QANONBALL
What is QAnon? Conspiracy theory explained
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QANON is the bizarre conspiracy theory that was tied to the fortunes of former President Donald Trump.
Trump refused to condemn the right-wing group, who believe cannibals and pedophiles secretly control the world and have been involved in a number of violent incidents.
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What is QAnon?
QAnon is a conspiracy theory that has gained popularity among large swathes of Trump supporters.
Its supporters claim that the former president communicated about "covert battles" between himself and the Deep State.
However, suspected QAnon leader Ron Watkins told his followers to in wake of Trump's election loss to Joe Biden.
According to , the theory centers around an anonymous source, Q, who is trying to tell the world a secret - or multiple secrets.
These center around unfounded allegations that Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller are waging a secret battle against an alleged pedophile ring.
Supporters of the entirely unfounded theory believe that this ring is filled with celebrities and political elites, who have been covertly running the United States government for decades.
The theory gained more press coverage after a supporter held a vast letter Q at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania in August 2018.
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In June 2018, an armed QAnon follower blocked traffic at the Hoover Dam, demanding the president release a report allegedly tying past presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton to the alleged sex ring.
The protester, Matthew Wright, later pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in February 2020.
The movement seemed to lose steam with Trump's election loss, with QAnon supporters demanding
How did it start?
The bizarre theory originated in December 2016, when Edgar M.Welch entered a Washington DC pizza parlor and demanded to see a basement that did not exist.
According to NBC, he believed the restaurant was part of a child sex ring, a conspiracy known as Pizzagate.
The US news site reported that eight months later, a person going by "Q" posted for the first time on the anonymous politics message board 4chan, known to be a hotbed of conspiracy talk.
Since his first message, which involved Hillary Clinton, Q posted nearly 1,800 messages.
Followers try to decipher these nonsensical posts, with some of Trump's most loyal supporters using them as a way to explain away any scandal the President might face.
Jared Holt, a research associate for Right Wing Watch who has followed the growth of QAnon, said: "All of Trump’s mishaps on the world stage, his detractors in the media, his various scandals can all effectively be framed within the QAnon lore as attacks that are coordinated against him because he’s ever closer to taking down a global conspiracy committing the most atrocious crimes that could be imagined, like Satanic child sex trafficking, and blood sacrifice."
Most of the deadlines mentioned in Q's posts have been and gone, with all shown to be unfounded.
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How big is its following?
The bizarre theory has gained cult status among some followers, with Q-related products such as T-shirts, mugs, and jewelry available.
Reddit’s QAnon community GreatAwakening had 50,000 subscribers by 2018 - just two years after the theory first surfaced.
And conservative celebrities such as Roseanne Barr, James Wood, and Curt Schilling have also referenced its existence, giving it yet more press coverage.
Despite originating in the darkest corners of the web, social media sites and online retailers bolstered its image with Amazon having to from linked merchandise in 2018.
On October 15, 2020, Trump refused to condemn the QAnon conspiracy theorists - insisting: "I don't know them".
QAnon made headlines again in October 2022, when controversial journalist Lara Logan was banned from Newsmax after pushing QAnon tropes live on-air, according to .
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