Q

You may or may not have seen shirts and signs adorned with the letter Q at Trump rallies or counter-protests.  Apparently, those displaying Q want us to know that they are in possession of secret knowledge.  Q is short for QAnon which according to Wikipedia “…is a far-right conspiracy theory social media platform detailing a supposed secret plot by an alleged ‘deep state’ against U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters.”  It actually “…began with an October 2017 post on the anonymous imageboard 4chan by someone using the tripcode Q claiming to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the United States.”  Q “…has falsely accused numerous liberal Hollywood actors, politicians, and high-raniking officials of engaging in an international child sex trafficking ring, and has claimed that Donald Trump feigned collusion with Russians in order to enlist Robert Mueller to join him in exposing the ring, and preventing a coup d’etat by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and George Soros.”  The letter “…Q is a reference to top-secret Q clearance.”

Wikipedia continues, “The conspiracy theory, mainly disseminated by supporters of President Trump under the names The Storm and The Great Awakening, has been characterized as ‘baseless’, ‘unhinged’ and ‘evidence-free.’  Its proponents have been called ‘a deranged conspiracy cult’ and ‘some of the Internets most outré Trump fans.”

Q conspiracy theorists cannot be reasoned with.  They have accepted lies as facts without researching sources or fact checking.  Some experts have attributed the appeal of QAnon to the same factors as that of religious cults.  Followers are enticed by the ever deepening secret knowledge and move further and further away from reality and social connections.

Some of the QAnon claims include, Pizzagate, Hillary Clinton’s imminent arrest, Kim Jong-un is a puppet ruler installed by the CIA, Debbie Wasserman Schultz hired a MS-13 gang member to murder Seth Rich, Angela Merkel is the granddaughter of Adolf Hitler,  mass shootings in the U.S. are organized by the cabal (of Hollywood elites and Jewish people), and the Rothschild family are the leaders of a satanic cult.  Some QAnon related incidents include the Hoover Dam incident, QDrops, the targeting of Michael Avenatti, the harassment of Jim Acosta, and the Grass Valley Charter School fundraiser.

QAnon has about 200,000 adherents and could be considered fringe, but their claims can be heard in conservative news sources and QAnon representatives have been invited to the Whitehouse.  Also, Trump himself has repeatedly claimed that Hillary Clinton is a criminal, that Barack Obama wired-tapped Trump tower and that the “deep state” is out to get him.

Ironically, some believe the first Q post was a prank to fuel reaction and it turned into a cult in which some are becoming wealthy selling Q merchandise to patsies.  What is more disturbing is our conspiracy loving President’s use of these QAnon lies.  The search for truth is a never ending endeavor!