Srs Bsns: Explaining QAnon And The Ongoing War Between Social Media Companies And Their Attempts To Stem Its Tide
Although many people have only heard of QAnon just this year, the conspiracy theory has circulated the web since 2017 and appeared on platforms from 4chan to Facebook and Twitter to TikTok. The concept of an underground pedophile ring stemming from Satanic politicians isnât exactly new (as seen with Pizzagate in 2016), but QAnonâs prevalence and impact on the internet are certainly more pronounced than its predecessors.
In recent months, the conspiracy theory has manifested itself all across the web, and social media companies have started to crack down heavily in an attempt to stem the tide. Between May and August, Twitter, Facebook and even TikTok have either banned, blocked or removed content related to QAnon and its throng of followers. Despite their attempts, the conspiracy continues to creep its sprawling tendrils into the feeds and minds of social media users everywhere, but many still donât even understand who âQâ is or what âQAnonâ even really means.
Before we delve deeper into how social media companies are trying to curb its spread, letâs take a brief look at what exactly QAnon is, how it originated and who some of its biggest proponents are.
What is QAnon?
The first step to understanding why QAnon has become so popular in 2020 is knowing just what the hell it is. For starters, âQAnonâ is comprised of two different words. âQâ refers to the original 4chan user who posted the first cryptic messages online, but it also stems from âQ Clearance,â which is one of the U.S. governmentâs highest levels of security clearance. Within the Department of Energy, Q Clearance is the highest level, above even Top Secret. Itâs from this definition that QAnon claims to have access to their information surrounding the theory. âAnonâ is simply shorthand for âAnonymous,â as all users on 4chan where the original posts kicked off the conspiracy are anonymous.
The theory surrounding QAnon is that thereâs a secret global faction of Satanic pedophiles who rule the world and control every aspect of our daily lives. From Hollywood to politics and mainstream media, they control it all and do so in secret. The theory is often associated with fringe supporters of Donald Trump, who believe his election in 2016 was an event outside of the cabal's control. In addition, some of them believe that his election was the first act in bringing down the underground world order, which is also why heâs so often demonized and criticized by many. The event of Q sharing this information is referred to as âThe Great Awakening.â
The final piece of the theory lies in âThe Storm,â which refers to the imminent event where the thousands of members in this devil-worshipping ring will ultimately be arrested and locked away. The conclusion to this event is that the U.S. military will take control of the country, resulting in a utopia for those who remain.
QAnonâs Origin Story and Spread
So, how exactly did this whole thing begin? Back in late October 2017, a 4chan user with the ID âBQ7V3bcWâ made a comment on the /pol/ board under a thread discussing the Robert Mueller investigation. Contained in the post was a series of cryptic messages and questions about the U.S. military and politicians. One such claim was that Hillary Clinton would soon be arrested and that riots would ensue shortly after across major cities âin defiance.â
That same day, the 4chan user who used the moniker âQâ first appeared and posted on the /pol/ board under the title âCalm Before the Storm.â Q claimed to be a high-level insider in the government with Q clearance who was specifically tasked with sharing the information of Trumpâs plan to bring down the underground group. The post also contained predictions of events to come, as well as photos of themselves as proof they were aboard Air Force One while Trump was visiting Asia.
As mentioned earlier, this âStormâ referenced in Qâs 4chan post is the ultimate conclusion of the secret order, but it also refers to a seemingly random comment Trump said just weeks before the initial post that kicked off the conspiracy. During a press conference in early October, Trump made a vague comment and said âmaybe itâs the calm before the stormâ before adding that the U.S. has the âworldâs great military people in this room.â A reporter then asked, âWhat storm?â to which he replied, âYouâll find out.â
A few days later, another 4chan user who identified themselves as âQ Clearance Patriotâ made another post on the /pol/ board, which contained similar questions and theories to the earlier posts, under the title âBread Crumbs.â
From here, the conspiracy theory spread to the /r/conspiracy subreddit in early November, then to YouTube, Twitter (such as Rosanne Barrâs infamous tweets) and finally, âThe Book of Qâ was released on Google Drive near the end of the month as a complete collection of the QAnon posts.
In the following months, several major media outlets picked up the story and began reporting on the conspiracy theory, and in 2018, both merchandise and billboards promoting it began popping up around the country.
While even one 4chan user submitted a post referring to QAnon as "pols greatest achievement" and merely a "big prank" designed to trick "normies and boomers" in 2018, it continued to spread, slowly attracting new believers on a range of websites and social media platforms.
Social Mediaâs QAnon Crackdown
This brings us to some of the first attempts at cracking down on QAnon from social media companies. In September 2018, Reddit was the first major platform to do so when it banned the QAnon-themed subreddit /r/The_GreatAwakening. Their reasons for doing so included that the sub was âinciting violence, harassment, and the dissemination of personal information.â Aside from this subreddit, many others associated with the conspiracy were also banned.
Over the summer this year, major platforms have begun shutting down groups, accounts and posts related to QAnon and its followers en masse. In mid-July, Twitter removed thousands of accounts that spread messages regarding the conspiracy theory. In an official statement from the social network, Twitter said these posts were harmful and violated its policy. In addition to the bans, Twitter also blocked any trends related to QAnon from its search results and trending pages.
While Twitter was among the first in 2020 to kick off this wave of QAnon-related crackdowns, TikTok also announced in late July that it would begin blocking any hashtags referencing QAnon. Terms and phrases appearing on TikTok, such as âQAnon,â âQAnonTruthâ and âOut of Shadowsâ have all since been blocked. Despite this, TikTok still allows posts and videos associated with QAnon to remain on the platform and doesnât remove them outright.
In April, Facebook removed a small group of QAnon pages that it said were promoting the conspiracy as part of a push to stem the spread of false information, but also voter manipulation leading up to this yearâs election. Just today, Facebook also announced the removal of 790 QAnon groups, restricted another 1,950 groups, 440 pages and over 10,000 accounts on Instagram â its largest wave of action to curb the spread of the conspiracy theory.
Despite these attempts to stem the tide of QAnonâs spread and its followersâ zealous belief in the conspiracy, itâs almost undeniable that QAnon will remain relevant for quite some time. Even if the entire conspiracy theory is just an elaborate 4chan troll, we havenât seen the last of QAnon, nor social mediaâs arduous endeavor to keep it off their platforms. For now, the Qarenâs will continue their fervent pursuit of converting new followers.
#Qaren pic.twitter.com/g06E8MjhCA
â REESUS PATRIOTâąđ (@ReesusP) May 27, 2020
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