Qanon

Introduction & Overview

Qanon is a decentralized, often violent group collected around an ideology that centers on an unfounded conspiracy theory about a ‘deep state’ cabal of Satanic pedophile elites being responsible for all the evil that happens in the world. People who subscribe to Qanon beliefs also believe that Donald J. Trump is the only one that can defeat these elites and that they are conspiring to prevent him from winning the upcoming 2024 US election. The name ‘Qanon’ derives from the groups origins within the milleure of internet culture: Q used to be the name of a poster on internet forum 4chan, where they posted claimed “ government intelligence”. Q is widely thought to be a troll, or someone pretending to be a military or governmental official; however, those who subscribe to Qanon beliefs believe that Q was (and perhaps still is) a genuine insider in either the military, or government, and therefore place a lot of belief in the posts from his account, known as ‘Q drops’.

Qanon proponents seek to violently destroy the existing world order, which they see as corrupt, and usher in what they perceive to be a golden age, after the people they see as the corrupt and pedophile elites have been killed. The elites that they want to destroy usually include members of the Democratic Party in the US, but it also often includes Jewish people. The ideology of destroying a secret world order to bring in a new golden is reminiscent of a variety of neo-Nazi and fascist groups throughout the world, and the ideology of Qanon has a variety of thinly veiled connections to old anti-Semitic narratives where Jewish people are the focal point of conspiracies. During the 2021 insurrection on the US Capitol, many adherents to Qanon were present, including particularly famous and influential online personalities known for their Qanon beliefs and content. First seen online in 2017, the phenomenon of Qanon is now irrevocably integrated into US politics, and has also spread to various locations around the globe. (1)

History & Foundations

To understand the origins of Qanon, we can go back to a conspiracy that began in America in 2016 dubbed ‘Pizzagate’. In 2016, the website WikiLeaks released a trove of emails that Russian hackers had stolen from John Podesta, who was a campaign chair for Hillary Clinton during her 2016 Presidential run against Trump, which she lost. In 2016, an anonymous poster asserted on 4chan that the words ‘cheese pizza’ in the Podesta emails were code for ‘child pornography’ and that a Washington, D.C., pizzeria named Comet Ping Pong, from which Podesta had ordered, was sexually exploiting children. The conspiracist proponents of Pizzagate ideas accused the pizzeria of operating a sex trafficking ring that was linked to a cabal of Satanic cannibals. They believed that this ring was being run from the basement of the pizzeria, despite the fact that Comet Ping Pong did not have a basement. The real world impact of these conspiracy theories was illustrated from the start, when a Pizzagate believer took to the road on 4 December 2016, driving from North Carolina to Washington with an AR-15 shotgun and a revolver. Edgar Welch opened fire into Comet Ping Pong, letting off several rounds; when he failed to discover the pizzeria’s non-existent basement, he surrendered to police, saying that the ‘intel’ on Pizzagate “wasn’t 100%”. He did not injure anyone but was sentenced to four years on weapons charges. (2)

The first post under the name ‘Q’ is dated 28 October 2017; the poster put what they claimed to be classified government information on the politics board of 4chan, named ‘pol’ (short for ‘politically incorrect’). This original post was a comment on a thread discussing the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 American elections. The post asserted that the arrest of Hillary Clinton was “already in motion”, a statement that was demonstrably false; the poster also asserted that they were named Q as they had “Q clearance”, a type of security clearance that allowed them access to high level, classified documents and intelligence. Q also asserted that Trump would initiate “the Storm”, which was a large-scale attack on the ‘deep state’ officials responsible for the Pizzagate cabal of pedophiles, and it is this conspiracist kernel that led to the overarching conspiracy theory that has become named Qanon. (2) Q is not the only poster on 4chan to claim to have special access to governmental information, and is part of a wider context where posters would pretend to be other people – a phenomenon called ‘larping’ online. After the moderator of 4chan’s pol board judged the platform to be too moderate, 8chan began, offering a whole new website on which Qanon could post, and grow. (1) Now, Qanon has become what is known as a ‘big tent’ conspiracy, which is a conspiracy theory that covers a wide range of ideas and is therefore able to attract a variety of subscribers. (3)

In 2018, the Q drops moved from being posted on 4chan, to being posted on 8chan, also known as ‘8kun’. This message board is similar to 4chan, but is known for having even less moderation. It is now owned by an American expatriate named Jim Watkins, who bought it from its founder, and who along with his son Ron, is widely believed by the journalistic community to have acted as Q for at least a period of time. They also played a role in the creation and maintenance of the mythos around Q, and arguably the growth of it as a conspiracy. Reddit banned the most active Qanon subreddits (internet message boards based around a theme or interest) in 2018 on the basis that they were inciting violence, going against the website’s terms of service. They have not been the only website to attempt to curtail harmful behavior and content in relation to Qanon. Over time, people who interpreted the Q drops became known as ‘bakers’ who were ‘baking’, i.e. interpreting the posts; these people became influencers and exert(ed) impact on American electoral politics. The conspiracy was expanded again and again in response to real world political developments, and some references have even been made towards Q theories by Trump himself. (2)

Ideology & Goals

The ideology of Qanon believers centers around ‘the Storm’, where they think that the pedophile cabal running the American ‘deep state’ will be violently destroyed, allowing a new golden age to be introduced. They believe that Trump will bring ‘the Storm’ into being and be the figurehead they need to ensure that the shadowy elites of the cabal are defeated and killed. Qanon proponents believe that the shadowy elite cabal is trafficking and a abusing children; this theory also has links to the generations-old anti-Semitic ‘blood libel’ conspiracies about Jewish people killing Christian children to drink their blood and to harvest adrenochrome, a specific chemical made by the human body. These theories have been present in the public consciousness since medieval times, and are now being reimagined within the online landscape of conspiracy theories and shitposting. Indeed, there was a high rate of searches for ‘adrenochrome’ during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and there was also a dedicated subreddit to the word, which was later banned by the website. (4) The ideology of Qanon also links to the history of apocalyptic Branch Davidians; Qanon theory is highly apocalyptic and Christian, with parallels between the Qanon ‘Storm’ and the Biblical rapture. (2) This emphasis on child sex trafficking and exploitation has developed from the original Pizzagate allegations into real life protest marches such as the first ‘Child Lives Matter’ march in 2020, along with the Save the Children movement both on and offline. (4)

The Qanon ideology also focuses on the fact that the Q drops, posted online by the anonymous Q, are empirical evidence, and much like religious texts or the speeches of cult leaders, it is the Q followers’ job to decipher them so that they can find out the knowledge that Q is seeking to impart and draw public attention to. This results in a variety of cult-like behaviors from Q followers, as they deny real events that disprove the Q drops and cling to finding ways to make them true; this creates an overall, macroscopic conspiracist lens through which Qanon believers interpret national and international politics. While Qanon originated in America and the original ideology is very much centered on American politics, it has also spread throughout Western Europe and Canada, appearing in various iterations that reimagine the theory to fit the politics of the nation in question. Another key part of the Qanon ideology is the need to spread the ideas of Q and what the Q believers see as crucial information about the reality of children being exploited and sex trafficked by a shadowy cabal. This results in a sort of internet-based evangelism to the Qanon ideology: followers are usually not just passive consumers of content, but also generate it themselves and often call themselves ‘digital soldiers’ or a ‘digital army’. In their online activism, Qanon followers share memes, photos, videos and even songs to create an online content ecosystem of Qanon content. (1) Lastly, Trump remains at the center of the Qanon law: he is seen as a figurehead, leader and the one who is going to lead the charge against the cabal of elites, ushering in the new golden age. Trump himself has made some vague and not so vague references to these beliefs, calling Qanon followers “people who love our country [America]” immediately after many Qanon followers had stormed the US Capitol building thinking they could prevent President Joe Biden from taking office. (5)

Approach To Resistance

Qanon proponents are most known for basing themselves online and concentrating their efforts on creating content, but they have a variety of other avenues through which they further their ideology and attempt to bring about the destruction of the ‘deep state’, or ‘the Storm’. Qanon personalities and followers were also seen at the insurrection attack at the Capitol building in the US in 2021, illustrating the willingness of Qanon’s followers to enact real life violence. The furthering of Qanon ideology began online and this is where the key personalities became so well known. Perhaps the most famous of these Qanon figureheads is the Qanon Shaman, whose real name is Jacob Angeli Chansley; he was pictured in the stream of protesters who sped into the Capitol building. He was known as both a Qanon influencer online and as a Qanon musician, making music that was generally about his Qanon beliefs; his American flag face paint, horned headdress and furs, he was distinctive and well known for appearances in real life at Qanon events and protests, as well as online. Chansley was on trial for charges relating to interrupting a session of Congress that could have carried charges of up to 20 years, however, he was given a sentence of 41 months, considerably less that the maximum, due to remorse he expressed during the trial – remorse which he has now recounted in favor of returning to the Qanon fold since his release from prison. (6) Chansley’s music is just one example of many creators and musicians who appear at Qanon conventions, another way that this ideology has permeated real life as well as digital life. Conventions such as Q Con Live, held in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2020, demonstrated the ideology’s ability to serve as a point of commonality between people and to gather numbers. Speakers at these events reference specific posts by the anonymous Q, and debate the meaning of various posts as if discussing readings of religious texts; there are also frequent musical performances at these conventions, as well as merchandise stalls, with many of the speakers selling books or other products. Qanon believers can also be seen taking to the streets for real life protests, which they usually maintain are “anti-pedophile” protests. One such protest in 2020 took place in Hollywood, Los Angeles, where signs read “Pedophiles, you are on notice! - Q”. The sign also featured a picture of Trump himself, heroically pointing, along with the words “And I mean you Hollywood”. The hashtag used, was #SaveTheChildren.

The culmination of the in-person Qanon actions seen over the years is their participation in the Capitol riots and insurrection attempt on the Capitol building. A protest was called for Republicans in America to show their displeasure at the victory of President Joe Biden in the 2020 American election; however, this protest quickly turned into a riot, spurred on by the dialogue of Trump himself, and rioters quickly took to entering the Capitol building. They were mistakenly under the impression that they were able to halt the democratic process and stop Biden being declared President; however, this was not the case. Instead, rioters explored the Capitol building live streaming, vandalizing the building, and looking for documents that they could use to oust the US Government. In the chaos, one Qanon follower climbed through the hole made by some glass smashing on a door into the Capitol building itself, and was shot by an armed US Capitol police officer; Ashli Babbitt had long been a follower of Trump, Qanon and Make America Great Again ideology. An ex-air force soldier, Babbitt had settled near the San Diego suburb she had been raised in, struggling to keep her pool supply company running. She has now become synonymous with the way that Qanon exploded into the mainstream public consciousness in 2021, and the potential it has to do so again.

Relations & Alliances

Qanon is a decentralized collection of believers, centered around the figureheads of Trump and Q, rather than a movement that has a coordinated leadership, and therefore it lacks codified alliances; however, it is entangled with the overarching landscape of far-right politics without the US. There is a large crossover between followers of Qanon and followers of Trump, with both using the ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan, and attending Trump rallies, all emphasized by Trump’s public references to the Qanon ideology and its followers. The anti-Semitic links in the Qanon ideology also lend it to sitting alongside neo-Nazi beliefs, while the focus apocalyptic futures and dawning of a new golden age echo lots of Christian beliefs, especially the evangelicism so popular in the US. There are Christian themes recurring in many Qanon posts, and the content created by Qanon followers tends towards the Christian faith. Indeed, it is possible to interpret the Qanon movement as a pseudo-Christian extremist movement: the Global Network on Extremism and Technology has analyzed the commonalities between liberation theology and Qanon ideology: they both emphasize the power of salvation, Jesus and the ability of apocalypse narratives to deliver the world that the believers dream of and destroy evil. As well as the tendencies towards fundamentalist Christianity, the Qanon ideology has also infiltrated electoral and local politics in the US, with 36 Qanon congress candidates running for office in 2022. (10) The mainstreaming of more subtle nods to Qanon represents another way that the ideology has managed to permeate national politics in the US; with Trump running again in 2024, it remains a central focus.

Works Cited

(1) GNET Team. ‘What is Qanon’. Global Network on Extremism and Technology. 15 October 2020. Accessed 17 September 2024. https://gnet-research.org/2020/10/15/what-is-qanon/

(2) Holoyda, B.. "QAnon." Encyclopedia Britannica, September 4, 2024. Accessed 17 September 2024 https://www.britannica.com/topic/QAnon

(3) ‘Big tent’. Definition, Cambridge Dictionary. Accessed 17 September 2024. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/idea

(4) Brian Friedberg. ‘The Dark Virality of a Hollywood Blood-Harvesting Conspiracy’. Wired. 31 July 2020. Accessed 17 September 2024. https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-the-dark-virality-of-a-hollywood-blood-harvesting-conspiracy/

(5) Mike Wendling. ‘QAnon: What is it and where did it come from?’ BBC. 6 January 2021. Accessed 17 September 2024. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/53498434

(6) Mike Wendling. ‘The ‘QAnon Shaman’ and other Capitol rioters who regret pleading guilty’. 16 July 2023. Accessed 17 September 2024. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66169914

(7) Donie O'Sullivan. ‘Analysis: A CNN reporter went to two different QAnon events. Here’s what he found’. CNN. 19 October 2020. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/19/tech/qanon-events-cnn-reporter/index.html

(8) Ellen Barry, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Dave Philipps. ‘Woman Killed in Capitol Embraced Trump and QAnon’. 7 December 2021. Accessed 17 September 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/who-was-ashli-babbitt.html

(9) Nicolò Miotto and Dr. Julian Droogan. ‘Stand Against the Wiles of the Devil’: Interpreting QAnon as a Pseudo-Christian Extremist Movement’. 26 February 2024. Accessed 17 September 2024. https://gnet-research.org/2024/02/26/stand-against-the-wiles-of-the-devil-interpreting-qanon-as-a-pseudo-christian-extremist-movement/

(10) Joshua Nelken-Zitser and Sophia Ankel. ‘A Trump-loving insurrectionist and a convicted stalker are among 36 QAnon supporters running for Congress in 2022’. Business Insider. 27 June 2022. Accessed 17 September 2024. https://www.businessinsider.com/the-36-qanon-supporters-running-congress-in-the-2022-midterms-2021-6