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How the conspiracy theory QAnon could spread worldwide

The crude claims of the supporters are ridiculed by many, yet the number of supporters has exploded since March

…."It’s Saturday, July 11th and about 50 people have gathered for a QAnon festival this weekend in a hotel in the small community of Kemiönsaari, two hours west of Helsinki."….

…."This is the first Q-weekend festival in the world,” says Bono. He smiles a lot, too. His T-shirt says “QAnons Army Finland.”….

…."Most of the new groups and pages seem to be international,” says Argentino. “There are not many new groups from the USA. The existing groups have only grown further.” There are new groups mainly in Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, and Israel.

“In Germany, demonstrators have recently called on Trump to free them from the German Deep State. This is just bizarre,” says Argentino."….

…."The QAnon construct is too confusing to be presented here in its entirety. Roughly summarized the theory is as follows: Donald Trump is fighting the Deep State, but cannot reveal his actual plan, because he would endanger the whole mission. Therefore, an anonymous person or group of people named “Q” informs the public about what is happening in the fight against the Deep State. The name “Q” stands for the security rating the person is supposed to have in the US security apparatus. Q posts the information in cryptic messages on an online imageboard that is best known for its connections to neo-Nazis and child pornography. Trump followers find these messages, also called Q drops, and decode them."….

…."The different QAnon groups are internationally networked and produce content together. Conspiracy expert Argentino says that international sites translate Q propaganda to make it more accessible to more people. The QAnon film

Out of Shadows[Thanq for the plug. these people are stupid]

for example, got hundreds of thousands of additional views. The German version alone has now been viewed almost 190,000 times. The German QAnon community in Germany translates and spreads the propaganda also in Austria and Denmark. The individual theories are adapted to different countries. In France, for example, the groups strike a more socialist and religion-critical tone than in the USA.

“These communities are beginning to influence their regions, and we are seeing a strong increase,” says Argentino. “This is giving rise to various forms that are still built around the Trump movement.”

(Cont'd)

https://medium.com/@jan.knura/how-the-conspiracy-theory-qanon-could-spread-worldwide-fb616f228d9c

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"According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, QAnon theories are most prevalent in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, followed by Russia, Indonesia, and Germany.

QAnon worldwide

"It is by no means only people on the edge of society who follow the QAnon cult.

In October 2019 the Guardian found out that a friend of the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is a well-known QAnon follower. His wife worked in the Prime Minister’s office. A few months ago, a psychologist was removed from the Australian medical register because he had written over 300 posts in his practice’s official blog, spreading crude theories about child sacrifices and an attempted coup by the Queen of England in the USA.

"In Germany, the English-language news site The Local reports that the German QAnon YouTube site has grown extremely since March. The Telegram Channel has an increase from 20.000 to 110.000 followers.

"In Iran, the opposition group Restart maintains connections to QAnon, also in Japan and South Korea there are followers of the conspiracy theory.

"Even US journalist Mike Rothschild, who has written a book about QAnon, has the impression that the international QAnon community simply picks the central point of the conspiracy theory — the fight against an elite — and adapts it to their particular situation.

“I never expected this to have such international reach,” says Rothschild.

"In any case, Ekman is not at all surprised that 50 people have come to a hotel in the Finnish countryside to celebrate something whose epicenter is 7,000 kilometers away.

Like many in the QAnon movement, he has the feeling of being part of somethingbigger.

“I don’t think Q’s news is just about US politics. There’s a great diversity of issues,” says Ekman.

“There’s a spiritual awakening happening all over the world right now with Q and Trump playing a major role.”

"According to Ekman, this is just the beginning. In the USA, 68 QAnon followers are currently applying for a seat in Congress. In Germany, the English-language news site The Local reports that the German QAnon YouTube site has grown extremely since March. The Telegram Channel has an increase from 20.000 to 110.000 followers.

"In Iran, the opposition group Restart maintains connections to QAnon, so in Japan and South Korea, there are followers of the conspiracy theory.

https://medium.com/@jan.knura/how-the-conspiracy-theory-qanon-could-spread-worldwide-fb616f228d9c