Definition of "QAnon"

2017 November 18, Amazing Answers, “RE: Who is QAnon?”, in alt.atheism‎ (Usenet)

In October, an anonymous 4chan account began making cryptic posts about earth-changing political and judicial events to come. Ever since then, conspiracy theorists, journalists, and amused observers have speculated about who was behind the account that has come to be known as QAnon.

2018 May 29, Mike Rothschild, “Who is Q Anon, the internet’s most mysterious poster?”, in The Daily Dot‎

The question “Who is the most hilarious person QAnon could turn out to be?” yielded thousands of responses. Here are the best and most common ones.

2018 August 6, Joe Berkowitz, “Who is the mastermind behind QAnon? Twitter has some fun theories”, in Fast Company‎

In The mysterious figure called “Q” or “QAnon” first appeared online on Oct. 28, 2017, with a post on the far-right /pol/ message board of 4chan that they had inside information about a secret plot being hatched by the Trump administration.

2018 November 11, Michael Barkun, “Failed Prophecies Won’t Stop Trump’s True Believers”, in Foreign Policy‎

These bizarre results, first spotted by the NBC reporter Ben Collins, are not the result of the latest #MeToo era investigation reporting. Instead, they are the entirely unsubstantiated manifestation of a sprawling rightwing conspiracy theory known as QAnon. […] Joseph Uscinski, a University of Miami professor who studies conspiracy theories, said by phone that QAnon remains a “fringe” belief held by “a very small number of people”.

2018 July 31, Julia Carrie Wong, “What is QAnon? Explaining the bizarre rightwing conspiracy theory”, in The Guardian‎

It's nebulous and continuously changing to adapt to current events, but the overarching conspiracy theory has been given a name: "QAnon". […] The baseless core of the QAnon story is that the Mueller investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia is actually an investigation into global elites, and that the president is masterminding a secret plan to arrest top politicians and Hollywood stars for corruption and child abuse.

2018 August 2, Elizabeth Cassin, Mike Wendling, “QAnon: What's the truth behind a pro-Trump conspiracy theory?”, in BBC‎

QAnon, whose supporters also call it “The Storm” or “Great Awakening,” is a wide-ranging conspiracy theory that burst into greater visibility this summer, after supporters at a Trump rally wearing Q shirts prompted a rush of national media coverage about it.

2018 September 12, Abby Ohlheiser, “Reddit bans r/greatawakening, the main subreddit for QAnon conspiracy theorists”, in The Washington Post‎

Like much of the new conspiracism, QAnon began with conspiracy entrepreneurs. […] 11. For instance, on August 3, 2018, the authors consulted the discussion of “clues” by QAnon researchers on the following Reddit.com message board: https://www.reddit.com/r/greatawakening/comments/84sam4/does_anyone_have_the_link_to_the_current_8chan/.

2019 April 16, Nancy L. Rosenblum, Russell Muirhead, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy‎, Princeton University Press, pages 133 (Who Owns Reality?) and 195 (Notes)

If QAnon's claims were true, they would shake the very foundations of global government and explain the confusion of politics in recent years. As it is, they are not true – but their importance could nonetheless be hugely significant.

2018 August 2, Andrew Griffin, “What is QAnon? The origins of the bizarre conspiracy theory claiming that Trump-Russia investigation is a hoax to catch pedophiles”, in The Independent‎

A group dubbed "QAnon" has emerged at Trump campaign events recently. They follow and try to decipher the online posts of someone named "Q", who traffics in conspiracy theories focused on people in government and media.

2018 August 3, Jeff Brady, “QAnon: The Conspiracy Theorist Group That Appears At Trump Rallies”, in NPR‎

"What a movement such as QAnon has going for it, and why it will catch on like wildfire, is that it makes people feel connected to something important that other people don’t yet know about,” says cult expert Rachel Bernstein, who specializes in recovery therapy. "All cults will provide this feeling of being special.”

2018 November 12, Renee Diresta, “Online Conspiracy Groups are a Lot Like Cults”, in Wired‎