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The Leader of the QAnon Conspiracy Theory Returns

After more than a year of silence, the mysterious figure behind the QAnon conspiracy theory reappears.

This person, known only as Q, was posted on Friday for the first time in over a year on 8kun, the anonymous bulletin board where the account last appeared. “Would you like to play the game again?” Posts read in the typical mysterious style of your account. The account you posted had the unique identifier used in previous Q posts.

The post surprised disinformation researchers and showed the ominous return of the person whose conspiracy theory about the fictional circle of elite sex traffickers summarized support for then-President Donald J. Trump. The message board and telegram channel dedicated to QAnon was brightened by the news as believers speculated on the implications of Q’s return.

The QAnon conspiracy theory emerged from an anonymous bulletin board in late 2017 and immediately appealed to many Trump supporters. Q has published a series of mysterious messages about defeating the elite “cabal” of sex traffickers. Believers believed that Q was playing a role in the Trump administration or the military, and that Mr. Trump was working to arrest and prosecute child abusers and Democrats.

This move seems to have culminated in an attack on the Capitol on January 6. Some of the people who attacked the building wore QAnon T-shirts and put up a sign saying “Q sent me.”Polling at that time showed that 1 in 5 Americans I believed in the conspiracy theory.

When President Biden took office, it was clear that none of Q’s most fantastic and horrifying predictions of Mr. Trump’s arrest and trial of Democrats in a series of military courts and public executions would come true. Q’s account stopped posting shortly after Mr. Trump was defeated in 2020.

The QAnon community gained momentum in the months following Q’s disappearance, but last week a series of groundbreaking Supreme Court rulings regained bristle and terminated constitutional rights to abortion on Friday. The decision reached its climax. For QAnon followers, this decision provided a turning point in the country where Q’s predictions could be realized.

“Leveraging social and cultural instability has long been a hallmark of QAnon,” said Bond Benton, an associate professor at Montclair State University. Studied QAnon. “This burns very gasoline and takes advantage of the fear people have about the future.”

When an anonymous user of 8kun asked why Q was gone for so long, the account replied, “I had to do it this way.”

In my third post, my account wrote: Remember your vow. “

For Ron Watkins, one of QAnon’s key figures, the return is at an important time. RonWatkins is a computer programmer in his thirties and a former administrator of 8kun, who is widely believed to be the person behind Q. An HBO documentary has tied him to his account. Two forensic analyses showed empirical similarities in their writing.

Watkins is placing a long-term bid for a parliamentary seat in District 2, Arizona. State strategists expect him to lose the race after he raises and funded a small amount of money when the primary is held on August 2. Troublesome debate performance It could not evoke Republican support.

Watkins denied any involvement with Q. He didn’t immediately return a request for comment on Saturday.

Daniela Peterca Benton, an associate professor at Montclair State University and also a researcher at QAnon, warned that Q’s return was too logical, and that his goal was simply to “see the world burn.” Suggested.

“I don’t think this person has any plans,” she said. “But I think they really enjoy that they have so much power.”

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