The Global QAnon Conspiracy Theory

 

Until recently, the conspiracy¹ theory known as QAnon was mostly known only in America.

QAnon is the belief that U.S. President Donald Trump² is fighting a "deep state" plot of sex traffickers against him. The term "deep state" means a group of government employees who secretly work against the president.

The extreme-right idea has gained believers throughout the United States. Trump has often retweeted messages from QAnon. It is estimated that more than 12 Republican³ candidates running for Congress have accepted some of its ideas. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation⁴ is worried about QAnon believers. It has identified conspiracy theories as a possible terror threat.

However, QAnon believers appear to no longer live only in the United States. Believers are thought to be in at least 71 countries. That information comes from QAnon researcher Marc-Andre Argentino.

"There has been massive⁵ growth," said Argentino. He is a Ph.D. candidate at Canada's Concordia University.

Outside the U.S., Germany has become home to the largest number of QAnon followers⁶, Argentino said. One German QAnon channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram has 120,000 members.

In the past month, the biggest growth in QAnon's international followers has taken place in Brazil. The country has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and more than 114,000 people have died there.

What does Q stand for?

"Q" is an online writer who claims to be a government employee at a top secret level and with knowledge of the deep state's systems.

But few experts believe he is a government insider. And many suspect more than one person may have been behind the Q writings over the years.

Q first appeared online in October 2017. The writer made an unusual prediction: Former Democratic party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would soon be arrested. Her arrest would be followed by nationwide riots⁷, the prediction said. 

The prediction proved false. Q made many more untrue predictions. One stated that large numbers of Democratic Party members would be arrested.

Q has continued to write about Trump's "secret war" against sex traffickers and others have passed the writings along and repeated them.

Q last wrote publicly on July 31. The writer said the coronavirus health crisis⁸ was created to help keep then-likely Democratic Party presidential nominee⁹ Joe Biden from appearing in public before the election. It was also created to force Trump to stop having his large gatherings¹⁰, Q wrote.

"QAnon believes President Trump is the person who will save the world from this network of bad actors and he will uncover the Deep State that exist[s] in the United States and overseas," said Kevin Grisham. He is the associate director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino.

Who are QAnon believers?

Georgia businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is a believer. She just won the Republican Party nomination¹¹ Tuesday for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is expected to win the seat in November.

Q's followers have grown on social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Telegram. Argentino said about 300,000 to 400,000 people write about QAnon on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram each day.

Since the start of the spread of the new coronavirus around the world, QAnon support has grown a lot. The number of QAnon Facebook group members has jumped 800 percent to 1.7 million. Argentino added that pro-QAnon Twitter accounts have increased 85 percent -- to 400,000. In recent weeks, both Facebook and Twitter have removed writings by QAnon.

How popular is QAnon overseas?

Most of the recent growth in QAnon following has taken place in countries other than the U.S. "You're starting to see these sort of groups popping up everywhere," Grisham said. 

Germany, Britain, Australia and Canada are among the countries where supporters appear to be growing. Also, observers are watching what Russian- supported media are saying. 

Experts who study QAnon said there were no signs Russia had a hand in creating it. However, Russian media has increased its coverage¹² of the movement.

Cindy Otis is a former CIA employee and a disinformation expert. Reuters reports that she said Russian-backed news organizations have been writing more about QAnon because it shows division in the United States.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

conspiracy theory –n. a theory that explains an event or situation as the result of a secret plan by powerful people or groups

massive–adj. large in amount or degree

encrypted–adj. to change from one form to another especially to hide its meaning

slogan–n. a phrase or expression used by a group or business to attract attention

popping up –v. to appear suddenly or in an unexpected way

1 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 republican   

n.拥护共和政体的人； adj.共和政体的，（Republican）共和党人，（Republican）共和党的

参考例句：

• Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
• A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 riots   

n. 暴乱, 骚乱, 暴动 vi. 骚乱, 闹事

参考例句：

• the instigators of the riots 煽动骚乱的人
• The riots are a clear manifestation of the people's discontent. 骚乱清楚地表明了人们的不满情绪。

8 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

9 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

10 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

11 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。