QAnon, the Conspiracy Web Creeping Into U.S. Politics

Supporters of the U.S. conspiracy theory known as QAnon have been a feature on the fringes of American politics since late 2017. The internet-fueled movement has crept closer to the mainstream, with some believers winning election to Congress. The coming end of Donald Trump’s presidency is an inflection point for the movement, since he has a starring role at the center of the QAnon tale.

It’s a concoction of allegations against Democratic politicians, celebrities and supposed members of a “deep state” bureaucracy against whom Trump is seen as valiantly battling. Purported pedophilia rings are central to the conspiracy theory, along with Satanism and secret judicial proceedings. QAnon believers await the “Great Awakening,” or the moment the general public realizes the conspiracy exists, and the “Storm,” when thousands of wrongdoers face justice. (During a photo op with military generals in 2017, Trump commented, “You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm.” That moment is thought to have inspired part of QAnon’s beliefs.) The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Phoenix field office said in 2019 that conspiracy theories like QAnon can potentially incite acts of domestic terrorism.