Yes, dear readers, this is not a misprint, just as you have now stumbled across this strange word construction, I only came across the term „QAnon“ by chance.
In the USA, you occasionally hear about this strange, veiled group on the fringes of political discussions, whose supporters are mainly to be found at President Donald Trump’s election rallies, where they stage themselves in a media-friendly manner with huge posters. This is done with the permission of Trump’s political team, which strictly controls the background images at his appearances. In plain language: QAnon stands behind Trump and Trump says „Thumbs up!“
Initially, QAnon supporters were dismissed as pure Trump fanatics: the hard core who don’t care what Trump says or does, they just go along with it. When I decided to see what QAnon was actually about, my spontaneous reaction after three lines was: These must be lunatics who have lost all touch with reality. Who can believe the nonsense that QAnon supporters loudly propagate or take it seriously in any way?
But see for yourself.
QAnon got its start in October 2017 when a post appeared on the imageboard (internet forum) 4chan with the signature (tripcode) „Q“ – a reference to the highest level of secrecy („clearance“) of the U.S. Department of Energy. It may also be a hidden allusion to the character „Q“ on „Star Trek“ – an oversized being with inexhaustible knowledge – but we’ll leave that aside. The post was anonymous, hence „QAnon“. The person or persons behind „Q“ claimed to have secret information that President Trump’s political opponents (a Republican) – meaning Hillary Clinton and the Democrats – are members of a paedophile sex ring plotting a coup against President Trump along with other prominent politicians and liberals such as Barack Obama and financier George Soros. Trump knew about this conspiracy and has been actively fighting his secret opponents ever since.
The QAnon movement apparently had its origins in the so-called „Pizzagate“ [1 ] conspiracy theory. You don’t really want to read any further from here, but believe me, it gets worse. „Pizzagate“ is about the claim that the emails of former Clinton adviser John Podesta contained code words for paedophilia and human trafficking, and that satanic, cannibalistic rituals were practised at the meetings of this secret sex ring – in the basement of a pizza restaurant. All of this spread like wildfire via ultra-conservative apps and websites. Trump’s loyal secret army of „QAnoners“ are now waiting for the secret signal with which Trump declares a military emergency and Clinton, Obama & Co are brought before a military tribunal and then exiled to Guantanamo.
And that’s not the end of the story – there are also the extraterrestrial reptiles to mention. To be more precise, these are time-travelling extraterrestrial reptiles. Since nobody knows the identity of „Q“, his (her?) followers suspect that it is a non-corporeal, ghostly being, a kind of „shape shifter“, a timeless spirit that traverses the universe in a matter of seconds (so an echo of Star Trek after all…?). But it’s not only Q who has this quality, but also prominent bankers, especially those of the Rothschild family. They can take on different forms, preferably that of snakes. With their satanic symbols and rituals, these extraterrestrial Rothschild reptiles then influence and control – how could it be otherwise? – allegedly influence and control the Vatican.
One wonders who believes such things! Apparently more people than you might think, including – frighteningly – Mike Flynn, Trump’s first National Security Advisor, and his son, both serious proponents of the „Pizzagate“ conspiracy.
I’ve always thought and hoped that all this QAnon „nonsense“ would fizzle out relatively quickly. Just like the sensational rumours that Elvis continues to live unrecognised as a lifeguard in Florida. I am now rather pessimistic, because a new, international branch of „QAnoners“ is now campaigning as a mouthpiece for the ultra-right in Europe. As British and American media recently reported, they are now also waving their flags in Germany as „QDeutschland“ in favour of the right-wing populist Alternative Deutschland (AfD) and Pegida.
In mid-February, the British newspaper The Guardian cited a new study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London, which researches and combats extremist movements.
„We have come across new, international, far-right networks active in Germany to promote the far-right’s political and cultural agenda and attack the AfD’s political opponents,“ the authors write. „The US conspiracy network QAnon has emboldened a [new] German variant that links violent and anti-democratic conspiracy theories across the Atlantic.“
This new, far-right influence campaign by European conspiracy theorists relies primarily on social media, using QAnon hashtags as multipliers to influence public opinion and elections, including the 2018 state elections in Bavaria. „QAnon followers organise themselves on encrypted apps such as Discord and Telegram, linking the American-based conspiracy theory to local contexts,“ the ISD report continues.
This development is more than frightening, precisely because of its apparent absurdity. It is hard to believe that such fantasies are gaining a foothold „in our country“, but they are. In QAnon, the era of „fake news“ and „post-truth“ finds its most extreme expression. All social rules – including common sense – are completely suspended in one fell swoop. What was already heralded by Trump’s predecessor, George W. Bush – the arrogant reliance on one’s own gut feeling and the deliberate ignoring of objective facts – is now reaching new and ever more dangerous dimensions with Trump. Facts only exist to be challenged. Nothing is impossible. No one can be trusted. Friends are traitors and traitors are friends. In this „echo chamber of like-minded people“, as Egyptian internet activist Wael Ghonim calls it, dangerous slogans are effectively amplified, „loudly drowning out the pursuit of dialogue and consensus.“
Trump and his supporters are deliberately trying to undermine the traditional checks and balances of the American political system. The American courts play an important role in this. Since taking office, Trump, with the help of the U.S. Senate, where Republicans remain in the majority, has nominated over 70 new federal judges and filled two positions on the Supreme Court bench with conservative jurists. These judges will have a decisive influence on the US legal system for decades to come. Closely linked to this strategy is the fuelling of hatred towards immigrants and minorities, who are blamed for the US’s economic problems because they allegedly take away too many jobs and poison the white cultural heritage.
The free press, which criticises these and other attacks on the American constitution, is ridiculed and made a public target. The so-called „fake news media“, the „lying press“, his number one enemy, „the enemy of the people“, as Trump invokes at almost every one of his appearances. During the 2016 election campaign, Trump supporters repeatedly assaulted journalists. He thought this was fine and added fuel to the fire at another event by stating that, in his opinion, certain protesters in the audience deserved a beating – he would gladly pay the legal fees.
How do you defend yourself against such attacks, this frontal assault on hard-won, shared values? How do you parry this all-round attack against rationality, tolerance and responsible coexistence? Back in November 2016, American journalist Christian Amanpour issued a clear warning to her colleagues that the press and media needed to face up to the new reality more aggressively and effectively:
„We must accept that the social media to which we are so slavishly devoted has dealt us an outright defeat. Plus this almost unbelievable development of ‚fake news‘ websites – lies – that people somehow can’t recognise, verify or ignore. We have to ask ourselves whether technology has finally left behind our human ability to keep up with this development.“
Nevertheless, the public can and must win the battle against this avalanche of manipulation, says Amanpour.
„We must fight against the normalisation of the simply unacceptable … More than ever, we must commit to real reporting in a real world where journalism and democracy are in mortal danger.
I believe in being honest, not neutral. So this is above all an appeal to protect journalism itself. Commit to robust, factual reporting, without fear or favour … Don’t be labelled a liar, or a failure, or corrupt.“
At the same time, the „technological ecosystem“ of the right needs to be more targeted, as the ITS researchers emphasise. Young people are tech-savvy, and they mainly work and communicate online. However, this does not mean that they have urgently needed digital skills, the ability to critically assess and analyse content. Many of the new chatrooms and platforms such as Gab, Voat or Wrongthink do not have enough resources to actively moderate content. This makes it all the more important to actively promote critical thinking. This is the only way to deprive extremists like QAnon, Pegida and AfD of the fertile ground in which their dangerous ideas can grow and flourish.
