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How the QAnon Conspiracy Theory Went Global

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - Until recently, thefringeconspiracy theory known
   asQAnonwas largely an American phenomenon--a fringe belief that U.S.
   President Donald Trump is secretly battling a "deep state" cabal of
   pedophiles that control the world.
   The far-right theory has gainedadherentsthroughout the United States as
   the 2020 presidential and congressional campaigns heat up. Trump has
   repeatedly retweetedmessagesfrom accounts that promoteQAnonwhile more
   than a dozen Republican candidates running for Congress have embraced
   some of its tenets.
   All this has sparked concerns about conspiracy-theory-driven domestic
   extremiststhatthe[1] FBI has identified as a potential domestic terror
   threat. ButQAnonis no longer exclusively focused on U.S. politics.
   Fueled by worldwide anxiety over the coronavirus pandemic,
   theunsubstantiatedconspiracy theory has gone global, with adherents
   popping up in at least 71 countries, according toQAnonresearcher
   Marc-André Argentino.

   "There has been massive growth," saidMarc-AndreArgentino, a
   Ph.D.candidate at Canada's Concordia University and an associate at the
   Global Network on Extremism & Technology.
   Conspiracy theories thrive in times of crisis, experts say. With
   anxious people around the world trying to make sense of the killer
   pandemicas leaders struggle to dealwith it,QAnonhas found an
   enthusiastic audience with the promise of salvationfrom tyrannyat the
   end ofa struggle dubbed"The Storm."
   Outside the U.S., Germany, though spared the worst of the pandemic, has
   become home to the largest number ofQAnonfollowers overseas, according
   to Argentino. One GermanQAnonchannel on the encrypted messaging app
   Telegram boasts 120,000 members.
   In the past month, the biggest growth inQAnon'sinternational followers
   has come from Brazil, a pandemic hotspot where the virus has killed
   more than 100,000 people.

References

   1. https://news.yahoo.com/fbi-documents-conspiracy-theories-terrorism-160000507.html

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