Before the 2016 presidential election, QAnon was spreading unfounded conspiracy theories. QAnon was not fully formed yet at the time, and the work was being laid through rumors that falsely claimed that numerous Democratic leaders and liberals are engaging in satanic rituals and global sex trafficking.
By August 2020, QAnon is going mainstream. A Republican candidate who promoted QAnon won a primary race in Georgia, as reported by The New York Times.
QAnon was also regularly promoted on Fox News according to Rolling Stone, and the content is now appearing in social media threads of President Donald Trump.
In August 19, President Trump was asked about the dangerous conspiracy theory, but he refused to condemn the group, even though the FBI has identified it as a domestic terrorist threat.
As the group has grown, its influence has reached in all types of political discourse, spreading lies and false information about everything from Black Lives Matter, vaccination to the pandemic. It is now riding its way into the 2020 presidential election, making it very dangerous.
What is QAnon?
QAnon is comprised of a group of people who have made a belief system by extrapolating meaning from cryptic messages that were posted by an anonymous person on different internet forums.
So how does it work? An anonymous poster who goes by "Q" and claims to be a high-ranking government official, drops cryptic messages and leading questions, known as Q drops or crumbs, onto 8kun, which is an internet forum, that is then dissected by internet researches who are trying to find a coded message.
In this type of operation, QAnon has created a rich and nonsensical body of lore that pits President Trump and his supporters against a "cabal of Satan-worshiping liberal elites", but of course, it is not true.
The dangers of QAnon
QAnon is very dangerous. In fact, the FBI identified the group as a threat in a memo posted in May 2019. The memo outlined how fringe political conspiracy theories are likely to motivate some extremists to commit criminal and violent activities.
The memo also listed examples of how QAnon has led to criminal activity. An example stated was a June 2018 incident that involved a man armed with assault rifles and handguns, who blocked a bridge near the Hoover Dam in an armored car while making demands linked to the QAnon movement.
Another example pointed out by the FBI was when an armed group harassed residents and businesses in Tuscon, Arizona. The armed group was said to have tried to investigate claims of a nearby sex trafficking ring, but it turned out to be a hoax.
In August 2020, a woman was arrested after she chased down and attacked another woman. The assailant believed that the victim was involved in a sex trafficking ring, the assailant is now charged with aggravated assault.
QAnon believes that President Trump is the one who can "defeat" the "deep state" who are members of the Democratic party. They are often described as Satan-worshipers and child sex-traffickers. Even liberal entertainers who talk about politics are said to be members of the deep state.
QAnon is also the group that started the "pizza gate" which allegedly involves powerful celebrities and politicians who run an underground, global, child sex trafficking ring, and anyone who mentions pizza is immediately a suspect.
The group believes that Trump, his aides and the high-ranking military official are known as "Q" will be able to defeat the deep state, arrest them and have them executed.
