QAnon: The Viral Conspiracy Theory
I’m sure you’ve heard about the storming of the Capitol Building, and how former U.S. president, Donald Trump, was impeached for instigating the raid of the Capitol Building. Protestors carried Q-themed signs while raiding the building. What was the significance of the letter Q? President Donald Trump was quite a controversial figure to the world, but he was a hero because of the movement. He has described QAnon activists as “people who love our country”. So then, what the heck is QAnon?
QAnon is a conspiracy theory that is spreading like wildfire through the internet. It has been established that President Trump is a hero fighting against the Satan-worshipping and pedophilic elites of the US government, businesses, and media. Some believe that QAnon followers include democrats like President Joseph R. Biden Jr, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama as well as other established figures such as entertainers and religious figures who involve themselves in criminal behaviour. According to QAnon, President Trump should reign over America and recruit military generals to break up the criminal conspiracy and bring justice.
It seems unbelievable and frankly quite fake, but surprisingly there’s a rather large number of people who believe that this is true. According to the New York Times, 14% of Americans believe QAnon to be real with the respondents being 25% Republicans, 12% independents, and 7% Democrats. There is a reason the demographic shows the majority of republicans since it glorifies Donald Trump as a part of the Republican party. The rest of the respondents may have been unaware of the “internet trolls” and their terror. Unfortunately, opinion polls and social media indicate that at least a few of the hundreds and thousands, if not millions, believe in some bizarre and unrealistic theory spread by QAnon.
A pro-Qanon rally.
One may wonder how false news could become mainstream, so let me tell you how. In October 2017, several posts were released anonymously by 4chan. The contents of these posts included the ideology of QAnon and its beliefs. The posts were signed off with the letter “Q” and the user would claim they knew the inner workings of the US government—the term was “Q Clearance” which is US vernacular for restricted information. Q predicted that President Trump’s war would soon peak with “The Storm'' where he would finally reveal the clique and penalize them for their crimes; America’s greatness would then be restored.
The usage of the phrase “The Storm” is a cryptic remark made in an October 2017 photo op. The picture features military generals, and the tweet’s caption said, “You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm.” It may have been foreshadowing and a possible warning or signal about the future Capitol riot that occurred 4 years later.
The QAnon supporters have also been abusing people by posting hateful comments on various social media accounts of people who are allegedly involved in the Satan-worshipping elites of the USA’s upper-class figures. As mentioned previously, QAnon supporters do not limit their abuse to online platforms, but they have attacked the Capitol building. Apparently, the supporters’ crimes range from arson to acts of terrorism. For instance, there was an attack on a Pizza shop in DC because Hillary Clinton was supposedly in charge of a child sex ring in the shop.
QAnon supporters believe that Former President Trump is “a hero fighting against the Satan-worshipping and pedophilic elites of the US government, businesses, and media”.
Unfortunately, Donald Trump neither endorsed nor condemned the conspiracy theory and ideologies of the QAnon community. He instead praised its followers and continuously retweeted posts from QAnon supporters. After the Capitol riot, Twitter had to take down Donald Trump’s account as well as 70,000 other accounts related to conspiracy theories and election fraud claims.
So, how do we put an end to the abhorrent acts of QAnon? Be an upstander. Firstly, make sure you are not at risk of being injured or abused in any way if you confront them. Then, engage in an empathetic conversation with the supporter by enlightening them about their harmful behaviour. Try to be respectful and knowledgeable. Although it may seem impossible to change someone’s mind, it's worth a try.
SOURCES:
QAnon: What is it and where did it come from?
QAnon Believers Committed Nearly 80 Conspiracy-Motivated Crimes, Report Finds
QAnon Now as Popular in U.S. as Some Major Religions, Poll Suggests
QAnon and the storm of the US Capitol: The offline effect of online conspiracy theories
