thinking"] by Scott Gavura, Science Based Medicine, 2021 February 4</ref>

QAnon's surface-level focus in 2020 on sex trafficking, and wellness influencers targeting other like-minded individuals with attractive messaging that hid the racism, bigotry, and ugliness of the movement (a phenomenon that was dubbed as {{wpl|Pastel QAnon|"pastel QAnon"}} by a researcher named Marc-André Argentino)<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/qanon-pastel-antivax-natural-parenting-community-freebirth-1098518/ "‘Pastel QAnon’ Is Infiltrating the Natural Parenting Community"] by EJ Dickson, Rolling Stone, 2020 December 14</ref><ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/08/how-instagram-aesthetics-repackage-qanon/615364/ "The Women Making Conspiracy Theories Beautiful"] by Kaitlyn Tiffany, Atlantic, 2020 August 18</ref> were additional factors furthering the crossover between QAnon and the wellness, New Age, and alternative health communities.<ref>[https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a35056548/wellness-fitness-influencers-qanon-conspiracy-theories/ "The Unlikely Connection Between Wellness Influencers and the Pro-Trump Rioters"] by Clio Chang, Cosmopolitan, 2021 January 12</ref> This has alarmed other members of the wellness and New Age communities who recognized that QAnon's core [[racism]], [[antisemitism]], and link to violence was incompatible with much of the philosophy that these communities promoted.<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/qanon-wellness-influencers-seane-corn-yoga-1059856/ "Wellness Influencers Are Calling Out QAnon Conspiracy Theorists for Spreading Lies"] by EJ Dickson, Rolling Stone, 2020 September 15</ref>

==Decline and evolution during the Biden administration==
[[File:Qanon SUV, Burbank, California, USA.jpg|thumb|right|325px|A QAnon SUV in Burbank, [[California]] in March 2021.]]
When the sudden mass arrest of their opponents didn't materialize and Joe Biden was sworn in without a hitch on the 20th of January, some of the QAnon faithful appeared to lose hope,<ref>[https://gizmodo.com/heres-how-qanon-reacted-as-they-realized-the-storm-isnt-1846095605 Here's How QAnon Reacted as They Realized 'The Storm' Isn't Happening] ''Gizmodo'' 20 January 2021</ref> with a handful even admitting their mistakes and moving on with their lives.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/qanon-conspiracy-theory-recovery-4ea47c2966a41b30ae678e5f471f6070 Checked by reality, some QAnon supporters seek a way out] ''Associated Press News'' 29 January 2021</ref> Some of them, however, merely did what they have always done when a Q prediction failed to come true: they [[moved the goalposts]]. Despite the days passing uneventfully with Trump sitting in retirement in Florida and Biden doing his job in the White House, the more hardcore believers of QAnon continued insisting that executions, military operations and the dramatic return of Trump was ''just'' around the corner. A new date was selected for Trump's victory over his perceived enemies: March 4.

This particular date was arrived at by using sovereign citizen logic. Since (according to them) the United States ceased to be a real country in 1871, every government since then has been illegitimate. QAnon supporters latched onto this theory, using it as evidence that Biden is NOT the President, and that March 4 (the old date for Presidential inaugurations, used until 1933) is the inauguration date of the ''true'' Republic.<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/88akpx/qanon-thinks-trump-will-become-president-again-on-march-4 QAnon Thinks Trump Will Become President Again on March 4] ''VICE News'' 25 January 2021</ref> (Of course, by this logic, Trump could never have been a legitimate President either, since he himself was inaugurated on 20 January 2017, on the "false" inauguration date of a "non-existent" country. Not that this seems to bother any of these people...) There is absolutely no credible evidence to support any of these claims<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-qanon-military-theories-idUSKBN29R1ZA Fact check: No evidence to support QAnon claims of mass arrests, military takeover, illegitimacy of Biden’s presidency or Trump’s return to power] ''Reuters'' 22 January 2021</ref> but they nonetheless became wildly popular amongst believers desperate for any ray of hope. The social media posts about March 4 being significant even caught the attention of security forces in Washington (who decided to stick around until March 12 partly because of this)<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/17/politics/national-guard-qanon-concerns/index.html Nearly 5,000 National Guard troops to remain in Washington through mid-March due to concerns about QAnon chatter] ''CNN'' 17 February 2021</ref> and also the Trump International Hotel in DC, which seemed eager to capitalize on the potential influx of Trump fanatics. Prices for rooms at the hotel were more than doubled for the date in preparation.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2021/02/06/trumps-dc-hotel-is-jacking-up-rates-for-qanons-next-special-date/?sh=288c93a7b853 Trump’s DC Hotel Is Jacking Up Rates For QAnon’s Next Special Date] ''Forbes'' 6 February 2021</ref>

Predictably, on March 4<sup>th</sup>... nothing happened.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/qanon-trump-march-4th-congress-capitol-b1812733.html "QAnon predicted Trump’s re-inauguration on 4 March. Congress braced for an assault. Neither happened"] by Alex Woodward, Independent, 2021 March 5</ref> Also predictably, in response to yet another failed prediction, some QAnon followers quickly labeled the March 4 prediction as a "[[false flag]]". [[Moving the goalposts]] again, a new date was chosen: March 20<sup>th</sup>, 2021, due to this being the anniversary date of the [[Republican]] party's founding.<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-theorists-switch-date-march-20-after-no-trump-inauguration-call-4th-false-flag-1573871 "QAnon Theorists Switch Date to March 20 After No Trump Inauguration, Call the 4th 'False Flag'"] by Emily Czachor, Newsweek, 2021 March 4</ref> Predictably, apart from QAnon's involvement in a few [[anti-vaccination]] and anti-[[COVID-19]] restrictions protests on this date,<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-march-20-vaccine-protest-1576454 "Global March 20 Anti-Vaccine Protests Promoted by QAnon-Linked Groups"] by Ewan Palmer, Newsweek, 2021 March 16</ref> nothing happened once again.

With no new official "Q drops" for months, even as random dates for the supposed mass arrest continued to be proposed on social media, some people started moving into other conspiracy theories. Others gave up, feeling abandoned by the movement, and started to rehabilitate themselves out of the QAnon cult.<ref>[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/scaachikoul/qanon-believers-turning-away-from-trump "What The Past Three Months Have Been Like For QAnon Believers"] by Scaachi Koul, Buzzfeed News, 2021 March 26</ref>

By January 2022, QAnon had devolved into a schismatic group of backstabbers, accusing each other of grifting and fighting for audience share in a declining market.<ref name=harwell/>

===The return?===
Strangely enough, on June 24th, 2022, Q, or someone with Q's password has been posting again on 8kun.<ref>[https://www.cnet.com/news/misinformation/qanon-faq-its-been-a-year-since-qs-last-drop-but-people-still-believe/ QAnon's Q Returns After 18 Months of Silence] by Oscar Gonzalez, June 27, 2022, ''CNET''</ref>

==Greatest crossover event in conspiracy history==
[[File:Titanic inside job.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|THE TITANIC WAS AN INSIDE JOB.]]
{{cquote|I don’t like to talk about that stuff [Satanism] because it gives those anti-Q people way too much fuel for the fire.|||In Pursuit of Truth, a QAnon "analysis" [[YouTube]] channel.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRkrOxFg1e4&t=2870s Q Anon - Alex Jones, the NSA and You! pt.1 - In Pursuit of Truth Presents - 8.15.18] (Aug 15, 2018) ''YouTube''.</ref><ref name="qdws"/>}}
There are some truly glorious examples of QAnon stupidity; appropriately there is no "I" before the "Q". Whoever "Q" is, they've managed to pull elements from just about every conspiracy theory under the sun. Here are some highlights.

===RMS ''Titanic''===
{{main|RMS Titanic}}
QAnon followers think J.P. Morgan sank the ''Titanic'' to form the [[Federal Reserve]].<ref>[http://archive.ph/iWWDN JP Morgan Sunk the Titanic to Form Federal Reserve, Undeniable Proof] by Jeremy E. McDonald (11/07/2017) ''Stillness in the Storm'' (archived from 27 May 2019 17:38:52 UTC).</ref> Oh yeah, we're starting you off in the deep end, folks. So to speak. The story goes that many wealthy businessmen were on the ''Titanic'', all of whom opposed the Federal Reserve, and J.P. Morgan intentionally built the ''Titanic'' without safety measures to get them all killed.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/conspiracy-theory-that-the-rothschilds-and-federal-reserve-proponents-sank-the-titanic-2015-10 There's a crazy conspiracy theory that the Rothschilds sank the Titanic to set up the Federal Reserve] by Mike Bird (Oct. 12, 2015, 6:55 AM) ''Business Insider''.</ref> There's also a version of the story that says the men were opponents of the [[income tax]].<ref>[http://commonsenseconspiracy.com/2012/04/a-common-sense-look-at-the-most-popular-titanic-conspiracy-theories-tax-day-and-the-federal-reserve-in-the-spotlight/ A Common Sense Look At The Most Popular Titanic Conspiracy Theories — Tax Day And The Federal Reserve In The Spotlight] (April 14, 2012) ''Common Sense Conspiracy''.</ref>

===Trump's secret war===
Just about every aspect of the Mueller investigation has been shoehorned by QAnon believers into their narrative about a secret war being fought between Trump and the "deep state". They think that Trump was recruited by military intelligence to fight this deep state because, apparently, we trust the military but not the rest of the government.<ref name=salla1>[http://archive.ph/TLigz QAnon is US Military Intelligence that recruited Trump for President to prevent Coup D'etat] by Michael Salla (April 12, 2018) ''Expolitics'' (archived from 17 Apr 2018 17:07:36 UTC).</ref> Key events highlighted by the QAnoners include the raid on Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen (the cabal becomes more aggressive), and Trump's missile strike on [[Syria]] (Trump wanted to accommodate the cabal's wishes for ''some'' fucking reason).<ref name="qsoros">[http://archive.ph/t0jRo QAnon on the Rothschild, Saudi & Soros Puppet Masters behind the Deep State] by Michael Salla  (April 21, 2018) ''Exopolitics'' (archived from 27 May 2019 02:24:27 UTC).</ref>

===JFK Jr.===
[[File:Another QAnon supporter - JFK, Jr fan is the give away (48555435891).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Q believer with a JFK&nbsp;Jr. cutout]]
In 1999, John F. Kennedy&nbsp;Jr. died in a tragic plane crash on his way to a family wedding.<ref>[https://www.biography.com/political-figure/john-f-kennedy-jr John F. Kennedy&nbsp;Jr. Biography]. ''Biography.''</ref> Or is that just what he wants you to think? Nah, he's pretty damn dead, but QAnon followers have found a bizarre way to work him into their inane imaginings. Hardcore Q believers think that JFK&nbsp;Jr. is actually still alive, having faked his death to secretly fight the evil cabal.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/qanon-the-pro-trump-conspiracy-theory-now-believes-jfk-jr-faked-his-death-to-become-its-leader QAnon, the Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorists, Now Believe JFK&nbsp;Jr. Faked His Death to Become Their Leader]. ''The Daily Beast.'' Aug. 02, 2018</ref> Some of them think JFK&nbsp;Jr. ''is'' actually Q, and they hold that he faked his death to escape the same fate as [[JFK|his father]], who they think was assassinated by the deep state. If JFK Sr. had not been assassinated in 1963, he would have been 104 at the time of the QAnon gathering. Pretending that QAnoners are right, his lifetime of poor health<ref>{{wpa|John F. Kennedy#Health}}</ref> makes such longevity highly unlikely.

The idea gained prominence thanks to the far-right [[Pizzagate]] whackjob Liz Crokin going on about it on [[YouTube]], explaining her belief that Q's references to JFK&nbsp;Jr. must mean that he is JFK&nbsp;Jr. and that any [[Galileo gambit|ridicule she receives over this stupid idea proves her right]].<ref>[https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/liz-crokin-john-f-kennedy-jr-faked-his-death-and-is-now-qanon/ Liz Crokin: John F. Kennedy&nbsp;Jr. Faked His Death And Is Now QAnon]. ''Right Wing Watch.'' August 1, 2018.</ref> As further evidence, Q believers tout a fake quote from JFK&nbsp;Jr. saying, "If my dear friend Donald Trump ever decided to sacrifice his fabulous billionaire lifestyle to become president he would be an unstoppable force for ultimate justice that Democrats and Republicans alike would celebrate."<ref>[https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/apr/08/viral-image/no-john-f-kennedy-jr-didnt-tout-donald-trump-presi/ No, John F. Kennedy&nbsp;Jr. didn't tout a Donald Trump presidency in George magazine]. ''Politifact.'' April 8, 2019.</ref> The fake quote was debunked, of course, not that any QAnon followers would actually give a shit.

To add the shit cherry on the weird-ass cake, some Q followers also picked out a random guy standing at one of Trump's rallies, identified him as a man named Vincent Fusca, and then decided that he must actually be JFK&nbsp;Jr. in disguise.<ref name="fusca"/> According to them, JFK&nbsp;Jr. is just biding his time until he thinks it's the right moment to emerge from hiding, confirm QAnon, and then replace [[Mike Pence]] as Trump's running mate.<ref>[https://www.themarysue.com/jfk-jr-is-not-a-trump-supporter/ QAnon Disappointed to Find JFK&nbsp;Jr. Is, in Fact, Dead—Not Trump’s New Running Mate]. ''The Mary Sue.''</ref> That all seems, uh, rather unlikely.

On November 2 2021, in a spontaneous event that surprised even extremism researchers, a significant number of QAnon believers (some waving "Trump / JFK Jr." flags) appeared in downtown Dallas near {{wpl|Dealey Plaza}}, where [[John F. Kennedy]] (JFK&nbsp;Jr.'s father) was assassinated in 1963.<ref>[https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2021/11/02/qanon-supporters-gather-in-downtown-dallas-expecting-jfk-jr-to-reappear/ "QAnon supporters gather in downtown Dallas expecting JFK Jr. to reappear"] by Catherine Marfin and Michael Williams, Dallas Morning News, 2021 November 2</ref> They were convinced that JFK Jr. would appear at the plaza, perhaps with several other dead celebrities, at precisely 12:29PM, and announce that he would run for office alongside [[Donald Trump]].<ref>[https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/11/qanon-rally-in-dallas-fails-to-revive-jfk-jr-from-the-dead.html "QAnon Rally Fails to Revive JFK Jr. From the Dead"] by Matt Stieb, New York Intelligencer, 2021 November 2</ref> Many of these people were followers of a man named Michael Brian Protzman (known online as Negative48). Protzman ran a [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]] channel that combined Protzman's {{wpl|Messiah complex}}, deeply [[antisemitic]] content, predatory financial scams (often involving [[cryptocurrency]]), [[gematria]], QAnon phrases, passages from the [[Bible]], and a strange fantasy world where John F. Kennedy and {{wpl|Jackie Kennedy}} were the physical second incarnation of [[Jesus]] and [[Mary Magdalene]] and [[Donald Trump]] was the [[Holy Spirit]].<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5qpe7/qanon-dallas-jfk-michael-brian-protzman-negative48 "Meet the Antisemitic QAnon Leader Who Led Followers to Dallas to Meet JFK"] by David Gilbert, Vice, 2021 November 5</ref><ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/akew5p/qanon-jfk-crypto "The QAnon-JFK Cult Is Pivoting to Crypto"] by David Gilbert, Vice, 2022 June 14</ref>

Unfortunately for these QAnon believers, the dead remained deceased and the prediction was yet another dud. Nonetheless, in another sign that QAnon had turned into an outright cult, many of Protzman's most fervent supporters stayed in a local hotel for many days afterwards. There, Protzman continue to preach his nonsense to his devoted believers, such as how the musicians who played at a November 2 2021 Dallas {{wpl|Rolling Stones}} concert were actually dead celebrities such as [[Elvis Presley]] and {{wpl|Michael Jackson}} in disguise.<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kb99y/qanon-dallas-jfk-jr-michael-brian-protzman "The QAnon Followers Who Went to Dallas to See JFK Refuse to Leave"] by David Gilbert, Vice, 2021 November 8</ref> Despite his repeated failed predictions, after the November 2021 event, Protzman managed to entice a small core cult to stick with him by [[moving the goalposts|making up fresh new conspiracies]], such as one where the [[Ukraine#Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]] was somehow part of a plan to uncover [[Joe Biden]]'s criminality so that he could be replaced with Trump (who, in Protzman's new conspiracy, was now bizarrely Kennedy in disguise).<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/3abyxj/jfk-qanon-cult-collapse "The JFK QAnon Cult Is Finally Collapsing: ‘Shit’s Falling Apart’"] by David Gilbert, Vice, 2022 March 22</ref> After years of financially ruining his cult members and tearing apart families<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7ddxd/qanon-jfk-cult-has-families-breaking-apart "Mom Who Joined the QAnon JFK Cult in Dallas Left Her Family to ‘Follow God’"] by David Gilbert, Vice, 2021 December 2</ref> to the point where child protective services had to get involved in one case,<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7dgw/former-cult-member-kidnap-children "A Former Member of the JFK QAnon Cult Tried to Kidnap Her Own Children"] by David Gilbert, Vice, 2022 September 2</ref> Potzman died due to a dirt bike accident on June 30, 2023.<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/88x8b4/michael-protzman-negative48-jfk-qanon-dead "The Leader of the JFK-QAnon Cult Is Dead. His Followers Think It’s All Part of the Plan."] by David Gilbert, Vice, 2023 July 6</ref>

===Deep state puppet masters===
[[File:Q Exposes the masters.jpeg|thumb|right|285px|Q exposes the deep state puppeteers.]]
QAnon has also gone with the mandatory [[George Soros]] conspiracy theories, but his post "exposing" the leaders of the deep state dusted off some oldies but goodies. Specifically, the [[Rothschilds]],<ref name="qsoros"/> who QAnon sees as significant architects and financial backers, despite their family banking business making less than a percent of what Walmart makes in a year.<ref name=rothschild1>[https://www.politifact.com/facebook-fact-checks/statements/2019/jan/09/viral-image/meme-way-rothschild-family-wealth-they-do-not-cont/ Meme way off in claim that the Rothschild family holds '80 percent of the world's wealth']. ''Politifact.''</ref> The family's richest member has a smaller net worth than George Lucas,<ref name=rothschild1/><ref>[https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/directors/george-lucas-net-worth/ George Lucas Net Worth]. ''Celebrity Net Worth.''</ref> and their assets are spread out across hundreds, maybe thousands of people. They ain't the puppet masters of shit. 

Strangest of all, Q also fingers (heh heh) the House of Saud as being backers of the deep state,<ref name="qsoros"/> which doesn't really mesh with the fact that they seem to be among Trump's closest friends on the global stage.<ref>[https://www.ft.com/content/5a162cda-c46c-11e7-b2bb-322b2cb39656 The House of Trump and the House of Saud: The blossoming relationship with Riyadh symbolizes the decay of the US-led order] by Edward Luce (8 November, 2017) ''Financial Times''.</ref> Apparently, selling weapons to the deep state against the wishes of [[Congress]]<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-sells-weapons-to-saudi-arabia-840312/ Bypassing Congress, Trump Sells Weapons to Saudi Arabia, Orders Troops to Middle East: Democratic and Republican representatives criticized the move, and one prominent Democrat said the president may have violated the law] by Peter Wade (May 25, 2019, 4:40PM ET) ''Rolling Stone''.</ref> is the path to defeating the deep state. Who knew? 

Finally, what QAnon sub-conspiracy would be complete without that old classic, [[Satanism]]? Q thinks the Rothschilds are the head of a global Satanic cult which includes the Soros family, the Clinton family, and the Sauds.<ref name=salla2>[http://archive.ph/vxusz QAnon on the Rothschilds & Satanism – Trump’s Secret Alliance with Putin] by Michael Salla (April 21, 2018) ''Expolitics'' (archived from 23 Apr 2018 17:49:49 UTC).</ref> The three main dynasties, Soros, Saud, and Rothschild, form the so-called "Triangle" because why fucking not bring the [[Illuminati]] into this bullshit too?<ref name="qshit">[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ywex8v/what-is-qanon-conspiracy-theory A Guide to QAnon, the New King of Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories: George Soros, the Illuminati, and Snow White are all controlling the world according to a 4channer who has spawned a legion of supersleuths.] by Justin Caffier (Jun 12, 2018, 2:23pm) ''Vice''.</ref>

===CIA psyops and fake news===
{{main|1=CIA|3=Fake news}}
A central feature of Trumpism and QAnon is the concept of [[fake news]]. Q has taken it a step further with the concept of "Operation Mockingbird". According to Q, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (check one off the list) is manipulating the media and has been since the [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory|JFK assassination]] (check).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190527023737/https://qanon.fandom.com/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird Operation Mockingbird] QAnon Wiki (archived from May 27, 2017).</ref> QAnon followers call these CIA operatives "Black Hats", and claim that Black Hats spend their days digging around through classified data with the intent of fabricating fake news stories to pass on to the [[mainstream media]].<ref name="opmock">[https://web.archive.org/web/20190516013707/https://centipedenation.com/analysis-and-reports/operation-mockingbird-a-social-engineered-reality/ Operation Mockingbird 2.0 — A Social-Engineered Reality] (August 7, 2018 8:16 am) ''Centipede Nation'' (archived from may 16, 2019).</ref> Apparently, the "Black Hats" are paid with CIA black budget money and foreign accounts; Q specifically mentions the [[Panama Papers]] (check) as an example of how this works.<ref name="opmock"/>

===Christianity, pedophilia, sex trafficking, and Hollywood===
{{main|1=Pedophilia|3=Sex trafficking}}
{{cquote|Polaris, the charity that operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline, had to issue a statement discouraging people from reporting that children were being sold inside expensive cabinets online because callers were flooding its phones with a Q-adjacent conspiracy. The inundated hotline is one example of a problem each of the anti-trafficking representatives I spoke to raised: Even if QAnon is bringing people’s attention to child trafficking in general, it's focusing that attention specifically on a sensationalized, largely inaccurate picture of what trafficking looks like. And that can pull focus and resources away from the actual problem.|||Kaleigh Rogers, ''FiveThirtyEight''.<ref>[https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/qanons-obsession-with-savethechildren-is-making-it-harder-to-save-kids-from-traffickers/ QAnon’s Obsession With #SaveTheChildren Is Making It Harder To Save Kids From Traffickers]. ''FiveThirtyEight.''</ref>}}
QAnon (in a similar fashion to [[Pizzagate]]) pays an obsessive amount of attention to conspiracy theories surrounding [[pedophilia]] and child-sex trafficking, particularly the notion that there is a global conspiracy involving a ring of [[Satan]]-worshiping, child-molesting criminals led by prominent [[Democrats]].<ref name="mojoped">[https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/07/why-are-right-wing-conspiracies-so-obsessed-with-pedophilia/ "Why Are Right-Wing Conspiracies so Obsessed With Pedophilia?"] by Ali Breland, Mother Jones, 2019 July</ref> 

In general, QAnon conspiracy theories can be seen as less a concern about the legitimate issues of child abuse, and more an attack on cosmopolitan culture and social changes in American society – anxieties that can be seen in far older [[moral panic|moral panics]], such as the [[Satanic Panic]] of the 1980s, which also shared a core belief that the wealthy and powerful elite was kidnapping and breeding children for the purposes of pornography, sex trafficking, and Satanic ritual sacrifice.<ref name="mojoped"></ref><ref>[https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-what-christians-should-know-about-qanon/ "The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About QAnon"] by Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition, 2020 May 20</ref> QAnon shares the same "us vs. them" mentality with the older "culture wars" of the [[Moral Majority]], codifying mistrust of science, “big government” and celebrity into a black-and-white moral code that dehumanizes perceived cultural enemies with imaginary horrific crimes.<ref name="relevantq">[https://relevantmagazine.com/god/church/why-are-so-many-christians-falling-for-qanon/ "Why Are So Many Christians Falling for QAnon?"] by Tyler Huckabee, Relevant, 2020 August 3</ref><ref name="regnewsserv">[https://religionnews.com/2020/08/17/qanon-the-alternative-religion-thats-coming-to-your-church/ "QAnon: The alternative religion that’s coming to your church"] by Katelyn Beaty, Religious News Service, 2020 August 17</ref> QAnon also shares elements with [[end times]], [[rapture]], and [[dispensationalism]] theologies in that there is a "savior" that will lead them away from what they perceive as troubled times (in the mythos of QAnon, the "savior" is of course Donald Trump), and also shares the same obsession with applying current events into an over-arching (if messy) narrative that these theologies often had.<ref name="relevantq"></ref><ref name="cjrqreligion">[https://www.cjr.org/first_person/qanon-conspiracy-religion-journalism.php "When the news becomes religion"] by Sam Thielman, Columbia Journal Review, 2020 August 11</ref>  QAnon also incorporates Christian phrases like [[First Great Awakening|"Great Awakening"]] and Bible phrases in their rhetoric.<ref name="regnewsserv"></ref><ref name="cjrqreligion"></ref>

Because of these similarities, in 2020, the QAnon conspiracy theory started becoming popular in certain religious circles, particularly denominations that were part of the {{wpl|neo-charismatic movement}}.<ref>[https://theconversation.com/the-church-of-qanon-will-conspiracy-theories-form-the-basis-of-a-new-religious-movement-137859 "The Church of QAnon: Will conspiracy theories form the basis of a new religious movement?"] by Beth Daley, Conversation, 2020 May 18</ref> The slow infusion of a political and dehumanizing conspiracy theory into religion has worried some pastors, particularly in the white evangelical churches where this movement was taking hold.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2020/08/21/904798097/how-qanon-conspiracy-is-spreading-in-christian-communities-across-the-u-s "How QAnon Conspiracy Is Spreading In Christian Communities Across The U.S."], NPR, ''All Things Considered'', Ari Shapiro, transcript</ref>

[[File:Q Nutjob in Tennessee -savethechildren.jpeg|thumb|right|350px|''Won't somebody '''please''' think of the children?!'']]

Due to the nature of this conspiracy theory / moral panic, it is no surprise that one of the largest targets of these conspiracy theories is {{wpl|Hollywood}} actors and actresses and other entertainers. Despite it being very easy to debunk with a simple [[Google]] search, in 2020, rumors spread online from time to time that celebrities such as [[Oprah Winfrey]],<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/18/oprah-winfrey-qanon-conspiracy/ "‘NOT TRUE’: Oprah Winfrey debunks bizarre QAnon conspiracy theory spreading across the Internet"] by Antonia Noori Farzan, Washington Post, 2020 March 18</ref> {{wpl|Ellen DeGeneres}},<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/18/fact-check-ellen-degeneres-oprah-winfrey-others-not-house-arrest/5333585002/ "Fact check: Ellen, Oprah, many others are not under house arrest for child sex trafficking"] by McKenzie Sadeghi, USA Today</ref> {{wpl|Tom Hanks}},<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-tom-hanks-ankle-monitor/fact-check-tom-hanks-is-not-wearing-an-ankle-monitor-post-stems-from-conspiracy-claims-idUSKCN24T2AZ "Fact check: Tom Hanks is not wearing an ankle monitor, post stems from conspiracy claims"], Reuters fact check, 2020 July 28</ref> and others had been arrested for sex trafficking. One QAnon believer spread a list of people who supposedly flew on flights with the financier and convicted pedophile [[Jeffrey Epstein]], that included several (often misspelled) celebrities that in reality had no connection to Epstein. (Of course, the list failed to include Donald Trump, who ''does'' have a connection).<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/fake-jeffrey-epstein-flight-logs-lead-qanon-crazies-to-target-chrissy-teigen-and-beyonce "Fake Jeffrey Epstein Flight Logs Lead QAnon Crazies to Target Chrissy Teigen and Beyoncé"] by Tarpley Hitt, Daily Beast, 2020 August 11</ref> This led to predictable abusive behavior against some of the celebrities from QAnon followers on social media.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/trump-haters-paedophiles-inside-qanon-conspiracy-aiming-put/ "'Trump haters are paedophiles': inside QAnon, the conspiracy aiming to put Hollywood behind bars"] by Maria Pope, The Telegraph, 2020 July 22</ref> 

In April 2020, a "documentary" called ''Out Of Shadows''<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12131262/ "Out of Shadows",] IMDB listing, 2020 Apr 11</ref> appeared on [[YouTube]]. The video accused Hollywood of being run by Satanic pedophilia rings that also "manipulate the multitudes by spreading propaganda" through music videos, various code words, [[non sequitur]] connections to legitimate scandals such as [[MKULTRA]] and [[NXIVM]], and "connections" to various past government media regulations and agencies, which the film maker clearly had no idea what they were about.<ref name="dboutshadows">[https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-out-of-shadows-the-bonkers-hollywood-pedophilia-documentary-qanon-loves "Inside ‘Out of Shadows’: The Bonkers Hollywood-Pedophilia ‘Documentary’ QAnon Loves"] by Tarpley Hitt, Daily Beast, 2020 Aug 6</ref><ref group="note">For those who want an in-depth review of the film, Reddit user lewisje gives a [http://archive.ph/LsR5q excellent run-down of the entire film's content] in a post made on r/Documentaries.</ref> The documentary was created by a Hollywood stuntman named Mike Smith, who had a "spiritual awakening" while recovering from an injury suffered while filming a television show.<ref>[https://heavy.com/news/2020/04/mike-smith-stuntman/ "Mike Smith, the Stuntman, QAnon Follower & Trump Fan Behind ‘Out of Shadows’ Documentary"] by Paul Farrell, Heavy.com, 2020 April 17</ref> While avoiding mentioning QAnon directly by name, the film relies on many dubious sources with connections to QAnon or other conspiracy outlets, such as Pizzagate / QAnon promoter Liz Crokin and ex-CIA agent Kevin Shipp (who was originally notable in 2011 for going public with a lawsuit against the CIA for poor working conditions,<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/us/politics/11secrets.html "Ex-C.I.A. Agent Goes Public With Story of Mistreatment on the Job"] by Charlie Savage, New York Times, 2011 February 10</ref> but in 2020 was more notable for his frequent appearances in [[NaturalNews]] columns).<ref>[http://archive.ph/OBTK4 NaturalNews.com search for "Kevin Shipp"], performed and archived on 2020 August 13</ref> It is also notable that Mike Smith's Twitter profile references the "#Qanon" and "#WWG1WGA" hashtags.<ref>[http://archive.ph/3yque Mike Smith's Twitter feed (@Crux41507251)], archived on 2020 July 15</ref><ref>[http://archive.ph/CqvDQ "Tomorrow 4/14/20 @ 1PM East! Join Mike Smith (@Crux41507251), Brad Martin (@actiondirector1) and a Surprise! #OutOfShadows Documentary!! 4+M Views!"], Tweet from @Crux41507251, 2020 April 13, archived on 2020 Aug 13</ref> Bizarrely, one of the pieces of "evidence" this film presented (to prove that Hollywood was being run by Satanic pedophilia ring) was actually a portrait of ''right-wing media'': a montage, put together by {{wpl|Deadspin}},<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fHfgU8oMSo "Sinclair's Soldiers in Trump's War on Media"], Youtube, posted by Deadspin, 2018 April 2</ref> that combined multiple [[Right-wing_media_groups#Fake_false_news|Sinclair media newscasters]] reading word-for-word a transcript that insinuated that most news outlets (except their own, of course) was [[fake news]].<ref name="dboutshadows"></ref> Similar in fashion to how the baseless COVID-19 "documentary" ''[[Plandemic]]'' spread, the film spread virally via various right-wing influencers.<ref name="dboutshadows"></ref>

The obsession QAnon has with pedophilia has often frustrated legitimate organizations dedicated to sex trafficking by clogging anti-trafficking hotlines with false reports, and flooding social media with anti-trafficking hashtags that were often accompanied by baseless conspiracy theories instead of useful information.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/technology/qanon-save-the-children-trafficking.html "QAnon Followers Are Hijacking the #SaveTheChildren Movement"]  by Kevin Roose, New York Times, 2020 August 12</ref><ref>[https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/aug/12/qanon-pizzagate-conspiracy-theories-co-opt-savethe/ "QAnon, Pizzagate conspiracy theories co-opt #SaveTheChildren"] by Daniel Funke, Politifact, 2020 August 12</ref>

The reality of sex trafficking is rather different than QAnon proponents would like to have one believe. While it's true that coercive child sex trafficking exists, it is quite rare.<ref name=hobbes>[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/government-did-not-break-up-child-sex-trafficking-ring-georgia_n_5f52b7a1c5b6946f3eb1c5d9 No, The Government Did Not Break Up A Child Sex Trafficking Ring In Georgia: Simple headlines obscure the complex realities of abuse, sex work and the real threats to American children.] by Michael Hobbes (09/07/2020 05:45 am ET Updated Sep 10, 2020) ''Huffington Post''.</ref> First, the legal definition of trafficking is rather different than most people think: it includes situations in which an underage teen has sex with a john in exchange for [[money]], food, [[drugs]], or shelter, even without a pimp being involved.  In such cases, the john is considered the trafficker;<ref name=hobbes/> this is known as {{wpl|Survival sex|'survival sex'|.}} Second, most of the survival sex involving children is because "the child is homeless, has run away from foster care or has been kicked out by their parents, often due to being [[queer]] or [[transgender]]. Many of these kids end up trading sex for money, drugs or a place to sleep because it’s their only way to survive."<ref name=hobbes/> The problem for these homeless teens is often that foster care and other support systems that could keep them off the streets and out of [[prostitution]] are often chronically underfunded.<ref name=hobbes/> So, the problem, then, are the deeply conservative parents that form a pool of people who are likely to reject their [[LGBTQ]] or nonconforming kids, who hate [[taxes]] and funding social services, and who form a base for QAnon recruitment. This amounts to a form of [[psychological projection]] wherein QAnon supporters baselessly accuse liberals (anyone left of center, really) of the most wildly reprehensible actions for which conservatives are in reality at least partly responsible for. Actual pimps with actual locked-up prepubescent sex slaves are exactly as rare as you'd expect any business that appeals to such a niche demographic as pedophile rapists to be.

To underscore this point, one of the centers of QAnon on the Internet (being the place where "authorized" "Q drops" have been posted since around 2017)<ref>[https://mashable.com/article/qanon-study-two-people-wrote-q-posts-4chan-8kun/ "New study on QAnon concludes two different people wrote Q's posts"] by Matt Binder, Mashable, 2020 December 16</ref> is [[8chan]] (and its newest incarnation, 8kun). In fact, as noted above, the founder (and current arch-nemesis) of 8chan, Fredrick Brennan, believes (with some credible evidence) that the current owner of 8kun, Jim Watkins, ''is'' one of the posters of "Q drops".<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/men-qanon/story?id=73046374 "The men behind QAnon: Experts and researchers said the key to "Q" is hiding in plain sight."] by Chris Francescani, ABC News, 2020 September 22</ref> [[Ironically]], in the past, 8chan has been booted off hosts and was temporarily delisted from Google for being a haven of child pornography.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/01/13/this-is-what-happens-when-you-create-an-online-community-without-any-rules/ "This is what happens when you create an online community without any rules"] by Caitlin Dewey, Washington Post, 2015 Jan 13</ref><ref>[https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/08/8chan-hosted-content-disappears-from-google-searches/ "8chan-hosted content disappears from Google searches [Updated]"] by Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 2015 August 17</ref> Furthermore, on October 2020, ''{{wpl|Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones}}'' revealed that NT Technology, a hosting firm owned by Watkins,<ref>[https://krebsonsecurity.com/tag/n-t-technology-inc/ "The Now-Defunct Firms Behind 8chan, QAnon"] by Brian Krebs, KrebsOnSecurity, 2020 Oct 22</ref> hosted several domain names suggestive of child pornography, with the domain names containing terms such as "preteen" and "child" alongside graphic terms for genitalia and words like "rape".<ref>[https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/10/jim-watkins-child-pornography-domains/ "QAnon Is Supposed to Be All About Protecting Kids. Its Primary Enabler Appears to Have Hosted Child Porn Domains."] by AJ Vicens and Ali Breland, Mother Jones, 2020 October 29</ref>

In June 2019, the tax collector of {{wpl|Seminole County, Florida|Seminole County|,}} [[Florida]] at the time, Joel Greenberg, was arrested by federal agents for stalking, due to an alleged incident where he harassed a political opponent working in the Seminole County school system with messages from fake "concerned" students and teachers. The messages allegedly contained false accusations that, among other falsehoods, the opponent engaged in sexual misconduct with a student.<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/seminole-county-tax-collector-indicted-stalking "Seminole County Tax Collector Indicted For Stalking"], press release, United States Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida, 2020 June 23</ref> Later, in a sign that perhaps these false accusations were merely Greenberg engaging in [[Psychological projection|projection]], the alleged charges against Greenberg expanded to (among many other charges) an allegation that Greenberg engaged in sex trafficking of a minor.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/gaetz-probe-started-associate-awaiting-trial-federal-sex-trafficking-stalking-n1262678 "Gaetz probe started with an associate awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking, stalking charges"] by Dareh Gregorian and Tom Winter, NBC News, 2021 March 31</ref> In late March 2021, it was revealed by the [[New York Times]] that the investigation also had expanded to include whether a close associate of Greenberg and heavy [[Donald Trump]] supporter, [[Republican]] Representative [[Matt Gaetz]], had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/us/politics/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-investigation.html "Matt Gaetz Is Said to Face Justice Dept. Inquiry Over Sex With an Underage Girl"] by Michael S. Schmidt, Katie Benner, and Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 2021 March 30</ref><ref>[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-joel-greenberg-matt-gaetz-investigation-sex-trafficking-20210330-moyyt73tbzhrlmpjcwkqv2oeyq-story.html "Sex trafficking probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz emerges from Joel Greenberg prosecution: report"] by Martin E. Comas, Jeff Weinger, and Steven Lemongello, Orlando Sentinel, 2021 March 30</ref> Faced with the prospect of an actual high-profile lawmaker who may have been involved with exploiting a minor (but, inconveniently for the QAnon narrative, not a [[Democrat]]), QAnon members... accused the Department of Justice and other members of the "[[deep state]]" of attempting to "target" Gaetz, and accused the [[New York Times]] of "SMEARING" "[[MAGA]] Patriots".<ref>[https://theweek.com/articles/974951/matt-gaetz-allegations-show-how-qanon-corrupts-followers "The Matt Gaetz allegations show how QAnon corrupts its followers"] by Bonnie Kristian, The Week, 2021 April 1</ref><ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/epdjvk/qanon-thinks-matt-gaetz-being-investigated-for-sex-trafficking-is-all-part-of-the-plan "QAnon Thinks Matt Gaetz Being Investigated for Sex Trafficking Is All Part of the Plan"] by David Gilbery, Vice, 2021 March 31</ref><ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/qanon-matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-investigation-1149484/ "QAnon Community Outraged by Matt Gaetz Sex Trafficking Investigation … Except for the Wrong Reason"] by Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone, 2021 March 31</ref>
Some QAnon members even mistakenly thought that the allegations were an attempt by [[Joe Biden]] to take out a potential threat for the 2024 presidential election... even though the investigation largely took place during the Trump administration.<ref>[https://www.salon.com/2021/03/31/qanon-fans-flock-to-matt-gaetzs-defense-despite-claims-of-sexual-misconduct/ "QAnon fans flock to Matt Gaetz's defense, despite claims of sexual misconduct"] by Zachary Petrizzo, Salon.com, 2021 April 1</ref>

===Deep state bio-engineered viruses and nefarious humanitarianism===
The [[2019-20_COVID-19_outbreak|2020 COVID-19 pandemic]] added ''yet another'' layer to the conspiracy. A prominent QAnon YouTuber named Jordan Sather<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/qanon-conspiracy-theorists-magic-cure-for-coronavirus-is-drinking-lethal-bleach QAnon-ers’ Magic Cure for Coronavirus: Just Drink Bleach!] by Will Sommer (Updated Jan. 28, 2020 12:32PM ET; Published Jan. 28, 2020 4:57AM ET) ''Daily Beast''.</ref> (apparently not realizing that ''multiple'' strains of coronavirus exist for ''multiple'' species{{Citation needed}}) claimed that the coronavirus was a “new fad disease”, and opined the virus ''might have been planned by the "deep state".'' To prove this, he referenced a "patent for the coronavirus", citing a 2015 patent<ref>[https://patents.justia.com/patent/10130701 "US Patent for Coronavirus Patent (Patent # 10,130,701)",] Patents.Justia.com, 2015 Jul 23</ref> for a vaccine for {{wpl|Avian infectious bronchitis virus|avian IBV|,}} a disease that only affects chickens.<ref>[http://archive.ph/bEx9w The new fad disease called the "coronavirus" is sweeping headlines. Funny enough, there was a patent for the coronavirus was filed in 2015 and granted in 2018. https://patents.justia.com/patent/10130701] by Jordan Sather (5:35 PM - 21 Jan 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from 24 Jan 2020 04:11:46 UTC).</ref> Sather further tweeted that the [[Microsoft|Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation]] was a significant contributor to the group investigating this vaccine (indeed the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was a contributor to this research institute, {{wpl|Pirbright Institute||,}} a group that focuses on farm animal infectious disease<ref>[https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/2019/11/bill-melinda-gates-foundation-funds-development-pirbright%E2%80%99s-livestock-antibody-hub "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funds development of Pirbright's Livestock Antibody Hub supporting animal and human health"] (2019 November 15) Pirbright Institute.</ref>). Of course, [[Bill Gates]] is part of the "[[deep state]]" so Sather implied that "something is definitely fishy with this".<ref>[http://archive.ph/TLUxF I'm not saying, nor have said Pirbright or Gates "made the disease", but something is definitely fishy with this, no? Have bioengineered diseases been made and released in the past? Are vaccines planned for these scenarios? Problem, reaction, solution?] by Jordan Sather (11:52 PM · Jan 23, 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from 28 Jan 2020 19:23:32 UTC).</ref> Naturally, misinformation that Bill Gates actually ''created'' the coronavirus spread like wildfire in the conspiracy social media,<ref>[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/qanon-supporters-and-anti-vaxxers-are-spreading-a-hoax-that "QAnon Supporters And Anti-Vaxxers Are Spreading A Hoax That Bill Gates Created The Coronavirus",] Ryan Broderick, Buzzfeed, 2020 January 23</ref> crossing over even to [[anti-vaccination]] sites like [[NaturalNews]] with batshit insane intensity (NaturalNews, true to form, implied that Bill Gates owned "the patent on coronavirus", and this is part of his effort to [[Depopulation conspiracy theory|depopulate the planet]]<ref>[http://archive.ph/TLUxF Bill Gates funded the PIRBRIGHT institute, which owns the patent on coronavirus] by Ethan Huff (27 January 2020) ''NaturalNews'' (archived from 28 Jan 2020 19:23:32 UTC).</ref>). Fortunately, Jordan Sather has the perfect [[bullshit]] cure for you to drink to wipe out this coronavirus (or in fact every disease known to man): [[Miracle Mineral Supplement]]!<ref>[http://archive.ph/wip/Mi2b5 Would you look at that. Not only is chlorine dioxide (aka "MMS") an effective cancer cell killer, it can wipe out coronavirus too. No wonder YouTube has been censoring basically every single video where I discuss it over the last year. Big Pharma wants you ignorant.] by Jordan Sather (22 Jan 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from 28 Jan 2020 19:29:14 UTC).</ref>

===Other assorted insanity===
Of course, the globalist cabal doesn't stop with just Soros, the Sauds, and the Clintons! No, it goes much deeper than that.
*Trump himself retweeted two posts in October 2020 claiming that SEAL Team Six actually failed to kill [[Osama Bin Laden]], and that Obama and Biden had them all assassinated to cover it up.<ref>[https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2020/10/15/qanon-conspiracy-about-seal-team-six-osama-bin-laden-raid-picks-up-steam/ QAnon conspiracy about SEAL Team Six raid on Osama bin Laden picks up steam]. ''Military Times.''</ref>
*One of Q's rambling threads suggests that [[Angela Merkel]] is the daughter of [[German]] [[dictator]] [[Adolf Hitler]]<ref>[http://archive.ph/Mv29C Q's Latest Posts] by Q; Tripcode: !UW.yye1fxo (3.10.18) ''8chan'' (archived from 10 Mar 2018 22:04:27 UTC).</ref> (because why the hell not?) Note that Merkel was born nearly TEN years after Adolf Hitler's suicide.
*Queen [[Elizabeth II]] was part of the cabal and had [[Princess Diana]] assassinated by MI6, and somehow this is related to Angela Merkel.<ref>[http://archive.ph/9nox4  CBTS #68: It's Raining Princes Edition] by Anonymous ID:LA/ywYmB (05 Nov 2017) ''4chan /pol// archive'' (archived from 14 Feb 2019 06:24:01 UTC).</ref>
*[[Kim Jong Un]] is a [[Puppet state|puppet ruler]] placed in charge of [[North Korea]] by the CIA in order to start a war if they need one.<ref>[http://archive.ph/iscPC Latest Q Posts] by Q; Tripcode: !UW.yye1fxo (11.2.18) ''8chan'' (archived from 27 May 2019 17:57:33 UTC).</ref>
*[[2017 Las Vegas shooting|The Las Vegas Mandalay Bay shooting]] was an inside job.<ref>[http://archive.ph/kKsryCBTS #54: Get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow] by  Anonymous ID:+U7U2VOE (05 Nov 2017) ''4chan /pol/ archive'' (archived from 1 Aug 2018 01:40:38 UT).</ref> (of course)
*US Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz hired MS-13 to assassinate DNC staffer [[Seth Rich]] in retaliation for stealing documents.<ref>[http://archive.ph/jDlDW Qanon Claims Debbie Wasserman Schultz Put Out A Contract To MS-13 Gang Members To Murder Seth Rich] by Alex Christoforou 
(December 31, 2017) ''Aladins Miracle Lamp''{{sic}} (archived from 27 May 2019 18:03:08 UTC).</ref><ref name="qdws">[https://thefederalist.com/2018/08/21/thousands-obsessed-nest-conspiracy-theories-called-qanon/ Why Thousands Are Obsessed With A Nest Of Conspiracy Theories Called QAnon: QAnon is a conspiracy theory so comprehensive, there is virtually no other conspiracy theory it leaves untouched, from the government hiding the UFOs to JFK Jr. surviving his plane crash.] by Georgi Boorman (August 21, 2018) ''The Federalist''.</ref><ref>[http://archive.ph/rpxNt QAnon Exposes Dem Conspiracy To Frame Trump, Claims Google’s Schmidt Played Pivotal Role: QAnon also claims Debbie Wasserman Schultz contracted MS-13 gang to kill Seth Rich] by Jerome Corsi (December 27, 2017) ''Infowars'' (archived from 27 Dec 2017 17:33:46 UTC).</ref>
*Online furniture and home goods store {{wpl|Wayfair}} is secretly operating a child trafficking ring because... furniture prices are "extremely high" and are "all listed with girls' names"<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-53416247 "Wayfair: The false conspiracy about a furniture firm and child trafficking"] by Marianna Spring, BBC News, 2020 July 15</ref><ref>[http://archive.ph/X2jp7 "My spidey senses are tingling. What's with these storage cabinets? Extremely high prices, all listed with girls' names & identical units selling for different amounts."], tweet by "Amazing Polly" (@99freemind), 2020 June 15, archived on 2020 August 13</ref> This false conspiracy theory itself caused actual harm to children.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2021/wayfair-qanon-sex-trafficking-conspiracy/ A QAnon con: How the viral Wayfair sex trafficking lie hurt real kids: An Internet mob wanted to rescue a 13-year-old girl. Instead, they terrified her, derailed real trafficking investigations and incited ‘save the children’ violence.] by Jessica Contrera (Dec. 16, 2021) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
*The elite are kidnapping children, terrorizing them, bleeding their blood out, and drinking it in a [[Satanic ritual abuse|Satanic torture dungeon ritual sacrifice]] in order to achieve [[immortality]] and get high on… [[adrenochrome]]?<ref>[https://theoutline.com/post/7621/slender-man-for-boomers-andrenochrome-qanon Slender Man for Boomers: The offshoots of the QAnon conspiracy theory have gone to even darker places] by Alex Nichols (2019-26-Jun) ''The Outline''.</ref>{{efn|Adrenochrome is a chemical compound that is an oxidation byproduct of adrenaline. While the chemical once was hypothesized to be associated with [[schizophrenia]],<ref>[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-mental-science/article/adrenochrome-as-the-cause-of-schizophrenia-investigation-of-some-deductions-from-this-hypothesis/8CD098ECD668B1E3636589C13AEA0214 Adrenochrome As the Cause of Schizophrenia: Investigation of Some Deductions from this Hypothesis] by A. J. Lea (08 February 2018) ''Cambridge University Press''.</ref> this is best known as the super-powerful (fictional) [[Psychedelic drug|psychedelic]] in [[Hunter S. Thompson]]'s book ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''. In the book, the drug comes from a living donor's adrenal gland — take this, add in the Life Drinker fictional trope<ref>[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LifeDrinker Life Drinker] ''TV Tropes''.</ref> and adjust for QAnon's fascination with pedo rings, and you get QAnon at its most darkly bizarre level.}} This is highly reminiscent of the [[blood libel]] canard, and can be considered a link between QAnon and [[antisemitism]].<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|52-55}} Why the elite would need to kidnap children in order to make something which can easily be synthesized by any educated chemist<ref>[https://www.erowid.org/ask/ask.php?ID=3190 I read that adrenochrome is harvested from fearful children after killing them, do you know anything about that?] ''Erowid''.</ref> and which apparently does nothing except give users a severe headache<ref>[https://erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=65371 Worst Headache Imaginable] by Three (2007) ''Erowid''.</ref> has not been adequately explained.
*Through the miracle of [[crank magnetism]], somewhere in 2018 (probably simultaneously with getting banned on Reddit) the QAnoners discovered the joys of [[New gematria]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDiPc1VFN58 Qanon Q Drops Decoded In Gematria How To DO Gematria And How It Works] by Jay Pilon (Jan 11, 2019) ''YouTube''.</ref> Not a day goes by without a Tweet copying a string of popular Q related hashtags including #Gematria in the chain. At least one QAnon-related site has also claimed that the "deep state" is also using gematria.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190625025606/https://www.opdeepstate.com/2019/01/30/how-the-elite-code-everything-on-tv-with-gematria/ How the Elite Code Everything on TV with Gematria] (January 30, 2019) ''Op Deep State'' (archived from June 25, 2019).</ref> Ironically the non-Q gematria crowd includes Trump as part of the NWO complex and source of the problem, and the two camps pretty much ignore each other's existence. For a bit of individuality and claim to fame, Q has taken a stance that Trump's penchant to Tweet in all capital letters has a special meaning and they pay extra attention to those missives.
*Bill Gates created fake snow in order to destroy [[Texas]].<ref>Joe Sommerlad, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-snow-conspiracy-theory-tiktok-b1805616.html Fake snow? Conspiracy theory claims Texas weather ‘government-generated’], The Independent 22 Feb. 2021</ref> This one is so easy to disprove, with the charring being generated by the lighter they use to try to melt it, and the water being absorbed by the ice in the snowball.

==International following==
[[File:John Mappin Q flag Cornwall.jpeg|thumb|right|315px|The dipshit flag flies proudly over Camelot Castle hotel in Cornwall.]]
As the [[COVID-19]] pandemic swept across the world, QAnon turned into a global phenomenon due to disaffected people searching for easy answers to their economic and personal problems.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/07/tech/qanon-europe-cult-intl/index.html 'It's like a parasite': How a dangerous virtual cult is going global]. ''CNN.'' October 7, 2020.</ref> QAnon followers can now be found in at least 71 countries, with the largest Q community in [[Germany]].<ref>[https://www.voanews.com/usa/how-qanon-conspiracy-theory-went-global How the QAnon Conspiracy Theory Went Global]. ''Voice of America.'' August 15, 2020.</ref>

Alongside the pandemic, the movement also gained visibility due to being promoted by US President Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans and the movement's ability to tie in conspiracy beliefs that are prominent in other countries.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2020/sep/29/the-dangerous-global-spread-of-the-qanon-conspiracy-theory The dangerous global spread of the QAnon conspiracy theory]. ''The Guardian.'' 29 Sep 2020.</ref>

===UK===
QAnon theories became increasingly popular in the UK in 2020, often linked with COVID-19 skepticism or denialism, and often foregrounding #saveourchildren/#savethechildren. It has been promoted by all-purpose conspiracy theorists such as [[Piers Corbyn]], as well as getting interest from celebrities such as Robbie Williams.<ref>[https://www.wired.co.uk/article/qanon-uk How QAnon took hold in the UK], ''Wired UK'', Sep 21, 2020</ref><ref>[https://theconversation.com/how-british-grannies-are-spreading-qanon-conspiracy-theory-memes-on-facebook-145820 How British grannies are spreading QAnon conspiracy theory memes on Facebook], ''The Conversation'', Sep 25, 2020</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/20/the-qanon-conspiracy 'Quite frankly terrifying': How the QAnon conspiracy theory is taking root in the UK], ''The Observer'', Sep 20, 2020</ref> As early as January 2020, John Mappin, a senior figure in [[Turning Point UK]] and a supporter of [[Nigel Farage]], flew a QAnon flag over his hotel in Cornwall, England.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jan/11/trum-and-farage-supporter-flies-flag-for-qanon-rar-right-conspiracy Fan of Trump and Farage raises far-right ‘Q’ flag at his Cornish castle], The Guardian, Jan 11, 2020</ref>

Analysis by ''The Guardian'' shows that much of the impetus for QAnon's rising popularity there comes from [[alternative medicine]] and spirituality websites.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/18/qanon-conspiracy-theory-gaining-ground-in-uk-analysis-shows QAnon conspiracy theory gaining ground in UK, analysis shows]. ''The Guardians.''</ref> Due to the conspiracy theory's versatile set of beliefs, it has proven able to adapt to different environments and  thus spread rapidly. In the US, apparently starting in 2020, alt-med promoters also began promoting QAnon alongside their regular fare of bullshit.<ref name=guerin>[https://www.wired.co.uk/article/yoga-disinformation-qanon-conspiracy-wellness The yoga world is riddled with anti-vaxxers and QAnon believers: In my day job, I monitor the spread of online disinformation and conspiracy theories. I never expected to find them at my yoga class] by Cécile Guerin (28 January 2021) ''Wired''.</ref><ref>[https://conspirituality.net/redpilled/ Redpilled] ''Conspirituality''.</ref>

===Germany===
QAnon has gained a tremendous following in Germany thanks to its ability to ride on preexisting conspiracy theories tied to [[Angela Merkel]] by the German far-right. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, German conspiracy theorists used a routine [[NATO]] exercise to claim that Donald Trump was secretly helping to "liberate" Germany from the Merkel regime.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/11/world/europe/qanon-is-thriving-in-germany-the-extreme-right-is-delighted.html QAnon Is Thriving in Germany. The Extreme Right Is Delighted.] ''New York Times.''</ref> In Germany, it was the far-right that first glommed on to Q and began aggressively pushing it; they were attracted not only by anti-Merkel rhetoric but also by the theory's antisemitic underpinnings. QAnon rallies in Germany tend to accompany far-right symbols like the old [[German Empire]] flag.<ref>[https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-09-22/like-a-virus-qanon-spreads-from-the-u-s-to-europe-germany Like a Virus, QAnon Spreads From the U.S. to Germany]. ''Bloomberg.''</ref> Most Germans subscribing to the theory tend to be under the age of 50, which reflects previous trends of German anti-establishment right.<ref name="foreignpolicy">[https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/02/germany-is-losing-the-fight-against-qanon/ Germany is Germany Is Losing the Fight Against QAnon], Tyson Barker, ''Foreign Policy'', 2 September 2020</ref>

The theory might be ridiculous, but in Germany it threatens to be a major domestic [[terrorist]] threat. Germany is already seeing an uptick in right-wing terrorist incidents, with neo-Nazi and anti-Muslim cells being caught by police.<ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/germany-and-right-wing-extremism-the-new-dimension-of-terrorism/a-52442936 Germany and right-wing extremism: The new dimension of terrorism]. ''Deutsche Welle.''</ref> Most disturbing of all was a February 2020 mass shooting that killed 11 people in the city of Hanau, where the perpetrator left behind a manifesto claiming that an evil globalist cabal was controlling the world.<ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/why-the-qanon-conspiracy-theory-is-gaining-popularity/a-55066593 Why the QAnon conspiracy theory is gaining popularity]. ''Deutsche Welle.''</ref> The {{wpl|Murder of Walter Lübcke|assassination of Walter Lübcke}} in June 2019 and the synagogue attack in Halle in October that year have also been linked to rhetoric stemming from QAnon or conspiracy theories related to it.<ref name="foreignpolicy"/>

Some notable Germans promoting the conspiracy theory have included celebrity singer/songwriter Xavier Naidoo, vegan chef and activist Attila Hildmann and former newsreader Eva Herman.<ref 
name="foreignpolicy"/>

Some [[Reichsbürger]] believe in [[QAnon]]  and a mob of them attempted to storm the Bundestag (German parliament building) in 2020.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63889792 Reichsbürger: German 'crackpot' movement turns radical and dangerous] (7 December 2022) ''BBC''.</ref> Notably, American QAnon believers were involved in the [[2021 U.S. coup attempt]].

In December 2022, German authorities arrested 25 Reichsbürger members for alleged to plotting a coup involving storming the Bundestag (again).<ref name=kirby>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63885028 Germany arrests 25 accused of plotting coup] by Paul Kirby (December 7, 2022) ''BBC News''.</ref> Among the arrestees were a minor{{efn|Too minor to have a Wikipedia page at the time of his arrest.}} aristocrat, Heinrich XIII (or Prince Heinrich), and a former German MP from the [[Alternative für Deutschland]] party, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.<ref name=kirby/><ref name=connolly>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/reichsburger-the-german-conspiracy-theorists-at-heart-of-alleged-coup-plot Reichsbürger: the German conspiracy theorists at heart of alleged coup plot: Despite description of alleged plotters by prosecutors as a ‘motley crew’, the threat was considered very real] by Kate Connolly (7 Dec 2022 12.29 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref> Other arrestees included Reichsbürger members and QAnon believers.<ref name=kirby/> <ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/germany-terror-plot-prince-heinrich-reichsburger-alleged-qanon-inspired-coup/ Germany arrests dozens as QAnon-inspired "Reichsbürger" group accused of plotting to overthrow government] by Anna Noryskiewicz (December 7, 2022 / 10:13 AM) ''CBS News''.</ref>

===France===
France has one of the biggest QAnon communities outside the USA, with links to the fringes of the [[Yellow vests]] protest movement and to COVID denialism.<ref>[https://slate.com/technology/2020/09/qanon-europe-germany-lockdown-protests.html How QAnon Went Global], Joshua Keating, Slate, Sep 2020</ref>

==Glossary==
Much of the terminology of QAnon can be found in the dissected map, below. Here are some of the meta-terminology used by QAnoners to communicate among themselves:
{{collist|2|
*⭐⭐⭐ — used to show support for or to stand in for the name of Lieutenant (i.e. "three-star") General Michael Flynn
*17 — stands in for "Q", the 17<sup>th</sup> letter of the English alphabet
*187 — refers to the section of the [[California]] Penal Code section for murder; used for people alleged to have been murdered such as Seth Rich<ref name=rothschild2/>
*5:5 —&nbsp;used in [[radio]] communication to mean "loud and clear", used by QAnon to allege that a special operations mission is taking place<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Adrenochrome — a naturally-occurring oxidized form of adrenaline, believed by QAnoners to be extracted by nefarious actors from children and used as a drug for life-extention and super-human powers<ref name=rothschild3>''The Storm is Upon Us: How QAnon became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything'' by Mike Rothschild (2021) Melville House. ISBN 1612199291.</ref>{{rp|52-55,248}}
*Anons —&nbsp;followers of Q who dissect breadcrumbs<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Autists —&nbsp;obsessive anons, a reference to "weaponized [[autism]]"<ref name=rothschild2/><ref>[https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-rise-of-weaponized-autism-2 The Rise of 'Weaponized Autism': What happens when trolls invoke disability in the name of alt-right politics?] by Miles Klee (2018) ''Mel Magazine''.</ref>
*Baker — QAnon forum moderator or clue interpreter,<ref name="qbeast"/> possibly also a [[PIDOOMA]] expert who is generating a bullshit stream
*Baking — the act of interpreting and connecting drops, Trump posts, and current events 
*Black hat — government official who opposes Trump,<ref name="qbeast"/> presumably deep state
*Booms — revelations about the alleged anti-Trump cabal<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Breadcrumb — clue
*Cabal — wealthy people who secretly run the world, [[globalist]]s/[[NWO]]/Illuminati<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|248}}
*Clowns or C_A —&nbsp;CIA<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Comms —&nbsp;communications, usually referring to the idea that non-8chan communications are fake<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Datefag(ging) — attaching a specific date to a prediction tied to QAnon lore (has become generally frowned upon, as it makes claims [[Falsifiability|falsifiable]])<ref>''Some of the savvier Q influencers have actually come to notice that making predictions about specific dates (that are always wrong) is bad business when it comes to building a self-sustaining cult, so they caution other Q believers not to post about things like March 4. How do they discourage that kind of behavior? With shaming and insulting names, of course. Specifically, they call making predictions about specific dates “datefagging.”'' [https://www.pastemagazine.com/politics/qanon/qanon-trump-parler-gab-conspiracy-theories-march-4-meaning/ Here's How QAnon Has Been Rationalizing the First Month of the Biden Presidency] by Jim Vorel, ''Paste Magazine'', February 18, 2021</ref>
*Delta — derivied from the mathematical difference operator (Δ), used by QAnon for the difference in time between a drop and a world event<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|248}}
*Digital soldier — originally used in a speech by Michael Flynn to refer to Trump's online followers, used by QAnon to refer to Q researchers/meme makers<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|248}}
*Drop — any post made by Q on 8chan<ref name=rothschild2>[https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/q-anon-jargon-explained/ Q Anon jargon, explained: Here’s everything you need to know to understand it.] by Mike Rothschild (2018-07-04 06:30 am) ''Daily Dot''.</ref>
*Fireworks —&nbsp;a major news story is supposedly breaking about the alleged anti-Trump cabal<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Follow the white rabbit — seek the truth<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/08/02/what-makes-qanon-so-scary/ QAnon is terrifying. This is why.] by Molly Roberts (August 2, 2018) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
*Future proves past — the idea that the future will bear out the QAnon conspiracy and drops<ref name=rothschild2/>
*GodWins — not to be confused with [[Godwin's Law|the law]], a hashtag intended as a rallying cry, reassurance, or reinforcement of the idea that anons are on the right side of history
*Gone With the Wind — the belief that many celebrities and public figures that were reported as dead many years earlier or later are actually alive, well, and have taken part in a federal witness protection program, named after the world-famous 1939 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, that seeks to combat child molesters in Hollywood.<ref>[https://x.com/Shelle_Shocked/status/1814333563761832127 Sample tweet with the conspiracy theory]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3rwKI72_Zs Sample video with the conspiracy theory]</ref>
*The Great Awakening — the belief that Mueller would work with Trump and bring down the cabal that was fighting Trump; no longer so popular since the Mueller report came out<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Guru/promoter — the key social media personalities doing decoding drops/making videos and books etc.<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|249}}
*Hussein —&nbsp;Barack ''Hussein'' Obama<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Kraken — Indisputable evidence that the 2020 election was rigged that will supposedly be revealed at some point<ref name=kraken/>
*LARP — live action [[role-playing game]], used in conflicting contexts:
*#the idea that Q is just playing a game with credulous Trumpers.<ref name=rothschild2/> This idea is supported by Travis View (real name: Logan Strain<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/04/01/qanon-travis-view-logan-strain/ One of QAnon’s most widely quoted critics reveals his real name. Hint: It’s not Travis View. QAnon Anonymous co-host, riding a wave of newfound fame, acknowledges he was using a pseudonym all along] by Craig Timberg (April 1, 2021 at 7:28 a.m. PDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>), a conspiracy theory researcher.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/07/qanon-isnt-just-conspiracy-theory-its-highly-effective-game/ I understand the temptation to dismiss QAnon. Here's why we can't.] by Alyssa Rosenberg (August 7, 2019 at 5:32 PM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
*#the idea that others (particularly on the left) who take up arms are simply doing so to look intimidating and would crumble at the first sign of actual danger or repercussions – shares a lot of context with the alt-right's usage of [[Alt-right glossary#Soy boy|"soy boy"]]
*[[Med beds]] –&nbsp;a device that will restore its user to perfect health and/or grant [[immortality]]; allegedly the result of alien technology or time travel<ref>''Med beds are also a big part of the mythology of conspiracy movements like QAnon (which never mentions them by name, but does hint at secret and suppressed medical marvels) and the Q offshoot Negative 48, where the Telegram channel Whiplash 347 has made dozens of references to them curing “6,000 diseases” while “making hospital equipment obsolete” and removing the need for people to take medication.'' [https://www.dailydot.com/debug/med-beds-swiss-suicide-pods-conspiracy/ Why Conspiracy Theorists Think New Suicide Pods are Med Beds] by Mike Rothschild, ''The Daily Dot'', December 20, 2021</ref>
*Mockingbird —&nbsp;the alleged {{wpl|Operation Mockingbird}} by the CIA<ref name=rothschild2/>
*[[MSM]] — Mainstream media, the enemy of QAnon/Trump<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|249}}
*News unlocks map —&nbsp;the idea that actual news will explain the QAnon map (below)<ref name=rothschild2/>
*No Name —&nbsp;[[John McCain]]<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Pain —&nbsp;something bad happening to the alleged anti-Trump cabal<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Patriot's Soapbox — a 24-hour/day QAnonn livestream, formerly on YouTube, run two original promoters, Coleman Rogers and Christina Urso<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|249}}
*Pedo-gate — an extension of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Proofs — evidence that Q is real or that drops are real<ref name=rothschild2/> – possibly derived from the earlier 2014 meme ''proofster''<ref>[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/proofster Proofster], ''Know Your Meme''</ref>
* Protzmanian — a relatively recent addition to the QAnon pantheon. It refers to those who follow Michael Protzman ("Negative48") in believing that John F. Kennedy and JFK Jr. will be resurrected.<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/qanon-dallas-conspiracy-theorist-jfk-still-there-1264953/ The Fringe QAnon ‘Cult’ Is Still Waiting for a JFK Jr. Miracle in Dallas: The group, led by conspiracy theorist Michael Protzman's [[Schism|sub-sect]], are trafficking in fascistic ideas that are far more concerning than they are kooky] by Steven Monacelli (December 1, 2021 10:54AM ET) ''Rolling Stone''.</ref><ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-rally-qanon-jkf-conspiracy-1286053/ They’re Too Extreme for QAnon — and Right at Home at Trump’s Rally: Michael Protzman tells his followers that JFK Jr. and other dead celebrities are helping Trump catch a global cabal of pedophiles. Saturday night, he was seated with the VIPs] by Steven Monacelli (January 16, 2022 11:03AM ET) ''Rolling Stone''.</ref>
*Q+ — shorthand for Donald Trump.<ref name=splcq/>
*Q researchers — followers of QAnon who think they are doing actual research<ref name=lafrance/> rather than, say, being trolled by 'Q'
*Red pill/Pilled — exposing non-believers to QAnon; the term originated from the 1999 film ''[[The Matrix]]'', and spread to other fringe groups, starting with the [[men's rights movement]]<ref name=rothschild2/><ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/quotes The Matrix (1999): Quotes] ''IMDb''. "You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."</ref> and including the alt-right's [[Alt-right glossary#Red pill|red pill]] usage
*Sealed indictments —&nbsp;the once popular (pre-Mueller Report) idea that sealed indictments would come out prior to The Great Awakening<ref name=rothschild2/>
*ShadowPrez — a conspiracy that alleges that Trump is still the president behind the scenes<ref>[https://www.indiatimes.com/news/world/some-qanons-still-think-donald-trump-is-still-in-control-others-cry-532500.html Some QAnons Think Donald Trump Is Still In Control, Others Cry As Conspiracy Theory Implodes] by Bobins Abraham (Updated on Jan 21, 2021, 14:00 IST) ''India Times''.</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/KNysH Shadowprez anyone?] r/insanepeoplefacebook (January 2021) ''Reddit'' (archived from 26 Jan 2021 08:07:25 UTC).</ref>
*Shill — refers to journalists who report favorably on the cabal or government<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|251}}
*StopTheSteal — hashtag used as rallying cry against the results of the 2020 election
*Silent war — the secret war between good and evil<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|251}}
*The Storm — there have been theories about this within QAnon, including mass arrests of Democrats, sex offenders, various enemies of Trump<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Tripcode —&nbsp;the code used by Q on 8chan that supposedly confirms authenticity<ref name=rothschild2/>
*Trust the plan/God wins/Nothing can stop what's coming/Enjoy the show/Dark to light — [[Thought-terminating cliché]]s of reassurance<ref name=rothschild3/>{{rp|252}}
*White hat — government official who supports Trump<ref name="qbeast"/>
*WWG1WGA — an abbreviation for "Where we go one, we go all", alleged by conspiracists to have been said by [[John F. Kennedy]], but is actually attributable to the 1996 action film ''White Squall''<ref name="qbeast"/> ("You told us where we go one we go all, well we believed you, we lived by it, Sir. And now you're saying where you go we can't follow.")<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118158/quotes White Squall (1996): Quotes] ''IMDb''.</ref>
}}

==QAnon map dissection==
{{main|QAnon map dissection}}
As the map shows, QAnon functions as a grand [[unified conspiracy theory]] because it lumps in just about every imaginable conspiracy theory (together with some historical reference points and almost no context). There are a number of conspiracy theories that are based on [[bigotry]]: [[antisemitism]] (e.g. concerning George Soros or the illuminati),<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/is-qanon-the-latest-pro-trump-conspiracy-theory-anti-semitic-1.6340841 Is QAnon, the Latest pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory, anti-Semitic? Many say QAnon, which centers around a mysterious online figure, is an ominous sign of an emerging lunatic fringe] by JTA and Charles Dunst (Aug 03, 2018 9:01 PM) ''Haaretz''.</ref><ref>[http://archive.ph/phr93 1000% correct, since the illumnati hijacked the US gov in 1945 there has never been an election in the US, thats why they cant understand how Trump won, the jew maffia going to lose the Fed & the Irs. They see it coming!👌📯🎺💣🌲🌲🌲🌲 #GodBlessAmerica #QAnon #DrainingTheSwamp] by Steven19141301 (11:41 PM - 11 Jan 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from 18 Jan 2020 18:36:05 UTC).</ref> [[anti-Catholicism]] (e.g., concerning [[Jesuits]]),<ref>[http://archive.ph/wip/52zCu @chrisurquhart Have You heard of Q - QAnon or the WWG1WGA Movement? Have you heard of The Great Awakening? Do You know Trump is fighting against the Illuminati - a Cabal of 13 Bloodlines who with the Vatican, the CIA, the Jesuits have controlled Earth for Lucifer. Don't be FAKE] by GrantWi89314261 (3:49 PM - 17 Jan 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from 18 Jan 2020 18:41:37 UTC).</ref> anti-African American (concerning the Obamas),<ref>[http://archive.ph/0b2Xd Red pilled both my boomer parents and now they’re talking about how Obama is a stupid nigger who should be hanged and ranting about #qanon. Merry Christmas!] by Apex_Dexter (1:25 PM - 25 Dec 2017) ''Twitter'' (archived from 18 Jan 2020 18:56:17 UTC).</ref> and anti-[[Masonic]] (also, often antisemitic),<ref>[http://archive.ph/wip/xifH9 #QAnon loves #5G #MAGA is Israeli PR #jews killed Jesus #zionists are Freemasons are satanic Microwaved goyim on deck. WATCH OUT.] by bourdainmurderd (12:53 PM - 13 Apr 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from 18 Jan 2020 18:50:44 UTC).</ref> and these are baked into the map. In that sense, QAnon can be used both as a [[Confirmation bias|mirror]] for one's own bigotry and as a powerful [[crank magnet]] that can attract all sorts of shit from this "rabbit hole".

Notably missing from these two maps is CrowdStrike, a security company that was hired by the DNC, but is now part of the QAnon conspiracy and incredibly was part of the [[GOP]] defense of [[Trump-Ukraine scandal|Trump in the impeachment inquiry]].<ref>[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/crowdstrike-4chan-qanon-conspiracy-theory Here's How Donald Trump Ended Up Referencing A Russian-Promoted 4chan Conspiracy Theory In His Call To The Ukrainian President: From the depths of 4chan, to the president's mouth, and then back to the depths of 4chan.] by Ryan Broderick (September 26, 2019, at 4:59 p.m. ET) ''BuzzFeed News''.</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/12/this-is-defense-republicans-are-going-with/ This is the pathetic defense Republicans are going with?] by Jennifer Rubin (November 12, 2019 at 8:45 a.m. PST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

[[File:Qanon-map.jpg|thumb|center|250px|A harebrained Qanon map, designed by Dylan Louis Monroe at the Deep State Mapping Project, beckoning you to jump down the rabbit hole. [[Apophenia]] much?]]
Having trouble reading <span style="font-size:50%">5-point ALL CAPS</span>? Is your mind confused by the [[non sequitur]] tornado? View the dissected map here:{{efn|{{:QAnon map dissection}}}} Unhelpfully, the dissection is still full of non sequitur. The dissection roughly follows the map left-to-right and top-to-bottom.

===Great Awakening map===
{{blockquote|'''The Great Awakening Map''' is the quintessential [[Red pill|red-pill]] navigational chart for ''Escaping the Matrix'' and ''Returning to Source''.

The map has been spotted on ''8chan'' in accompaniment with the ''Q-Map'', and has served a vital role in '''The Great Awakening''' and ''Full Disclosure Movement'' across the entire globe.

Over a decade of [[metaphysical]] research was collected prior to the map's release in mid-2018.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190819040633/https://www.greatawakeningmap.co/ Great Awakening Map] (archived from August 19, 2019).</ref>}}

The map is actually quite similar to the QAnon map above but regurgitated with different spaghetti code.
[[File:Great-Awakening-map.jpg|thumb|center|250px|]]

{{anchor|Q clearance}}
==Real world "Q" clearance==
In the Department of Energy, {{wpl|Q clearance|this is a real thing|.}} As a Department of Energy clearance, it relates to [[nuclear weapons]] research in the United States. It obviously [[Bullshit|makes sense]] that this publicly known and extremely important clearance level would be primarily used to hide everyone's secret pedophilia.<ref group=note>The [[User:Quantheory|original author]] of this section is not-so-secretly an on-and-off DOE employee. Albeit one who specializes in climate science rather than child molestation.</ref>

[[Encyclopædia Dramatica]]'s founder Sherrod DeGrippo once also held a Q level clearance while under US government contract. It was not particularly hard to obtain.<ref>[https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherroddegrippo Sherrod DeGrippo] ''Linkedin''.</ref> "L" is actually a higher level of clearance according to the US government careers website.

In 2024, Trump's lawyers reference the clearance level as part of their intended defense strategy in criminal case against Trump's illegal retention of government documents. Even if Trump did still have Q clearance at the time of the FBI raid in 2022, he would not have a need-to-know, which is also required for people with Q clearannce to access such documents.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/01/17/trump-q-clearance-classified-nuclear-secrets Trump lawyers say document shows he kept ‘Q’ clearance for nuclear secrets: In Florida trial involving classified documents, Donald Trump’s lawyers are seeking more information about a Department of Energy clearance list] by Perry Stein (January 17, 2024 at 1:43 p.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Behold a Pale Horse]]'' — Q made an info drop referencing this book.
*[[Jeffrey Epstein]] — sex trafficker, the central figure behind an ''actual'' global ring of elite pedophiles, and a catalyst for the QAnon movement.<ref>[https://archive.ph/kuSlY "How Donald Trump Lost Control of the Epstein Spin Cycle"] by David Gilbert, Wired, 2025 November 19</reF> ([[Ironically]] for QAnon, Epstein was a close friend of their hero Donald Trump).
*[[Alex Jones]]
*[[Pizzagate]] - the prequel 
*[[Provisional Imperial Government‎‎]] — Some German QAnon believers have merged into this far-right group.
*''[[Q - The Plan To Save The World]]'': a short YouTube [[Schlockumentary|"documentary"]] 
*[[Trumpism]] - the precursor to QAnon and another American fascist movement.

*[[Fun:The truth about RationalWiki]], for we are also part of the global Satanic cabal.
*[[Fun:QAnon bingo]]

==External links==
* [[YouTube]] {{---}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5AsNsiheDE Trump made the Covid-19 to test loyalty]
* [[YouTube]] {{---}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8cp1KvZKPo Q: The Plan to Save The World.]
* [https://www.qanonposts.io/ QAnon Posts and Drops] — "Q"s latest posts, along with, we shit you not, a 24/7 live stream discussing them, because what the fuck?
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/24/qanon-believer-conspiracy-theory/ He’s a former QAnon believer. He doesn't want to tell his story, but thinks it might help.] — advice on talking to a friend or relative who believes in QAnon
*[https://www.reddit.com/r/QAnonCasualties/ r/QAnonCasualties] {{---}} A Reddit thread offering emotional support and advice for people who've had loved ones taken in by the QAnon conspiracy.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|4|60%}}

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