How today’s digital climate made QAnon radicalization possible
“The Storm that never came,” lamented QAnon conspiracy adherents who were left reeling with despair and shock on January 20 as Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. The apocalyptic reckoning known as the “Great Awakening”, where former President Donald J. Trump would orchestrate mass arrests, military tribunals and executions of his political enemies, did not materialize as QAnon had predicted.
Instead, the newly inaugurated President Biden emphasized that “democracy has prevailed,” with an overarching message that Americans must come work together to get through these dark moments. The historic inaugural address for unity followed several weeks of political turmoil, most notably when a mob of Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol on January 6 as Congress was presiding over the election results.
Many of those who scaled the walls and stormed the Capitol had congregated in online chat rooms populated with QAnon adherents. It is unclear who exactly belongs to the fractured QAnon community, or what will happen to them now. The answers will have clear implications for combatting far-right extremist groups and online radicalization in the current pandemic climate.
On October 28, 2017, an anonymous poster calling themselves Q (an allusion to their supposed identity as a high-level government insider with a Q-level clearance) began posting a series of enigmatic messages on a 4chan forum titled “Calm Before the Storm.” The QAnon community are faithful proponents of these posts, which detail a wide-range of conspiracy theories. The most foundational of these assert that the US Democratic elite are actually Satan-worshipping pedophiles who controlled the “deep state government” unopposed until Trump used his presidency to dismantle the cabal.
In 2018, New York Times magazine designated Q as one of the 25 most influential people on the internet, citing more than 130,000 related discussion videos on YouTube that sprang from the original post. QAnon grew from its primary audience of disenfranchised alt-right followers to infiltrate and spread across various platforms, where there are now entire accounts dedicated to the movement.
In May 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) flagged QAnon’s ideology as a potential domestic terror threat, due to the violent actions its members have taken as a result of their beliefs. Moreover, following this highly sensitive designation and the perceived negative ramifications of categorizing these groups as terrorists, policy experts emphasized that the national security community must remain proactively transparent and mindful to remove politicization from their operations and communications. The Director of National Intelligence-designate Avril Hayes, made it clear in her testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, that the investigation into QAnon would extend beyond the FBI and Homeland Security and into the wider intelligence community.
Given its origins on the internet, which has been found by experts to significantly increase opportunities for self-radicalization, QAnon is unique in its potential for truly global influence. An October report prepared by the Department of National Defence for NATO military alliance planners predicted that right-wing extremism similar to QAnon would continue to rise around the world, fueled by increased internet exposure during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Considering this reality, the United States must work cooperatively with other countries and multilateral organizations to build a more effective response to combat the growth and spread of global right-wing extremism. NYU Center for Global Affairs professor and political violence expert Dr. Mary Beth Altier expressed concern over the potential for escalation after the Capitol Hill attack, asserting that the provision of alternative opportunities to channel frustration and avenues for socialization in this period are essential to prevent radicalization. Altier’s ‘Redirect Method’ was developed to provide such an off-ramp for extremists, but the project must be scaled up to have broader effect. Altier says that“[if] someone does want to take a step back from their extreme beliefs, to re-examine their views or eventually disengage, one of the most productive things we can do is make it safe for them to change their minds.”
The global proliferation of QAnon through various online platforms indicates that President Biden’s plea for unity is a message for those within and beyond the borders of the United States. At a time when people all over the world feel isolated and polarized, it is crucial that global institutions collaborate to combat online extremism in a virtual space that has thus far been more preoccupied with widening divisions than bridging them.