<p>2020 was a significant year for many reasons: a pandemic, the election of a new president, a reckoning over systemic racism. But it was also a breakout year for QAnon, a categorically false and extreme conspiracy theory that has <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/fbi-calls-qanon-domestic-terror-threat-trump-has-amplified-qanon-supporters-twitter-more-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">been tied to multiple acts of violence</a> and that worried the FBI enough that in 2019 the bureau specifically <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/fbi-documents-conspiracy-theories-terrorism-160000507.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mentioned it internally</a> as a potential domestic terrorism threat. </p>
<script id="3d14008d7e044c36b256c61ff82728bb">
if(cnxFlag){
cnxFlag=false;
cnx.cmd.push(function() {
cnx({
playerId: '5573e7ba-804a-4971-a00f-3e2eeec6c0a9'
}).render('3d14008d7e044c36b256c61ff82728bb');
});
}
</script>
<p>What started in far-right spaces online gained widespread prominence and attention, in part thanks to a long lack of a response from — and even <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jun/25/qanon-facebook-conspiracy-theories-algorithm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">algorithmic promotion by</a> — various social media platforms. As a result, QAnon has become a significant player in American politics and discourse, harmed our ability to contain a deadly pandemic, and left destroyed lives and families in its wake. And that outcome should provide a harsh lesson about allowing misinformation to spread unchecked across social media platforms. </p><h3>QAnon's Beginnings</h3><p>In late 2017, an anonymous user posted on "/pol/" (where users call themselves "anons"), a far-right message board on the site 4chan. The user, who called themself "Q," claimed to have "Q" government clearance and promised to have an inside scoop showing Trump and then-special counsel Robert Mueller had a secret plot that would take down his perceived enemies, the "deep state," and a cabal of pedophiles (which included people in Hollywood and Democrats like Hillary Clinton). Much of Q's claims built off of the <a href="https://www.politifact.com/article/2016/dec/05/how-pizzagate-went-fake-news-real-problem-dc-busin/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory</a>.</p>
<div class="inarticle_ad_placeholder" data-aa-adunit="/5931858/NatMemo_RM/NatMemo_Middle_Desktop_3" data-aaad="true"></div>
<p>Despite being <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-three-conspiracy-theorists-took-q-sparked-qanon-n900531" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">just one of many</a> users claiming to be government insiders, "Q" gained wider attention, in part thanks to moderators on the message board and a YouTuber who started promoting it. The conspiracy theory spread to Reddit, <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/12/qanon-4chan-the-storm-conspiracy-explained.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube, and Twitter</a>, and ultimately moved to the even further-right message board site <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/maga-trolls/numerous-links-white-supremacist-terror-may-finally-push-8chan-offline" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">8chan</a> (a site tied to multiple alleged mass shooters). </p><p>By early 2018, others in the far-right started embracing QAnon, including outlets such as <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/infowars-fully-embraces-storm-conspiracy-theory-called-new-pizzagate" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Infowars</a>, popular disinformation site <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/fake-news/major-fake-news-website-yournewswire-cites-storm-conspiracy-theory-push-fake-stories" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YourNewsWire</a>, and actors <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/maga-trolls/actor-james-woods-main-conduit-content-far-right-fever-swamps-millions-twitter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Woods</a> and <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/list-right-wing-amplifiers-qanon-conspiracy-theory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rosanne Barr</a>. And by that summer, QAnon supporters had started <a href="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/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">popping up at Trump rallies</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, QAnon supporters slowly but steadily built an infrastructure of <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/12/qanon-4chan-the-storm-conspiracy-explained.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Shayan86/status/1296952400184520704" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hashtags</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1290314810979123206" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook pages and groups</a>, and <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/youtube-has-enabled-qanon-conspiracy-theory-spread-its-platform" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube channels</a>. Facebook and Twitter were <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/01/facebook-qanon-conspiracies-trump/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reportedly warned about this movement internally</a>, but they did not take action. </p><p>Offline, some followers <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/fbi-calls-qanon-domestic-terror-threat-trump-has-amplified-qanon-supporters-twitter-more-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">had started</a> engaging in violent or threatening acts, including multiple murders, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/another-qanon-mom-has-allegedly-kidnapped-her-kid" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">kidnappings</a>, an armed blockade of the Hoover Dam, and even an effort <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/qanon-conspiracy-comey-forced-charter-school-cancel-fundraiser-834050/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">targeting a school fundraiser</a>. Militia groups <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/04/23/qanon-conspiracy-increasingly-popular-antigovernment-extremists" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">began to embrace QAnon</a> as well, and supporters also relentlessly harassed figures they said were part of the pedophile cabal, such as <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/01/what-happened-with-chrissy-teigen-on-twitter-an-explainer.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chrissy Teigen</a> and <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/google/qanon-linked-conspiracy-theory-about-tom-hanks-reached-twitters-and-googles-search" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tom Hanks</a>.</p><p>Yet, while its spread had become significant and its supporters' conspiracy theories <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/maga-trolls/how-fake-story-about-uranium-one-and-russian-plane-crash-spread-message-boards-talk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">would</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/turning-point-usa-advisory-council-member-pushes-qanon-smear" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bubble</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/4chan/how-birther-smear-about-oakland-born-kamala-harris-spread-online" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">up</a> and <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/how-total-fabrication-connecting-george-soros-son-whistleblower-went-underbelly-internet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sometimes reach</a> public figures, there was a possibility the conspiracy theory's momentum was <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/02/qanon-2020/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">at least somewhat stalling early this year,</a> as 8chan (and thus "Q") was knocked offline for months before relaunching as 8kun.</p><p>But then the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 election cycle provided the opportunity for the conspiracy theory to gain an even bigger foothold than before, aided by social media platforms' lacking efforts to limit its spread.</p><h3>QAnon And Coronavirus: A Public Health Threat</h3><p>The coronavirus pandemic forced many to stay in their homes or temporarily close their businesses, and with much more time on their hands, many people spent more time on the internet searching for answers and falling down rabbit holes. Interest and interactions with QAnon content soared. According to <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/06/qanon-coronavirus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mother Jones</a>, over the spring there were significant spikes in Google and Wikipedia searches for "QAnon"; for "wwg1wga," the abbreviated version of the QAnon slogan, "where we go one, we go all"; and for "adrenochrome" (a substance QAnon followers claim elites harvest from the blood of children). There was a similar trend on <a href="https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1290314833284354049" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube for searches</a> of QAnon content.</p><p><img alt="Mother Jones Google QAnon " src="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2020/12/09/Screen-Shot-2020-06-16-at-11.15.05-AM.png?itok=gprsFudO"/></p><p class="caption">Citation<cite>From Mother Jones</cite></p><p>According to doctoral candidate and extremism researcher <a href="https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1290314809209217024" target="_blank">Marc-André Argentino</a>, between March and August the number of QAnon Facebook pages and the "likes" they had more than doubled; interactions for QAnon Facebook groups doubled, and those groups' weekly interaction rate <a href="https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1290314816461185024" target="_blank">increased by</a> over 900%. (Facebook by August found these pages and groups had <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/qanon-groups-have-millions-members-facebook-documents-show-n1236317?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma" target="_blank">more than 3 million</a> total members/followers.)</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="626827515c26d9a04fbd71672e5953e1" id="81cd0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1290314816461185024"><div style="margin:1em 0">7/ In the last 22 weeks QAnon interactions in Facebook groups have ⬆️102%. What is truly staggering is that the wee… https://t.co/jrgc6mTksN</div> — Marc-André Argentino (@Marc-André Argentino)<a href="https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/statuses/1290314816461185024">1596469999.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2636d15a1d17c24c2a726343d7d9f357" id="e9c24"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1290314833284354049"><div style="margin:1em 0">23/ The YouTube searches are really telling as well as we see a very large increase in searches for QAnon as of Mar… https://t.co/lZB5kk2Yk4</div> — Marc-André Argentino (@Marc-André Argentino)<a href="https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/statuses/1290314833284354049">1596470003.0</a></blockquote></div><p>And according to <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/qanon-coronavirus-disinformation_n_5eea6123c5b6a475b84c90c2" target="_blank">HuffPost</a>, by June there was also a spike of tens of thousands of Instagram followers, YouTube subscribers, and Twitter followers of QAnon influencers on those platforms.</p><p><img alt="HuffPost social media QAnon " src="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2020/12/09/5eea835b240000371c8ecec8.jpeg?itok=ql_GvOeh"/></p><p>Citation<cite>From HuffPost</cite></p><p>Even before this spike in searches, and before COVID was officially declared a pandemic, supporters of the conspiracy theory were spreading baseless claims about the virus. Some of them would <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/qanon-conspiracy-theory-post-about-coronavirus-spreading-social-media" target="_blank">eventually be embraced by</a> "Q," who claimed it was planned in some way, maybe to harm Trump politically. </p><p>The impact of these allegations would be immense: One QAnon influencer <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/53061563" target="_blank">falsely claimed</a> that a British organization was linked to a supposed patent for the virus, causing the staff to get threats and abuse. QAnon accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/bill-gates-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-spread-social-media-and-then-fox-news" target="_blank">played a major role</a> in spreading a false conspiracy theory about Microsoft founder Bill Gates implanting microchips in those who receive a vaccine; polls later <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1263876097843908608" target="_blank">found</a> many people <a href="https://twitter.com/carljackmiller/status/1338497310150504448" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">believing it</a>. QAnon accounts also <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1244702360804392960" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">instigated</a> a coronavirus-denying hashtag that resulted in people <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-denying-conspiracy-theory-hashtag-spreading-tiktok-infowars-host" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">filming and harassing</a> hospitals trying to deal with the virus. And a correspondent for One America News Network (which <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/one-america-news-network/pro-trump-oan-attacks-bans-new-mainstream-qanon-deep-state-appears-be" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">increasingly</a> <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpy-right-wing-cable-network-is-now-selling-emojis-to-qanon-cultists" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">embraced</a> the conspiracy theory over the course of the year) even <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/pro-trump-oan-pushes-wild-conspiracy-theory-novel-coronavirus-was-created" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">framed a special entirely around</a> a <a href="http://buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/greg-rubini-twitter-account-palusa-revealed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon account's</a> false coronavirus bioweapon conspiracy theory.</p><p>QAnon supporters also played a major role in spreading viral videos that pushed false claims about the virus. One of them, called <em><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-film-attacking-vaccines-has-racked-millions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Plandemic</a></em> and featuring a woman named Judy Mikovits, came out in May and got a <a href="https://onezero.medium.com/facebook-groups-and-youtube-enabled-viral-spread-of-plandemic-misinformation-f1a279335e8c" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">critical assist from</a> QAnon Facebook groups. Before the video was released, some QAnon supporters were reportedly doing a <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1259263588398698497" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"volunteer PR campaign"</a> for and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/28/qanon-crackdown-election/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">consulting</a> with Mikovits. And in July, a QAnon influencer's copy of a video of a group calling itself "Frontline Doctors" -- which espoused a number of harmful claims about the virus -- may have <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/facebook-and-twitter-said-they-removed-viral-video-spreading-false-claims" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">contributed to about 20% of views</a> of the video on Twitter.</p><p>These QAnon-connected conspiracy theories -- and QAnon becoming something of a catch-all for many of the conspiracy theories about the virus -- had an impact. A large number of QAnon followers, seemingly taking cues from QAnon content, <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/qanon-conspiracy-theories-social-media-teens" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flouted</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/14/qanon-families-support-group/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pandemic-containment measures</a> such as mask wearing, effectively making the conspiracy theory a public health threat. One woman, for example, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-qanon-rode-pandemic-new-heights-fueled-viral-anti-mask-n1236695" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">became so immersed in</a> QAnon content that she went to a Target and filmed herself attacking the mask section. QAnon supporters also became <a href="https://twitter.com/davidakaye/status/1251000556295839744" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">regular</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IwriteOK/status/1256645100928593922" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">attendees</a> of the "reopen" protests throughout the country opposing lockdowns to contain the virus's spread.</p><p>Misinformation from the QAnon community about the virus even reached the very top: Trump in April <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1249477949360922625" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">amplified</a> a tweet from a QAnon-supporting former congressional candidate which included <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1246936755632320512" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a hashtag</a> that called for the firing of Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. And in late August, Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1300049106300219394" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">retweeted</a> a QAnon influencer pushing a false claim about coronavirus deaths; Fauci was subsequently <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1300807223598297089" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">forced to rebut</a> the QAnon influencer's tweet on TV.</p><p><img alt="Mel Q Trump retweet" src="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2020/12/09/Eg1ksYhX0BALdCl.jpeg?itok=ss91cNlu"/></p><h3>QAnon Candidates</h3><p>In January, Jo Rae Perkins, a QAnon-supporting Oregon Republican who was running for the House of Representatives, <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1214589217734574080" target="_blank">told</a> a reporter that she believed "there's a lot more people that are running for political office that follow 'Q' than are admitting to it." She appeared to be right: During the 2020 election cycle, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/here-are-qanon-supporters-running-congress-2020" target="_blank">at least 97</a> people who expressed some level of support for QAnon ran for Congress, while <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/here-are-qanon-supporters-running-state-legislatures-2020" target="_blank">at least 23</a> ran for state legislatures. Of those, 27 and 21 of them made it to the general election ballot, respectively.</p><p>During the course of their campaigns, some of these candidates — some of whom were endorsed by a <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7eppz/qanon-now-has-its-very-own-super-pac&sa=D&ust=1608318861233000&usg=AOvVaw1Hd3bemz-HriUaMQNMcWnj" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon super PAC</a> co-founded by Jim Watkins, the owner of 8kun — made their QAnon support an explicit part of their campaign. Perkins, who had switched races to run for a Senate seat, won the Republican primary; in a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/5/20/21264925/jo-rae-perkins-qanon-us-senate-oregon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">victory video</a>, she said, "I stand with Q and the team. Thank you, Anons." Gary Heyer, who eventually earned the Republicn nomination for a Minnesota House of Representatives seat, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3847376" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">campaigned outside a church</a> with a "Q" sign to "invit[e] all of the churchgoers to partake in the great awakening." </p><p>Some candidates also <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1279836579192766465" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">posted Facebook ads</a> with QAnon content, and multiple congressional candidates -- one of whom said she ran <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1313680258328072193" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">specifically due to</a> QAnon Facebook content -- <a href="https://twitter.com/willsommer/status/1276891805896884230" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">posted</a> campaign videos of <a href="https://twitter.com/jamesdickens4hi/status/1289364116218372096" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">themselves taking</a> a <a href="https://twitter.com/travis_view/status/1275959831631781889" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon oath</a>.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9cba095eb03af22795baf9ef4c8bb3c6" id="5b0e6"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1289957265609388039"><div style="margin:1em 0">Darlene Swaffar, a QAnon-supporting congressional candidate in Florida, a few days ago tweeted a video of herself t… https://t.co/uXigsedqQU</div> — Alex Kaplan (@Alex Kaplan)<a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/statuses/1289957265609388039">1596384753.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Some candidates also <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1270903360519102465" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pandered to</a> the QAnon following and infrastructure that had developed on the social media platforms in order to help their campaigns. Sammy Gindi, a New Jersey Republican congressional candidate, gained thousands of followers after <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1265378881789399040" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeting</a> that he needed help to "connect with more [Trump] supporters" and adding QAnon hashtags. And multiple <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1255631233129873409" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">candidates</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3855796" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">went</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3852751" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">on</a> QAnon YouTube shows.</p><p>In November, four of these candidates were elected to state legislatures (three of them were incumbents who had <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1257077980968497152" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">made their support</a> <a href="https://www.wnpr.org/post/after-social-media-post-raises-questions-gop-state-senator-defends-qanon-conspiracy-theory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">for QAnon</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3885856" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">explicit</a> this year). And two were elected to Congress: Lauren Boebert in Colorado and Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia. Boebert, who went on <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3881116" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">multiple</a> QAnon YouTube channels, <a href="https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1262395371696816135" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said QAnon</a> was "only motivating and encouraging and bringing people together, stronger," and "can be really great for our country." She later <a href="https://twitter.com/JonMurray/status/1278476321593540608" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tried to distance herself</a> from QAnon after winning the Republican primary. </p><p>The other victor, Greene, a <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3846101" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">longtime</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3846091" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon supporter</a> who had <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/12/901628541/qanon-supporter-who-made-bigoted-videos-wins-ga-primary-likely-heading-to-congre" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">called</a> "Q" a "patriot" who allowed a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out," later <a href="https://twitter.com/travis_view/status/1294422895003754496" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">dubiously</a> tried to <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1294414584586153986" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">distance herself</a> from the conspiracy theory. Notably, Greene <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1289282254129123329" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">never explicitly denounced</a> QAnon during her campaign, and since her election, she has in fact <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1334941328677998597" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spoken</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1337428294065647621" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">generally positively</a> of it.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f2d68493ac72c8fa6f0cafab3d6cb8ca" id="1cd62"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1269299293724131335"><div style="margin:1em 0">@annamerlan Marjorie Taylor Greene, candidate for congress, also happens to be a QAnon follower. https://t.co/lQzOScwXiy</div> — Travis View (@Travis View)<a href="https://twitter.com/travis_view/statuses/1269299293724131335">1591459508.0</a></blockquote></div><h3>Trump And QAnon</h3><p>The conspiracy theory reached America's executive branch in 2020. QAnon supporters for years urged journalists to <a href="https://twitter.com/rothschildmd/status/1248015451633803265" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"ask the Q,"</a> and Trump's August 19 remarks praising QAnon <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/qanon-supporters-overjoyed-after-trump-endorses-unhinged-conspiracy-theory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thrilled the community</a>; one QAnon influencer wrote that it meant Trump had "absorbed Q into MAGA." Trump would again go on to defend QAnon on other occassions, saying QAnon supporters <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/msnbc/donald-trump-praises-qanon-supporters" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"are very much against pedophilia"</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-georgia-senate-run-offs/2020/12/03/e777c11e-34bd-11eb-afe6-e4dbee9689f8_story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"basically believe in good government."</a> Throughout the year Trump also <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/fbi-calls-qanon-domestic-terror-threat-trump-has-amplified-qanon-supporters-twitter-more-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">continued</a> to amplify QAnon-promoting accounts on Twitter, doing so hundreds of times.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2175e62be25f4aece44fe50bdb107b7" id="2f08b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296237136132399119"><div style="margin:1em 0">JoeM, one of the biggest QAnon accounts on social media, has now claimed Trump's positive remarks tonight about QAn… https://t.co/lBiWbWPEyx</div> — Alex Kaplan (@Alex Kaplan)<a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/statuses/1296237136132399119">1597881990.0</a></blockquote></div><p>QAnon's reach during the year extended beyond Trump to others in his orbit and campaign. Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, <a href="https://twitter.com/julianfeeld/status/1279666500337405954" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">posted video</a> of himself in July taking the QAnon oath; months later he <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-flynn-goes-full-qanon-in-his-post-pardon-media-tour" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">went on QAnon shows</a> and thanked the <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/stop-the-steal-maga-fanatics-obsessed-with-overturning-2020-election-reach-their-death-cult-finale?via=twitter_page" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"digital soldiers"</a> for their support.</p><p>Two former Trump advisers, <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/longtime-trump-ally-roger-stone-i-certainly-hope-q-is-real/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Roger Stone</a> and <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/after-being-indicted-and-then-having-his-biden-smear-flop-steve-bannon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Steve Bannon</a>, also gave QAnon credence, and Trump social media guru Dan Scavino repeatedly <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1242825879463571457" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">posted QAnon or QAnon-related</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1236790375290941440" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">content</a>. And <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/phyllis-schlafly-eagles-ed-martin-tweets-qanon-slogan/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a number of</a> Trump <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/trump-adviser-and-law-enforcement-consultant-tony-shaffer-claims-qanon-has" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">campaign</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/trump-official-went-qanon-show-recruit-campaign-volunteers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">officials</a> and <a href="https://heavy.com/news/2020/06/eric-trump-q-qanon-instagram/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">family</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/lara-trump-shared-video-one-biggest-qanon-accounts-internet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">members</a> posted QAnon content, shared <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/right-election-day-fox-news-figures-and-trump-campaign-adviser-share-video" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">content from QAnon influencers</a>, or even appeared on QAnon shows.</p><p><img alt="Eric Trump QAnon" src="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2020/12/09/Screen-Shot-2020-06-20-at-3.20.43-PM.jpg?itok=20BjHph4"/></p><h3>QAnon And The Presidential Election</h3><p>QAnon's impact during the presidential campaign and its aftermath were significant as well. QAnon accounts and "Q" played major roles in <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/facebook-and-other-social-media-platforms-let-manipulated-biden-blackface-video-circulate" target="_blank">spreading</a> false claims about then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1306244223570776065" target="_blank">including</a> a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/16/trump-nwa-despacito-biden-twitter/" target="_blank">manipulated video</a> that Trump amplified.</p><p>QAnon's claim that Democrats — including Biden — are pedophiles also <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/09/biden-volunteers-are-encountering-a-shocking-number-of-voters-pushing-an-unhinged-smear/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">gained traction</a> and was even embraced by <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/far-right-extremists-ginned-smear-about-joe-biden-trump-campaign-brought-it-fox-news" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trump's</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mhbergen/status/1320788642676105216" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">campaign</a>, along with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pushed-qanon-conspiracy-retweeting-hashtag-pedobiden-2020-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trump himself</a> via a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/15/us/qanon-trump-twitter-invs/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon-linked hashtag</a>. Trump adviser Stephen Miller also <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/miller-murtaugh-trump-traffickers-immigration-2020-elections" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">claimed</a> that Biden would "incentivize child smuggling and child trafficking on an epic, global scale," and QAnon supporters also played a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/inside-campaign-pizzagate-hunter-biden-n1244331" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">major role</a> in spreading false trafficking and pedophilia claims about Biden's son, Hunter Biden.</p><p>QAnon's influence may have aided Trump's campaign: One <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/06/technology/study-considers-a-link-between-qanon-and-polling-errors.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">post-election study</a> found a correlation between state polls that underestimated Trump's chances and a "higher-than-average volume of QAnon activity in those states."</p><p>But perhaps QAnon's most influential role was in spreading false claims about voter fraud. In the months before the election, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/qanon-accounts-make-dent-voting-discussion-twitter-n1243748" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a report</a> found that at one point more than 1 in 50 tweets about voting and 2 in 25 tweets with "#voterfraud" came from QAnon accounts. That rate has increased following Trump's loss to Biden, with QAnon accounts at one point <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/q-fades-qanon-s-dominion-voter-fraud-conspiracy-theory-reaches-n1247780" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">making up</a> 1 in 7 tweets pushing a false conspiracy theory that voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems created and stole votes for Biden. Onetime 8kun administrator Ron Watkins <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/q-fades-qanon-s-dominion-voter-fraud-conspiracy-theory-reaches-n1247780" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pushed</a> the conspiracy theory, <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1333934783504769026" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spurring</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1333766342919540738" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">harassment</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/rothschildmd/status/1333894398623379456" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">including death threats</a> against a Dominion employee, and Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1338828511407181824" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">amplified</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1330374412709875714" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">some of</a> his remarks.</p><p><img alt="Ron Watkins Trump tweet" src="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2020/12/21/EnZwYsuXIAAA5x6.png?itok=ZF0n3KQv"/></p><p>Meanwhile, Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn's attorney who had <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/22/trump-campaign-sidney-powell-legal-439357" target="_blank">worked with</a> the Trump campaign's legal effort and has <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1218204274674556937" target="_blank">QAnon connections</a> of her own, started to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/12/01/powell-cites-qanon-watkins/" target="_blank">cite Watkins </a>and other <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1332724794953969664" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon</a>-<a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1335235649172082688" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">connected figures</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1331974436543721474" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/tiktok/qanon-election-conspiracy-theory-about-ballot-fraud-going-viral-tiktok" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">claims</a> in <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1342245065142521862" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">her lawsuits</a> to overturn the election results in certain states. In early December, Powell <a href="https://twitter.com/travis_view/status/1334228797521076225" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thanked</a> Flynn's "digital soldiers" for bringing people "the truth." Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/us/politics/trump-sidney-powell-voter-fraud.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">had floated</a> <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-tells-sidney-powell-he-wont-name-her-special-counsel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">at one point</a> making Powell a special counsel on election fraud.</p><p>Powell is not the only figure connected to Trump's campaign who has relied on QAnon to help push false claims of voter fraud. Lin Wood, a <a href="https://www.insider.com/attorney-kenosha-shooter-kyle-rittenhouse-tweets-qanon-conspiracy-2020-11" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon-supporting attorney</a> who had been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/11/20/trump-campaigns-much-hyped-affidavit-features-big-glaring-error/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">aiding Trump's campaign</a>, tweeted <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/how-qanon-conspiracy-theory-about-kraken-government-program-reached-trump" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a conspiracy theory circulating</a> among QAnon supporters about Powell's voter fraud claims; Trump later retweeted Wood. And Mellissa Carone, a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/12/03/melissa-carone-michigan-trump-giuliani-election/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">witness brought forth by</a> the Trump campaign to prove the Dominion conspiracy theory, went on <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1336051900786028544" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3917036" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon shows</a> to push her claims.</p><p>Beyond helping spread these claims, some QAnon supporters also appeared ready to carry out violence over these false voter fraud allegations: Two armed men whose car contained QAnon paraphernalia <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/2-men-detained-after-police-learn-possible-threat-philadelphia-vote-n1246774" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">were arrested in Philadelphia</a> near a voting center while ballots were still being counted.</p><h3>Implications Of QAnon's Spread</h3><p>As QAnon became an increasingly obvious force in American politics, specifically within the Republican Party, many <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/ongoing-list-how-republicans-have-built-qanon-conspiracy-theory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">seemed unconcerned</a>. Multiple prominent Republican organizations and figures, including Trump and state Republican Party chapters, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/11/12/house-minority-leader-mccarthy-claims-reps-elect-greene-boebert-denounced-qanon-greene-has-not/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">backed the campaigns of</a> Greene and Boebert, the QAnon-embracing congressional candidates. The California Republican Party <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/ongoing-list-how-republicans-have-built-qanon-conspiracy-theory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">alone endorsed four</a> of the QAnon-connected candidates. (That said, most House Republicans <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2020218" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">voted for a resolution</a> in October denouncing QAnon.)</p><p>And more Republican and conservatives entities and figures actually started to <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1301943726277832704" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">embrace</a> the conspiracy theory: Multiple state and county Republican Party chapters and their leadership <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/gop-organizations-texas-oklahoma-and-california-are-using-flyer-qanon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shared</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/gop-organizations-florida-and-georgia-have-been-promoting-qanon-facebook" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">explicit</a> QAnon <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1257357800440725509" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">material</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1327778640231354368" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">social media</a>, and even a spokesperson for the major conservative legal organization Judicial Crisis Network tweeted the QAnon slogan.</p><p><img alt="Gayle Trotter QAnon" src="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2020/12/11/2020-12-11_14-44-22.png?itok=NvwnPOWL"/></p><p>And by October, Republican operatives <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-qanon-infiltrated-the-gop-2020-10" target="_blank">told Business Insider</a> that they "view QAnon believers and the movement not as a liability or as a scourge to be extinguished, but as a useful band of fired-up supporters" and said they would avoid alienating "what has become a key part of the Republican coalition." Some polling has <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1306735739468681216" target="_blank">indicated</a> that QAnon has increasingly gained support among Republican voters.</p><p>Meanwhile, QAnon grew support among those who may not have embraced it before. A QAnon influencer in June <a href="https://www.insider.com/wayfair-human-trafficking-conspiracy-theory-tied-to-qanon-2020-7" target="_blank">started</a> a <a href="https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/jul/15/how-wayfair-child-sex-trafficking-conspiracy-theor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">false conspiracy theory</a> that the company Wayfair was involved with human trafficking; the claim subsequently <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/tiktok/tiktok-videos-pushing-baseless-wayfair-conspiracy-theory-have-received-millions-views" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">exploded on</a> social media.</p><p>Soon after, QAnon supporters <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/qanon-looms-behind-nationwide-rallies-viral-hashtags-n1237722" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">began to rally behind</a> the hashtags "#SaveTheChildren" and "#SaveOurChildren" and used Facebook to organize rallies that were really a front to push QAnon. Although <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/16/qanon-republicans-conspiracy-theory-politics-save-the-children" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">some Republicans</a> embraced it, the campaign also pulled in some who may not otherwise have adopted QAnon, such as <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1296900160711270401" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Democrats</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/21436671/save-our-children-hashtag-qanon-pizzagate" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">moms</a> (QAnon's growth with <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/qanon-mom-conspiracy-theory-parents-sex-trafficking-qamom-1048921/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mom-related groups</a> has been called <a href="https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1303053412456640518" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"pastel QAnon"</a>).</p><p>Additionally, some other peddlers of misinformation and extremism began to embrace QAnon as a means to help with their own aims. For instance, the CEO of <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carlson/breaking-down-gab-what-you-need-know-about-social-media-platform-haven-white" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gab</a>, a social media platform known as a haven for white nationalists, <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1333835855333629955" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">encouraged</a> QAnon supporters <a href="https://twitter.com/dappergander/status/1337076007455641603" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">to join</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1341393514874204160" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the platform</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1321551548925812737" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">began to post</a> QAnon content. The Proud Boys, a far-right gang, <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1322911225202810880" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">began to post</a> about adrenochrome and "#SaveTheChildren." And multiple anti-vaxxers <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/qanon-anti-vax-coronavirus_n_5fbeb0c0c5b61d04bfa6921a" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">increasingly promoted</a> QAnon to their followers.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="efcb92d0f70596f64e592e612fad5869" id="a85d8"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1307049170075815939"><div style="margin:1em 0">Larry Cook, one of the most influential anti-vaxxers on Facebook, appears to have gone all in on supporting QAnon.… https://t.co/8pTj1vnXge</div> — Alex Kaplan (@Alex Kaplan)<a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/statuses/1307049170075815939">1600459780.0</a></blockquote></div><h3>Social Media Platforms Respond </h3><p>By mid-2020, nearly three years after the conspiracy theory began, QAnon's harm finally became too much for the social media platforms to ignore. One by one the platforms announced content crackdowns and bans on QAnon: <a href="http://nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/twitter-bans-7-000-qanon-accounts-limits-150-000-others-n1234541" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/tiktok-disables-prominent-hashtags-conspiracy-theory-qanon/story?id=71952158" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a> in July (with a further crackdown by the latter <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/10/18/925144034/tiktok-tightens-crackdown-on-qanon-will-ban-accounts-that-promote-disinformation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in October</a>), <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/qanon-groups-hit-facebook-crack-down-n1237330" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a> in August (and a further crackdown <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-bans-qanon-across-its-platforms-n1242339" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in October</a>), and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/youtube-bans-qanon-other-conspiracy-content-targets-individuals-n1243525" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a> also in October. </p><p>Although it is a positive step that the platforms finally addressed the problem of rampant QAnon content and organizing, in practice, many of these efforts have been lacking. Twitter has <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1334156204755607553" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">repeatedly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1332357964317986816" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">failed</a> to <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1327755337064206340" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">track</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1333812122128625665" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1268950081350389762" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">accounts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1322532403538251777" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">set up to</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1320069903878160385" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">evade their bans</a>; TikTok <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/spread-conspiracy-theory-about-trumps-covid-19-diagnosis-show-why-tiktok" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">did not catch</a> multiple QAnon hashtags; a QAnon YouTube channel <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1333934783504769026" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spread</a> Dominion voting conspiracy theories; and QAnon content <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/debug/qanon-trump-facebook-groups/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">continues to</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/technology/qanon-is-still-spreading-on-facebook-despite-a-ban.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">filter around Facebook</a> <a href="https://firstdraftnews.org/latest/how-qanon-content-endures-on-social-media-through-visuals-and-code-words/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">and other platforms</a>.</p><h3>QAnon's Future</h3><p>It is unclear exactly what is next for QAnon. There are still <a href="https://twitter.com/Shayan86/status/1336826209905340424" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">many followers</a> despite the election results, and many supporters have <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1325200054706003968" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">been in</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1331039468221067274" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">denial</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/willsommer/status/1337781501933592577" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">about Biden's victory</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/rothschildmd/status/1327778783626096641" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Some</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3917126" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">supporters</a> have even <a href="https://twitter.com/Shayan86/status/1337400147416928256" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">suggested violence</a> as an option to stop Biden from taking office.</p><p>Others might abandon QAnon but carry tenets of its beliefs with them and perhaps join other extremist communities. And others still may take Biden's presidency as <a href="https://twitter.com/travis_view/status/1337815540300197895" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">just another development</a> of the conspiracy theory and continue to uncritically consume further QAnon content.</p><p>And given QAnon supporters' role in spreading conspiracy theories about the pandemic, their <a href="https://twitter.com/Shayan86/status/1338924590664462340" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">potential role</a> in hindering the <a href="https://twitter.com/Shayan86/status/1336420492203454470" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">coronavirus vaccination effort</a> could be immense.</p><p>Meanwhile, multiple people who have embraced QAnon will now be shaping policy at both the federal and state level (and more <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1299487786811232258" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">may come</a>). QAnon is also <a href="https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1292245485403635712" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">going international</a>, causing problems this year in countries including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/11/world/europe/qanon-is-thriving-in-germany-the-extreme-right-is-delighted.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Germany</a> and the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-54065470" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">United Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-intel-agencies-starting-to-monitor-fear-qanon-sources-say-2020-10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">alarming European intelligence agencies</a>.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e22913fffb0f6b0399062f51d828a5cd" id="d138b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1292245492655693830"><div style="margin:1em 0">7/ The Qmap paints a sobering picture of the transnational spread of QAnon. It has overcome greo-political, cultura… https://t.co/sglPvk9r89</div> — Marc-André Argentino (@Marc-André Argentino)<a href="https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/statuses/1292245492655693830">1596930308.0</a></blockquote></div><p>What happened this year showed the harm the fringes of the internet can have in our society when allowed to gain mainstream purchase and why they cannot be ignored. And a key factor in the conditions for the creation of that offline harm has been a <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1294267207988449281" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lack of action</a> from social media platforms regarding QAnon, a conspiracy theory which they <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/01/facebook-qanon-conspiracies-trump/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">knew about</a> and yet effectively <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jun/25/qanon-facebook-conspiracy-theories-algorithm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">helped spread</a> and in some cases even <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/twitter-just-cracked-down-qanon-causing-harm-facebook-has-been-making-money" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">profited</a> from rather than addressing. Now all of us -- <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/qanon-families-friends" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our friends and families</a>, our governments, our public health -- are paying the price.</p><p>Where we go one, we go all, indeed.</p>
Read Now
Show less