PERSPECTIVE: A Summer Inside QAnon and White Supremacist Online Forums

Chatrooms provided our researcher with valuable information regarding the functionality of the groups and how they interact within their communities. (…) Given the traction violent white supremacist and other conspiracy groups have been gaining in recent years, the authors designed a study to observe online forums populated and run by such groups, aiming to get a clearer understanding of not only what draws people to join them but also to understand how QAnon plays a part in their radicalization process. QANON: A Rising Threat QAnon is an umbrella-type conspiracy group started in October 2017 that claimed, among other things, that President Trump was waging a secret war against a cabal of elitist Satan-worshipping pedophiles in government, business, and the media who were trafficking children. QAnon spread rapidly over the Internet with followers who expected a day of reckoning where prominent people, such as former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and other liberals, would be arrested and executed. As a result of QAnon’s claims, many ardent followers became highly invested in President Trump being re-elected; some felt their survival and that of the country depended upon it. Unlike most conspiracy theories, these people were not mere followers of some babbling mouthpiece. Instead, they were afforded what looked like presidential confirmation of their theories. For instance, on Oct. 5, 2017, Trump called the press corps back to the White House and brought them into the State Dining Room, which was full of uniformed military personnel of the highest ranks and, according to multiple reporters, asked the room, “You guys know what this represents?” When met with unanimous confusion, Trump responded, “Maybe it’s the calm before the storm.”[8] This seemingly meaningless statement to everyone in the press corps was brushed off. However, to the 4chan boards and other “Anons,” this was undeniable proof for the QAnon claim of a “deep state” and that Trump was firing the opening salvos of a secret military operation. The QAnon movement took off.
QAnon developed with a gaming hype fueled by “Q drops” left by Q, someone who claimed to have a high-level security clearance and position close to those in power. Q and his adherents connected cryptic clues left and right to enable predictions about the claimed liberal-leaning sexually predatory cabal intent on disarming and destroying American values, with President Trump valiantly fighting them. The gaming aspect of the conspiracy theory tapped into deep-seated fears of some and the need for a sense of purpose by others. Instead of keeping followers on the sidelines, Q made everyone feel that each individual was an important member. They could be directly involved. Q gave significance, dignity and purpose to an enormous group of disenfranchised people who felt cheated, abused, forgotten, ridiculed and humiliated, and he readied them for an impending conflict

via hstoday: PERSPECTIVE: A Summer Inside QAnon and White Supremacist Online Forums

Von <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external text” href=”https://www.flickr.com/people/16086041@N00″>Anthony Crider</a> – <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external text” href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/acrider/51333392652/”>Worldwide Rally for Freedom (2021 July 24)</a>, CC BY 2.0, Link