, Columnist
What Does QAnon Stand For?
It’s tempting simply to dismiss conspiracy theories, but they have been influential in American history.
What do they really believe?
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images North AmericaThis article is for subscribers only.
When asked about QAnon last month, President Donald Trump said: “I don’t know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate. But I don’t know much about the movement.”
This has been mocked as a faux naïve response, but it has the ring of truth — the president doesn’t know about a lot of things, and it seems safe to say that a relatively obscure conspiracy theory is among them. With QAnon growing in size and visibility, however, it’s worth asking what the movement is really about.