You may have heard the term “Q-Anon” before. Whether it’s from President Trump’s endorsements of Q-Anon believers for Congress or the president’s encouragement of Q-Anon theories through Twitter, you should know one thing: Q-Anon is dangerous.
Q-Anon is a right wing conspiracy theory group that ultimately supports Donald Trump. Some may think of conspiracy theories as harmless and easy to oppose. But what if these conspiracy theories are supported by millions of followers, like Q-Anon is? And what if this group is so anti-liberal that its members now blindly only believe ideas from Q-Anon itself? Even ideas that are so evidently wrong? In summary, I’d go as far as saying that Q-Anon, also known as “Q,” is cult-like.
You’re probably wondering: what conspiracy theories could be so detrimental? Well, here’s Q-Anon’s latest theory: “Covid-19 is a hoax designed to deflect attention from a Satan-worshipping pedophile ring operated by Hillary Clinton and liberal elites” (Mahdawi).
Furthermore, the most commonly known Q theory is “the 2016 Pizzagate incident, in which a man turned up heavily armed to rescue what he thought were kidnapped children being held by a Democratic-backed sex ring in the basement of a DC restaurant” (Naughtie). Out of the many radical conspiracies from the group, you’re most likely to hear about “Pizzagate”. It exemplifies the group’s main philosophy: that “Mr. Trump was recruited by top military generals to run for president in 2016 in order to break up this criminal conspiracy, end its control of politics and the media, and bring its members to justice” (Roose). This criminal activity that they are referencing is the supposed destruction of society by liberal democrats, if you couldn’t tell.
When asked about Q-Anon in past months, Donald Trump replied “I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate” (Liptak). And in regards to Q-Anon’s response to Black Lives Matter protests, Trump commented that “I’ve heard these are people that love our country and they just don’t like seeing it [harmed]” (Liptak). Did we expect any less from the President? He’s proven time and time again that he will support any group that talks favorably about him. No matter if they are white supremacists or Q-Anon members, Trump’s only care is about his reelection.
So, if you ever attend a Trump rally (please don’t) or even watch one on television, you’re likely to see signs including the letter “Q” in the audience. No, it’s not a spelling mistake, nor an innocent initial; it’s a not-so-secret sign, indicating the existence of immorality and irrationality living throughout America.
Liptak, Kevin. “Trump Embraces QAnon Conspiracy Because ‘They like Me’.” CNN, Cable News Network, 20 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/politics/donald-trump-qanon/index.html.
Mahdawi, Arwa. “The Most Unhinged Trump Conspiracy Theory Comes from – Who Else? – QAnon Followers | Arwa Mahdawi.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Oct. 2020, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/03/trump-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-qanon.
“Mysterious QAnon Leader Points Followers to Tucker Carlson Interview Warning of ‘Coup’ against Trump.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 18 Sept. 2020, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/qanon-tucker-carlson-fox-news-election-violence-coup-b468768.html.
Roose, Kevin. “What Is QAnon, the Viral Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Aug. 2020, www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-qanon.html.