Randa Darwish

Discussions on the QAnon theory have been sweeping across social media in the US during the last few months, with several hashtags shared by pro-Trump supporters who seem to believe in one or a number of conspiracy theories. So what is “QAnon”?





The QAnon is a growing pro-Trump group that suggests there is a global elite which aims to overthrow Trump and maybe murder him. The same group also stands behind the current world events. The “QAnon” followers seek to collect thoughts and theories to reveal more of the untold events they believe in.

The hashtag was most recently noticed on July 31 at a Trump rally in Florida, where many pro-Trump campaign attendees were seen holding banners and wearing shirts with a “Q" or "We Are QAnon," raising concerns behind the meaning and aims of this group.

“QAnon” are believed to follow “Q” - the anonymous person collecting a series of cryptic clues to prove their theory. They also call themselves “The Storm,” in reference to one of Trump’s remarks in October 2017, when he said the dinner was ““Maybe the calm before the storm." When a reporter asked him what storm, Trump replied: “You’ll find out.”

One of the many theories they believe in is that the Russian investigation is nothing but a diversion for Trump and his special counsel Robert Mueller to expose scandals related to public figures accused of being pedophiles.

Not only this, but the QAnon also believe that Hillary Clinton is involved in the pedophile scandal along with her husband, the former US President Bill Clinton and former President Barack Obama as well, who will be all arrested soon.

The number 17, which is the placement of the letter Q in the alphabet, is also one of the main interests of “QAnon” followers. When Alabama’s football team presented Trump with a jersey featuring the number 17, “Q” followers took it as a coded signal of the Q’s influence.

This was despite the fact that the team was visiting the White House as the 2017 college football season. They also presented Obama earlier a jersey with number 15 after winning 2015 championship.

The “QAnon” hashtag is not limited on few people who believe in conspiracy theories. It has been promoted by celebrities and far-right biggest voices, including Roseanne Barr, the former baseball star Curt Schilling, Alex Jones and Sean Hannity.

The “QAnon” followers presence on Twitter and Facebook seems to be indispensable to their message, attracting supporters using hashtags like: “QAnon” or “WWG1WGA” that stands for their slogan: “where we go one, we go all”.

On the other hand, the movement is facing growing opposition among Americans.

Some people also see a danger behind the “QAnon” group, as some of them are calling on people to kill anyone opposing Trump.

One of the latest “QAnon”-related incidents took place in June 2018, when a man armed with a rifle and a handgun drove an armored vehicle to a Dam claiming it was a QAnon mission. His motivation was to pressure the government into releasing a report from its inspector general on the FBI agents during investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.