Trump Retweets ‘QAnon’ Hashtag – What Are Your Thoughts on the Conspiracy Theory?

Why is QAnon in the news?

• President Donald Trump retweeted a video message Friday morning with a hashtag referencing the pro-Trump conspiracy theory "QAnon."

• "WWG1WGA" is a QAnon catchphrase meaning "Where we go one, we go all."
• In August, the FBI designated QAnon a possible domestic terrorism threat. 

“Identity based, and fringe political conspiracy theories” are very likely to motivate some domestic terrorists to “commit criminal and sometimes violent activity."

• Confused about QAnon? Don't worry, we've got some As to your Qs...

How did QAnon begin?

• In October 2017, a person calling themselves “Q” began posting material on anonymous internet message boards. “Q” is a reference to high-level security clearance, which the poster claimed they had.
• Q announced they would slowly – and enigmatically – release top-secret evidence of a worldwide criminal conspiracy. These bits of evidence are dubbed “breadcrumbs” by the theory’s followers.
• Here’s a "breadcrumb" post example:

"Think SC vote to confirm (coming). No Name action. Every dog has its day. Enjoy the show. Q"

• As the Daily Beast explained: " 'No Name' is Q’s nickname for John McCain, and 'SC' is obviously the Supreme Court. As for 'every dog has its day' — that’s the kind of cryptic Q remark that has spawned a cottage industry of PDFs and 24/7 livestreams analyzing the crumbs."

What is “the Storm”?

• QAnon is sometimes referred to as “the Storm.” This is a reference to President Trump’s mysterious statement on October 5, 2017, when he called the military dinner he was attending “The calm before the storm.” A reporter asked: “What storm, Mr. President?” Trump responded: “You’ll find out.”

What conspiracy theory does QAnon believe?

Think of it more as an “omnibus” conspiracy theory, as it folds various right-wing conspiracy theories into one. But here are some core tenets:

• Every president before Trump was a “criminal president” in league with the global banking elite, deep-state intelligence operatives, pharmaceutical companies, Pizzagate-esque global pedophile rings, and death squads who've pledged allegiance to Hillary Clinton.
• The military convinced Trump to run for president as a way to break this evil cabal’s grip.
• Robert Mueller was not investigating the Trump campaign—he is a “white hat” – or hero - actually investigating the Clintons, Barack Obama, top Democrats, George Soros, Tom Hanks and other actors, and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for their involvement in a child sex trafficking and pedophilia ring.
• The above individuals, and other members of the cabal, were planning a coup, and were operating out of North Korea. Kim Jong Un cleared his country of these deep state operatives with the aid of Trump.
• Those involved in the cabal will soon be arrested and imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. Many Democrats are already wearing ankle monitors to make their roundup easier.
• MS13 murdered Seth Rich under orders from former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
•  J.P. Morgan, the American financier, sank the Titanic.

Who is Q?

• Various theories posit that Q is Russian President Vladimir Putin or even Trump himself.
• But the theory with the most traction is that John F. Kennedy Jr. is Q—followers of QAnon allege JFK Jr. and his wife faked their own plane crash deaths in 1999 and went deep undercover working with Trump.

What do you think?

Does the president, Congress, or the media have a responsibility to cover – or dispute – conspiracy theories? Is QAnon a domestic terrorism threat? Take action above and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman