QAnon is a political conspiracy theory and movement that started in the United States in 2017. It is based on false claims made by an anonymous person or group called "Q Clearance Patriot," often referred to as "Q." These claims were shared and expanded by online groups and influencers. The main idea of QAnon is that a secret group of people, described as Satanic and involved in child abuse, is part of a global child trafficking network, and that former President Donald Trump is secretly working against them. QAnon has connections to another earlier conspiracy theory called Pizzagate but also includes ideas from many other conspiracy theories. Some people have called QAnon a cult.

During Donald Trump’s first term as president, QAnon supporters believed the government would arrest and punish thousands of members of this secret group on a day called "the Storm" or "the Event." Supporters of QAnon have accused Democratic politicians, actors, government officials, business leaders, and medical experts of being part of this group. QAnon has been criticized for spreading antisemitic ideas, such as false claims about Jewish billionaire George Soros and the Rothschild family, which are common targets of antisemitism.

Although QAnon has roots in older conspiracy theories, it became widely known in October 2017 when "Q" first posted messages on the website 4chan. Q claimed to be a high-level government official with access to secret information about the Trump administration and its opponents. Later, Q moved to another website called 8chan, which became the main online space for QAnon. Q’s messages, which were often confusing, were shared by apps and websites and spread by influencers. QAnon became very popular online and grew into a political movement. Supporters of QAnon began attending Trump’s campaign events in 2018, and Trump promoted QAnon accounts on Twitter. QAnon ideas were also shared by Russian and Chinese state-backed media, social media accounts, and the far-right group Epoch Media.

After QAnon became part of American politics, similar movements started in other countries. It is unclear how many people support QAnon. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook later took steps to limit the spread of QAnon’s ideas. Some QAnon supporters have committed violent acts. During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, QAnon supporters backed Trump’s campaign and tried to influence voters through false information. After Joe Biden won the election, some supporters tried to overturn the results. People close to Trump, such as Michael Flynn, Lin Wood, and Sidney Powell, promoted QAnon-related ideas. When these efforts failed, some Trump supporters, many of whom believed in QAnon, attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. This event led to more strict actions by social media companies against QAnon. While the original QAnon movement lost popularity after the 2020 election, some of its ideas have continued to appear in mainstream political discussions.

Background

According to QAnon researcher Mike Rothschild, "while Q has a number of earlier conspiracy theories and scams… no conspiracy theory connects more directly to Q than Pizzagate." The Pizzagate theory started in 2016 after emails from John Podesta, a Clinton campaigner, were leaked online. Supporters of the theory claimed the emails contained a secret code about child sexual abuse. Followers of Pizzagate believed that high-profile Democrats were sexually abusing children at a Washington, D.C. pizzeria. This belief led to an armed attack on the pizzeria by a gunman who believed the claims.

Allegations of child sexual abuse and the connection to the Clinton family became an important part of the QAnon belief system. Over time, however, the focus on the Clintons was reduced, and the belief shifted to more general claims about a worldwide group of people involved in child sex trafficking. QAnon supporters often used the hashtag #SaveTheChildren to promote the Pizzagate theory. This caused complaints from the unrelated organization Save the Children, which works to help children in need.

An investigative journalism website called Bellingcat said that online discussions on the /pol/ board of 4chan, known as /htg/ or "Human Trafficking General," were important in connecting Pizzagate to QAnon. Unlike Pizzagate, which focused on a small amount of email material, the /htg/ discussions allowed users to create and share imagined stories. A key person in these discussions was a user named Anonymous 5, also called "Frank," who claimed to be a child prostitution investigator. However, the lack of a clear story limited the popularity of /htg/ compared to Pizzagate.

The main ideas of the QAnon belief system were already present on 4chan before Q began posting. These included claims that Hillary Clinton was involved in a child sex ring, that Robert Mueller was secretly working with Donald Trump, and that large military trials would happen soon. Q’s posts focused on people who were already disliked in the community, such as Clinton, Barack Obama, and George Soros. Bellingcat noted that the idea of the "Storm," which refers to a major event, was copied from another user named Victory of the Light, who predicted a future event with mass arrests of a secret group called the "Cabal."

In its simplest form, an "anon" is an online poster who does not use their real name or uses a fake name. The idea of anons doing research and claiming to share secret government information is a key part of the QAnon conspiracy theory, but it is not unique to QAnon. Before Q, other anonymous posters also claimed to have special government access. In July 2016, an anonymous poster named "FBIAnon" said they were a high-level analyst and claimed to know details about the Clinton case. They posted false information about the 2016 investigation into the Clinton Foundation and said Hillary Clinton would be arrested if Donald Trump became president. Around the same time, "HLIAnon" held long online discussions and shared various conspiracy theories, including that Princess Diana was killed after trying to stop the September 11 attacks. After the 2016 U.S. election, two anonymous posters, "CIAAnon" and "CIAIntern," falsely claimed to be high-ranking CIA officers. In late August 2017, "WHInsiderAnon" shared a supposed preview that something important would happen regarding leaks that would affect the Democratic Party.

Origin and spread

A user named "Q Clearance Patriot" first appeared on the 4chan website's /pol/ board on October 28, 2017. They posted in a thread titled "Calm Before the Storm," a phrase President Donald Trump had used to describe a meeting with American military leaders. Later, "The Storm" became a term used by QAnon supporters to describe an event where thousands of people accused of crimes would be arrested, imprisoned, and punished. The username "Q Clearance Patriot" suggested the person had a Q clearance, a security level in the United States Department of Energy that allows access to Top Secret information about nuclear weapons and materials.

Q's first message claimed Hillary Clinton would soon be arrested, causing public unrest and leading to many other arrests. A few hours later, a second message said Clinton was being "detained" but not yet arrested, and that President Trump planned to remove "criminal rogue elements." The post also mentioned names like George Soros, Huma Abedin, and Operation Mockingbird in a cryptic way.

In November 2017, Q's activity increased, with posts expanding on theories about Hillary Clinton. Other ideas were added about Barack Obama, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. People online began forming a community to analyze Q's messages, and some became well-known within the group. Followers searched for "clues" to support their beliefs, such as repeated phrases or events. For example, in November 2017, some people believed that President Trump drinking water from a bottle was a secret sign that mass arrests would happen soon.

QAnon spread beyond the Pizzagate conspiracy by suggesting a global group of people working together in secret. Early rumors included claims that Hillary Clinton, her daughter Chelsea, and Senator John McCain had been arrested and were wearing ankle monitors during public appearances. Later, QAnon supporters shared other ideas, such as the "Frazzledrip" theory, which falsely claimed a video showed Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin harming a child.

In November 2017, two 4chan moderators, Paul Furber (also known as "BaruchtheScribe") and Coleman Rogers (also known as "Pamphlet Anon"), worked with YouTuber Tracy Diaz to share QAnon with more people. They created the r/CBTS_Stream subreddit, where people discussed QAnon. The subreddit was closed in March 2018 because it encouraged violence and shared private information. QAnon then spread to platforms like Twitter and YouTube. Rogers and his wife started a YouTube channel called Patriots' Soapbox, which they used to ask for donations. Future U.S. representative Lauren Boebert appeared on the channel during her 2020 campaign. Later, Q's posts moved to 8chan, a website where Q said 4chan had been "infiltrated." In August 2019, 8chan was shut down after being linked to violent events. QAnon followers then moved to Endchan, but 8chan later reopened under the name 8kun.

Mainstream media first reported on QAnon in November 2017. Newsweek called it "Pizzagate on steroids." Gossip columnist Liz Crokin, who followed Pizzagate, was one of the first public figures to support QAnon. Fox News host Sean Hannity and comedian Roseanne Barr shared QAnon ideas with their followers in early 2018, helping the theory gain popularity on the right side of politics. InfoWars host Alex Jones claimed to know Q personally, leading to QAnon supporters attending a Trump rally in 2018.

Some Christian leaders introduced QAnon ideas to their congregations. A group called Omega Kingdom Ministry tried to mix QAnon with Christianity, reading Q's messages and Bible verses during church services. Some pastors, like Derek Kubilus, called QAnon "heresy," but most U.S. pastors did not take a clear position. QAnon's growth happened at the same time as more violence and extreme views in far-right groups.

In 2018, QAnon-related items were sold on Amazon. A book titled QAnon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening, written by 12 followers, became a top seller on Amazon in 2019. Another book, Revolution Q: The Story of QAnon and the 2nd American Revolution, was written by someone who used the name Neon Revolt and became popular among QAnon supporters. In 2020, Politico reported that 100 QAnon-related books were available on Amazon in many languages.

Websites that collected Q's messages, called "drops" or "Q drops," helped spread the theory. One popular site, QMap, was run by a person known as "QAPPANON." QMap closed after a fact-checking group identified the person as a security analyst named Jason Gelinas. Facebook had thousands of QAnon-themed groups and pages with millions of members. One QAnon supporter, Austin Steinbart, claimed Q was his future self who traveled through time.

According to Reuters, Russian-backed social media accounts promoted QAnon ideas as early as 2017. Russian state media like RT and Sputnik shared QAnon claims starting in 2019, saying the theory showed the U.S. was divided. In 2021, a report found that one-fifth of QAnon posts in the U.S. between 2020 and 2021 came from foreign countries, mainly Russia and China. A group called Epoch Media, linked to Falun Gong, also promoted QAnon.

A researcher named Emilio Ferrara found that about 25% of accounts using QAnon hashtags or sharing content from InfoWars were fake accounts. Another researcher, Marc-André Argentino, noted that QAnon pages existed in 71 countries by 2020. In 2021, a researcher said QAnon groups in Germany and Japan were growing, though the Japanese version, called "JAnon," remained a small belief. In 2022, members of a Japanese group called YamatoQ were arrested for breaking into a clinic that provided COVID-19 vaccines.

Claims

Q posted thousands of messages on websites like 4chan and 8chan/8kun. These messages were often unclear, hard to understand, and impossible to prove. Some included strings of characters that people claimed were coded messages. Q used a secretive tone, saying things like "I've said too much" or "Some things must remain classified to the very end." To keep followers believing in a final victory over a secret group called the "cabal," Q repeated phrases such as "Trust the plan," "Enjoy the show," and "Nothing can stop what is coming." Q's messages often said that everything was going as planned, that Donald Trump was in control, and that all enemies of Trump would be arrested. Q also told followers to "Follow the White Rabbit," which became a hashtag and the name of a Facebook group with about 90,000 members in 2020.

Early messages focused on claims that a secret group called the "deep state" was working with foreign countries. In 2018, Q mentioned ideas like the Obama administration sending technology to Iran and North Korea. Later, Q targeted groups like Planned Parenthood, accusing them of harming fetuses for profit, and individuals like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, claiming she was part of the cabal. Over time, Q's messages covered topics such as Russian interference, child trafficking, Jeffrey Epstein, Antifa, and Hunter Biden. As time passed, Q's messages became less clear, allowing followers to create their own interpretations of the theory.

Writer Walter Kirn said Q was different from other conspiracy theorists because Q used "clues" instead of directly stating claims, letting followers search for answers. However, Q made many predictions that did not come true. Q often dismissed these mistakes, saying they were part of a plan to spread "disinformation." This led psychologist Stephan Lewandowsky to note that the theory is hard to disprove because it uses vague language and allows followers to ignore evidence.

QAnon's main belief is that a secret group of people who worship Satan and abuse children controls the world. Q said Donald Trump was secretly fighting this group and shared details online. This group is said to hide its actions by controlling politicians, media, and Hollywood. QAnon followers believe the group will be destroyed in an event called "the Storm" or "the Event," when many people will be arrested and sent to prison. After that, the U.S. military will take control of the country, leading to a better world.

QAnon followers believe the secret group includes politicians like Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, business leaders like George Soros and Bill Gates, religious figures like Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama, and entertainers like Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Lady Gaga, and Chrissy Teigen. Tom Hanks was a target of false claims, including rumors that he was arrested for child abuse. In July 2021, some followers believed a fake news article said the U.S. military had executed Hanks. Other followers claimed celebrities like Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, Avicii, and Anthony Bourdain were murdered to hide their involvement in a human trafficking documentary.

One idea in QAnon was that Donald Trump helped expose Russian interference in the 2016 election to involve Robert Mueller in fighting the secret group. This included the belief that Mueller would stop a coup by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and George Soros.

Before the 2020 election, QAnon followers predicted Trump would win again and bring about "the Storm" by defeating the secret group. After Trump lost and Q stopped posting, followers continued to look for clues in old messages or created new versions of the theory. They later claimed Trump would stay president or return to power.

QAnon combined ideas from Pizzagate, which claimed children were being kidnapped in a trafficking ring linked to the secret group. Followers also believed politicians and celebrities used a drug called adrenochrome, made from adrenaline taken from children's blood during torture or rituals. A video called "Frazzledrip" was said to show Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin harming a child as part of this process. In reality, adrenochrome is only used in research and has no medical purpose.

In June 2020, a group led by QAnon supporter Timothy Holmseth, called the Pentagon Pedophile Task Force, falsely claimed thousands of children were being held in New York City. This group had no connection to the Pentagon or government. Around the same time, QAnon followers used the hashtag #SaveTheChildren, which was trademarked by a real child welfare organization. This led the organization to issue a statement about the misuse of its name. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram later tried to stop the hashtag from being linked to QAnon.

In 2020, QAnon followers also falsely accused the furniture company Wayfair of helping money laundering from child trafficking. This was linked to Patrick Byrne, a former CEO of Wayfair and a QAnon supporter.

Groups in the U.S. and U.K. organized protests they said raised awareness about child abuse and trafficking. These groups used hashtags and avoided social media restrictions. They attracted more women, younger people, and those who opposed Trump compared to typical QAnon groups. These groups are connected to the Pastel QAnon community.

Allegations against celebrities in QAnon were based on unproven claims by actor Isaac Kappy, who accused Hollywood stars of pedophilia in 2018.

Writer Travis View said QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theories hurt efforts to fight real child abuse, as their false claims distract from actual crimes. Some followers of these theories have claimed credit for arrests.

Analysis

The Q persona is said to belong to a well-connected person with access to sensitive government information. This person shared the information online despite the risks. Q used a calm and confident tone, rarely interacted with others, and never argued with people who disagreed. In 2021, Bellingcat studied some early posts by Q after the first "drops." These posts had the same writing style as later messages clearly written by Q, but they showed behavior different from Q's usual style. Bellingcat suggested that the person writing these posts was still learning to act like Q and had not yet fully developed the Q persona. This implies that Q may have started as one of many anonymous posters on 4chan rather than a high-level government insider.

People have guessed about Q's motives and identity, both supporters of QAnon and critics. Some theories suggest Q could be a military intelligence officer, a Trump administration official, or public figures like Michael Flynn, Stephen Miller, or even Donald Trump himself. In 2018, some believed Q might be connected to a group called Cicada 3301, which creates puzzles as part of a game, or a left-wing artist group playing a prank on right-wing online culture.

By 2020, researchers agreed that the Q persona was likely controlled by multiple people working together. An analysis of writing styles suggested that two people probably wrote Q's posts, and their writing styles matched different time periods and forums. A study of image metadata posted by Q indicated the person was likely in the Pacific Time Zone.

Anonymous imageboards like 4chan and 8chan hide posters' identities. To stay anonymous while proving consistency between posts, users can use a tripcode, which links a post to a unique digital signature if someone knows the password. Thousands of posts used a Q tripcode, but it changed several times, creating uncertainty about whether the same person posted them all. Passwords on 8chan are easy to crack, and the Q tripcode has been stolen and used by others pretending to be Q. When 8chan returned as 8kun in 2019, Q posted photos of a pen and notebook from earlier posts to show the Q identity continued and used the same tripcode.

Fredrick Brennan, the original owner of 8chan, said in 2020 that "Q either knows Jim or Ron Watkins or was hired by them." He later claimed that Jim Watkins could find out who Q is at any time and is the only person who can contact Q privately.

In 2020, Brennan suggested that Q's account was first run by someone else, with Jim and Ron Watkins taking over in late 2017 or early 2018. He believed the original Q poster was Paul Furber, a 4chan and 8chan moderator who promoted QAnon early on. Evidence includes that Q's first password ("Matlock") was cracked in 2018, and Furber was asked to confirm the new Q used the same IP address as the old Q. Furber said this was "a lot of work" but agreed to do it. Brennan suspects Ron Watkins took control of the account using his administrator privileges. Furber denied being Q, and Jim and Ron Watkins also said they are not Q.

Documentarian Cullen Hoback spent three years researching QAnon and its links to 8chan, interviewing Brennan and the Watkins brothers. In a 2021 HBO documentary, Hoback showed Ron Watkins saying he never was Q and that he had spent years teaching others how to do intelligence work anonymously. Hoback believed this was an accidental admission that Watkins was Q, but Watkins denied it before the documentary aired.

In 2022, The New York Times reported that two independent experts who studied Q's writing style found Paul Furber was the main writer of early Q posts, and Ron Watkins took over in 2018. This change happened after Q moved from 4chan to 8chan. Furber said he believed Q's writing style influenced his own, not the other way around.

Before Q reappeared in 2022, 8kun changed its security settings, making it impossible to use the same tripcode as before. However, Q's tripcode remained the same as in 2020, suggesting 8kun's administrators knew Q would post again or made the post themselves. Soon after, 8kun changed its settings back, and Jim Watkins confirmed the new Q posts were authentic.

QAnon has spread through slogans, phrases, and hashtags that helped it gain popularity. Terms like "the cabal" or "the Storm," and Q's phrases like "Trust the plan" or "Enjoy the show," are widely used. Q's posts are called "crumbs" or "breadcrumbs," and followers who analyze them call themselves "bakers" who turn these clues into "dough" or "bread" to understand the story.

An early QAnon slogan was "Follow the White Rabbit." A popular phrase is "Where we go one, we go all" (WWG1WGA), first used by Q in 2018. "Do your own research" encourages people to find clues that support QAnon's ideas. "Q sent me" is a way followers show loyalty to Q.

Other common terms in QAnon include "white hat" (a Trump supporter), "black hat" (someone working with the "deep state"), "Great Awakening" (when the public learns the truth), "red pill" (a symbol of QAnon awareness), and "sheeple" (a term for people who trust mainstream media). "17anon" is sometimes used instead of QAnon to avoid social media detection.

Conspiracy theories have long existed in U.S. politics, including those promoted by groups like the John Birch Society. QAnon shares similarities with other conspiracy theories, whether political or religious, in its themes, images, and moral concerns.

Incidents

QAnon followers have been linked to events that caused disagreement and, in some cases, violence. In 2020, they supported Donald Trump’s campaign during the presidential election. QAnon leaders used message boards to organize and spread information to influence the election. One out of every 50 tweets about voting in the 2020 U.S. presidential election came from QAnon accounts. Two out of every 25 accounts that used the hashtag #voterfraud, which shared unproven claims about voting fraud, were QAnon accounts.

In 2019, the tourist site America’s Stonehenge was damaged using power tools. On March 4, 2021, New Hampshire State Police arrested Mark L. Russo, a QAnon member, and charged him with criminal mischief. Two messages were carved into a part of the site called the "sacrificial table": the QAnon slogan "WWG1WGA" (meaning "Where we go one, we go all") and "IAMMARK," Russo’s Twitter handle. A researcher named Chris Walters found photos of the damage and items later found by police by searching social media using a fake name. Later, it was discovered that two QAnon followers had sons who had died. Both believed the "sacrificial table" was real and that their sons had been killed by a worldwide conspiracy led by Hillary Clinton to extract a substance called adrenochrome, which they thought could renew life.

QAnon followers supported Trump’s legal team in trying to overturn the election through lawsuits and shared their own conspiracy theories. They claimed voting machines made by Dominion Voting Systems had erased millions of votes for Trump. This claim was repeated on a far-right news channel, One America News Network, and Trump shared the segment with his followers.

One QAnon theory, called Italygate, claimed the U.S. election was rigged using technology from the U.S. Embassy in Rome with help from an Italian hacker, an Italian general, and the Vatican.

Before the 2020 election, several elected leaders, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Arizona House Election Chairwoman Kelly Townsend, were known QAnon supporters. They helped lead efforts to overturn the election after it was decided. In June 2020, Townsend posted a QAnon video with a flaming "Q" on her social media and followed high-profile QAnon accounts. Some Arizona reporters called Townsend the "QAnon Queen of the Legislature."

Some QAnon followers misinterpreted a law from 1871, which the sovereign citizen movement claimed made the federal government a corporation and made all presidents after 1871 illegitimate. Based on this, they believed the 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877), was the last legitimate president and that Donald Trump would be sworn in as the 19th president on March 4, 2021. This was the original inauguration date before it was changed to January 20 in 1933. Because intelligence suggested a militia group might attack the Capitol on March 4, the U.S. Capitol Police issued a warning on March 3. House leaders moved a vote to the night before to let lawmakers leave town.

The Anti-Defamation League, a British security firm called G4S, and a nonpartisan group named Advance Democracy Inc. studied QAnon posts and warned of possible violence on January 6, 2021. Violence occurred that day as efforts to overturn the election led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Many QAnon supporters took part in the disturbance. Rioters wore clothing with Q-related symbols or were identified in videos as QAnon followers. One person, Jake Angeli, a QAnon supporter nicknamed the "QAnon Shaman," gained global attention for his appearance. Ashli Babbitt, a rioter who was shot by police while trying to enter the Speaker’s Lobby, was a QAnon follower. The day before the attack, she tweeted: "the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours."

The attack led to stricter rules on QAnon content on social media. In April 2021, the Soufan Center reported that Russia and China had used and "weaponized" QAnon during the Capitol attack to cause conflict and harm political processes.

Some QAnon supporters were charged with involvement in a 2022 coup plot in Germany, which included far-right activists and groups like the Reichsbürger movement.

Reactions

Journalists have shown that the main ideas of QAnon are false. In 2018, The Washington Post described people who support QAnon as "a group that believes in strange secret plans" and "some of the Internet's most unusual fans of President Trump."

In December 2017, a Russian TV network called RT made a report about "QAnon discoveries," claiming the anonymous person behind QAnon was "a secret intelligence worker in the Trump administration." In March 2018, Cheryl Sullenger, a leader in an anti-abortion group called Operation Rescue, said QAnon was a "small group of people close to President Trump" and claimed their messages were "the most important secret information ever shared publicly." In March 2018, a Ukrainian newspaper called Rabochaya Gazeta, which is linked to the Communist Party of Ukraine, wrote that QAnon was a "military intelligence group." In March 2018, actor Roseanne Barr promoted QAnon, and this was reported by CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. Radio host Lionel became a strong supporter of QAnon. In April and October 2021, actor Jim Caviezel spoke at conservative events and supported parts of QAnon.

In June 2018, Time magazine listed QAnon as one of the 25 most influential people on the Internet in 2018. The magazine noted that QAnon had over 130,000 related videos on YouTube and had gained attention from many people and news outlets. On July 4, the Hillsborough County Republican Party posted a YouTube video about QAnon on its social media accounts, calling them a "secret source of information about government activities and actions by President Trump." These posts were later removed.

In August 2018, after QAnon supporters attended a Trump rally in Florida, MSNBC hosts Hallie Jackson, Brian Williams, and Chris Hayes discussed QAnon on their shows. The next day, PBS NewsHour also covered QAnon. In August 2018, The Washington Post writer Molly Roberts wrote, "The storm" that QAnon followers predict will never happen because the conspiracy they believe in is not real. However, she said these followers might try to cause problems, and others will need to protect themselves.

In May 2019, the FBI released an "Intelligence Bulletin" from its Phoenix office, stating that extremists linked to QAnon were a domestic terrorism threat. The report mentioned arrests connected to QAnon that had not been widely shared before. It said, "This is the first FBI product examining the threat from conspiracy theory-driven extremists and provides a baseline for future intelligence products. … The FBI believes these theories may continue to spread and could lead to criminal or violent acts."

The FBI's counterterrorism director, Michael G. McGarrity, told Congress in May 2019 that domestic terrorism threats are divided into four main categories: "racially motivated violence, anti-government/anti-authority extremism, animal rights/environmental extremism, and abortion extremism." The FBI said the threat from conspiracy theories is closely connected to the anti-government/anti-authority category. In December 2018, a man from California was arrested for having bomb-making materials in his car. He planned to use them to "blow up a satanic temple monument" in the Illinois Capitol to "make Americans aware of Pizzagate and the New World Order, who were dismantling society." The FBI said another reason for the rise in anti-government extremism is "the discovery of real conspiracies or cover-ups involving illegal, harmful, or unconstitutional actions by government officials or political leaders."

In August 2020, two U.S. Representatives, Democrat Tom Malinowski and Republican Denver Riggleman, introduced a bipartisan resolution (H. Res. 1154) to condemn QAnon. Malinowski said the resolution aimed to reject "this dangerous, anti-Semitic, conspiracy-mongering group that the FBI says is radicalizing Americans to violence." The resolution urged law enforcement and homeland security agencies to "continue to focus on preventing violence, threats, harassment, and other criminal activity by extremists motivated by fringe political conspiracy theories" and asked the U.S. intelligence community to "find any foreign support, assistance, or online promotion QAnon receives, as well as any QAnon connections with foreign extremist groups that support violence."

In September 2020, Malinowski received death threats from QAnon supporters after being falsely accused of wanting to protect sexual predators. These threats followed a campaign ad by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) that incorrectly claimed Malinowski worked against plans to increase registration for sex offenders in a 2006 crime bill while he was a lobbyist for Human Rights Watch.

The resolution passed on October 2, 2020, with a vote of 371–18. Seventeen Republicans (including Steve King, Paul Gosar, and Daniel Webster) and one independent (Justin Amash) voted no; Republican Andy Harris voted "present." According to Will Sommer in The Daily Beast, the resolution does not have the force of law. Before the vote, Malinowski told Slate magazine, referencing the NRCC ad: "I don't want to see any Republicans voting against fire on the House floor this week and then continuing to play with fire next week by running these kinds of ads against Democratic candidates."

In 2019, two Republican congressional candidates expressed support for QAnon theories. In early 2020, Jim Watkins created the "Disarm the Deep State" super PAC, which aimed to "mobilize a community of patriots to remove power from Deep State members." In November 2020, it was reported that the PAC had raised only $4,736, including a $500 loan from Watkins's lawyer.

In 2020, 97 QAnon followers ran in primaries, with 22 Republicans and two independents participating in elections that year. Businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene won an August 2020 runoff to become the GOP nominee in Georgia's 14th Congressional District. In 2020, she said many of QAnon's claims "have really proven to be true." Months into the Trump presidency, she stated in a video: "There's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it." Jo Rae Perkins, the 2020 Republican Senate candidate in Oregon, tweeted a video on the night of her May primary victory showing her holding a WWG1WGA sticker and stating that she "[stood] with Q and the team. Thank you Anons, and thank you patriots." She later deleted the video on advice from a political consultant. The next month, she took the "digital soldiers oath" that QAnon had requested followers to do three days earlier.

On June 30, 2020, incumbent Republican U.S. representative Scott Tipton lost a primary for Colorado's

Online

QDrops, an app that promoted a conspiracy theory, was available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. It became the most popular paid app in Apple's "entertainment" section in April 2018 and the tenth-most popular paid app overall. The app was created by Richard and Adalita Brown, a couple from North Carolina who run Tiger Team Inc. On July 15, 2018, Apple removed the app after receiving questions from NBC News.

In mid-May 2020, Google removed three other apps—QMAP, Q Alerts!, and Q Alerts LITE—from the Android app store because they broke Google's rules.

Some online forums, such as the Reddit communities r/QAnonCasualties and r/ReQovery, were created to help people who once supported QAnon conspiracies or had family members involved in them.

In March 2018, Reddit removed a community called /r/CBTS_Stream for encouraging violence and sharing private information. Some users moved to Discord, a messaging platform. Other QAnon-related groups formed, but Reddit banned them again in September 2018 for promoting violence, harassment, and sharing personal details. Thousands of users then joined Voat, a Swiss-based website similar to Reddit, which is often linked to far-right groups.

In early 2019, Twitter removed accounts believed to be connected to the Russian Internet Research Agency, which had shared many QAnon-related messages using the #WWG1WGA slogan.

In May 2020, Facebook removed five pages, 20 accounts, and six groups linked to people connected to QAnon as part of an investigation into suspicious activity before the 2020 U.S. election. In August 2020, Facebook updated its policies to address groups that celebrated violence, showed weapons, or had followers with violent behavior. Facebook reported removing over 790 groups, 100 pages, and 1,500 ads related to QAnon, blocking 300 hashtags, and restricting thousands of groups and accounts. In the month after August 2020, Facebook deleted 1,500 QAnon groups, which had 4 million followers at the time. In October 2020, Facebook said it would remove all QAnon-related pages and groups, even if they did not include violent content.

In July 2020, Twitter banned more than 7,000 accounts connected to QAnon for spreading fake news and conspiracy theories. Twitter said it would take action against content that could lead to real-world harm. It also said the ban could affect over 150,000 accounts.

Facebook banned all QAnon groups and pages in October 2020. Some followers thought this was part of a plan by the Trump administration or an attempt to hide news about it, but neither was true. Some believed a Justice Department news conference the next day would involve charges against Democrats, but the Justice Department instead announced an investigation into Islamic State members. Etsy also removed QAnon-related products from its website, though they were still available as of January 2021.

In an interview with CNN, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said much QAnon content was "borderline" and did not break YouTube's rules, but changes to how videos were recommended reduced views of QAnon content by 80%. Three days later, YouTube updated its policies to block content that used conspiracy theories, like QAnon, to justify real-world violence. It allowed discussions about QAnon as long as they did not target individuals.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram banned QAnon-related hashtags and accounts. The 2021 U.S. Capitol attack led to more removals of QAnon content. Twitter suspended Lin Wood’s account on January 7, 2021, and the accounts of Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn, and other QAnon figures the next day. On January 12, Facebook and Twitter announced they were removing "Stop the Steal" content and suspending 70,000 QAnon-focused accounts. More deletions followed on other platforms. Amazon removed a pro-QAnon book after the Capitol attack, and many platforms took action against QAnon-related content after the incident. In May 2021, a report said QAnon content was "evaporating" from the mainstream web.

After many QAnon accounts were deleted, some members moved to alternative technology platforms. Parler, a social media site, became popular among QAnon followers and conservatives in early 2021. Gab, another platform, also gained popularity, especially after Parler was temporarily unavailable following the Capitol attack.

In 2021, alt-tech platforms like Gab and Telegram became important places for QAnon communities to regroup.

In April 2022, QAnon followers celebrated Elon Musk’s plan to buy Twitter, believing his free speech policies would allow them to return. After Musk bought the platform in October 2022, some QAnon accounts were restored. By December 2022, QAnon content began to return on Twitter. In January 2023, a person suspected of writing QAnon messages was reinstated on the platform. In March 2023, Musk defended a QAnon supporter by calling for the release of a man involved in the Capitol attack. In May 2023, the Anti-Defamation League reported an increase in QAnon content on Twitter, now called X, which was described as a resurgence.