Meaning of qanon | Babel Free

Definitions

1. An anonymous poster on the Internet message boards 4chan, 8chan and 8kun, claiming to possess Q clearance, who originated a pro-Trump conspiracy theory claiming that Donald Trump is working against a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles comprised of his political opponents.
   US
2. Alternative spelling of qanun.
   alt-of, alternative
3. The conspiracy theory originated by this anonymous poster.
   US
4. The movement supporting this conspiracy theory.
   US

Equivalents

Examples

“The ud (oud, lute), rahab (bowed, single stringed), qanon (zither), violin, nay (end blown flute), darabukka (goblet drum), and daff (frame drum) all became prevalent after 1900.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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”.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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/.”

“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.”

“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.”

“"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.””

CEFR level