It's a fringe movement, but one that has gained tremendous traction with online audiences, especially in the United States. So, what is QAnon and who believes in it?
What is it?
At its heart, QAnon is a broad and baseless conspiracy theory that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan worshipers in government, business and the media. QAnon believers have speculated that this war will lead to a day of reckoning, where prominent people like Hillary Clinton will be arrested and then executed. That's the gist, but there are so many internal, alternative, and secondary debates that the full list of QAnon claims is overwhelming and often contradictory. Proponents draw attention to news, historical facts and numerology in order to develop their far-fetched conclusions.
When did it all start?
In October 2017, an anonymous user posted a series of posts on the 4chan message board. The user introduced himself as "Q" and claimed to possess a level of US security clearance known as "Q clearance". These messages became known as "Q drops" or "breadcrumbs," often written in cryptic language, tinged with pro-Trump slogans, pledges, and themes. Indeed, thousands believe it. The amount of traffic to integrate social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and YouTube has exploded since 2017 and indications are that the numbers have gone up further during the coronavirus pandemic. Judging by social media, there are hundreds of thousands of people who believe at least some of the strange theories offered by QAnon.
