Most of us who live our day to day lives only hear snippets of what it is. For most of us, it is a conspiracy theory that most of the left-leaning celebrities are satan worshiping sex criminals. At least, that is what I got out of it. Having an investigative personality leads me to want to know more about this internet conspiracy theory. The more I learned about QAnon, the more I saw it as more of those 60’s 80s, and 90s cults than a political movement.
The Beginning
In October of 2017, an anonymous user put a series of posts on the message board 4chan. The user signed off as Q and claimed to have U.S. security approval known as Q clearance. *. The leader of this movement became known as "Q," and if you look in the background of Trump rallies, you will see signs supporting Q.*
Doomsday cults like Heaven's Gate or Religious cults like The Branch Davidians also had leaders with alternative names. For example, Vernon Howell legally changed his name to David Koresh to lead the Branch Davidians, and Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles's followers in Heaven's Gate were called Ti and Do for their love of music. Even though there is such a thing as Q clearance, the idea that someone is claiming it on a message board is very sketchy. For this, I believe Q is a code name.
The Theory
Qanon is a convoluted conspiracy theory with no apparent foundation in reality. The heart of it asserts that for the last year, the anonymous "Q" has taken to the fringe internet message boards of 4chan and 8chan to leak intelligence about Trump's top-secret war with a cabal of criminals run by politicians like Hillary Clinton and the Hollywood elite. There is no evidence for these claims.*
Conspiracy theorists are not new to the internet. The godfather of conspiracy theories is Alex Jones. You cannot deny that Alex Jones is a charismatic performer, which is a trait that is most common with cult leaders such as Charles Manson. You would not have to go far on the internet without finding similarities between Jones, Trump, and Manson. The self-praising, whataboutism, and constant rambling to wear you down to the point where it's almost impossible not to cave.
The Effect
According to the BBC. Thousands of people have bought into QAnon and the conspiracy theories it endorses.
The amount of traffic to mainstream social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube has exploded since 2017, and indications are the numbers have gone up further during the coronavirus pandemic.* It is most likely that we will have some QAnon supporters sitting in congress or State Legislatures.*Unfortunately, America has forgotten what a cult is. I believe it is time to need a refresher course on the "undue influence" of cults.
Conclusion.
Now some of the claims made by QAnon would be outlandishly funny. But millions of people buy into it, and when that happens, it becomes a massive online cult. One can argue that QAnon is not a cult because cults have leaders like Manson, Applewhite, and Koresh. According to Merriam Webster, the second definition of a cult is a great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work.
Qanon members have ties to White Supremecy and other fringe groups. Much like these groups, QAnon seeks out marginalized citizens looking for what Emmy Award-winning author Christian Picciolini has called ICP. ( Identity, Community, and Purpose). Seeking out vulnerable citizens who have hit life's "Potholes" can easily get sucked into one of these extremist groups.*
These anonymous social media platforms are helping extremist groups recruit new members. Some of them I haven't even heard of until I started this project. We all know how careful these days we have to be when we open stuff up on the internet.
If anything, I will leave you with this. Read books like Helter Skelter, where Charles Manson talked of a great race war coming. Watch documentaries on The Branch Davidians where Koresh saw a day of reckoning, and the last battle would take place at his compound. The Peoples Temple, where Jim Jones promised them paradise in Guyana. You can also watch those heartbreaking videos of members of Heaven's Gate before they committed mass suicide. Most of them were not monsters. They were just vulnerable people who hit potholes and got sucked into a rabbit hole they could not get out.
But there is a way out. Educate, Care, and take the time to do your research. Conspiracy theories are just that. Theories. The sad fact is if we don't take the blinders off and realize that the Alt-Right, QAnon, and any other fringe group are dangerous cults and not an extension of a political ideology or party. We are going to be in a world of hurt.
Breaking Hate by Christian Picciolini
QAnon and The Bite Model