Donald Trump's defeat silences QAnon leader Q's conspiracy posts, followers stumped: 'Have we been conned?'
The right-wing supporters of President Donald Trump had been confidently claiming his win in the just-held presidential election but the sky came down crumbling once the results came out. Democratic candidate Joe Biden emerged as the winner and even though the incumbent president and his close quarters are still waging a battle against the verdict saying the election has been stolen, many of his supporters have read the writing on the wall.
QAnon, a sprawling conspiracy theory that backs Trump saying he is secretly fighting child-sex traffickers, appears to have turned silent in the wake of the former VP’s remarkable win which left Trump a one-term president. According to the Washington Post, posts made by the movement’s mysterious ‘leader’ Q have stopped and talks on discussion boards used by the followers have also ceased.
Q's silence has left the supporters wondering
Q’s long silence has made some in the movement wonder what has struck them. “Have we been conned?” asked one at 8kun, QAnon's preferred message board. Another said: “We're losing. Not sure I trust the plan anymore. Not sure there even is a plan.” For some, it's something that has shaken their confidence. The stepping down of Ron Watkins, who helped in operating 8kun, has also added to the speculation.
Although it was preceded by similar viral conspiracy theories like Pizzagate, the QAnon theory made a proper beginning in October 2017 when a post was made on the anonymous imageboard 4chan by ‘Q’, who presumably was a single individual. Now, it is considered that ‘Q’ has become a group of people operating under the same name. The conspiracy theory became highly popular in the right-wing circles and claims Trump is secretly taking on child-sex predators that include notable Democrats, Hollywood elites and their ‘deep state’ allies.
The followers of the theory were told that the maverick Republican leader was set to clinch a landslide win in this year’s election but that has not happened.
“HOW CAN I SPEAK TO Q???? MY FAITH IS SHAKEN. I FOLLOWED THE PLAN. TRUMP LOST!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT NOW?????? WHERE IS THE PLAN???” asked one.
'Protests are happening but generally small'
While Trump and several of his supporters are resenting the election results, QAnon hasn’t resorted to violence as many had feared. According to one article in Foreign Policy magazine: “Protests outside of state houses and county offices have been, in some cases, unruly but generally small. The only news of an extremist plot appears to have come via a pair of arrests in Philadelphia on weapons charges — researcher JJ MacNab identified one suspected as an avowed QAnon believer. While promises that the coming weeks could “go hot” may yet be fulfilled, things have been relatively quiet.”
While QAnon Anonymous podcast host Travis View said the majority reaction from the QAnon followers has been clear denial, Frederick Brennan, the founder of 8chan was quoted as saying by The New York Times: “They feel really defeated by the deep state, even if they’re not admitting it in public. They were not expecting him to lose, and they were not expecting Fox News to call it. It was really psychologically damaging."
Some of the QAnon supporters have taken solace from Trump’s visit to the golf club after the results came out to consider that he is still in control. But the conspiracy theory’s supporters might find themselves in trouble of living in a make-believe world, particularly with the FBI having classified QAnon as a potential source of domestic terror.