What do people think of QAnon posts? Everything to know

QAnon is an anonymous online group that touts the conspiracy that Hollywood elites & liberal politicians are behind a massive child sex ring and are using their power to shield it from the public eye. The conspiracy has no factual evidence to prove it and has been widely debunked.

In a new study conducted by the Pew Research Center, awareness of the QAnon conspiracy theory is up in the U.S. These numbers are shocking. Still, a breakdown of them shows beliefs about the theory vary drastically from both political parties. 

The poll was conducted between Aug. 31 & Sept. 7 and found that public awareness of QAnon was up 23% from March. It found that 47% of respondents said they had heard or read about QAnon. In March only about a quarter of respondents said they have heard or read about QAnon. 38 % of respondents said they had only been exposed to it “a little bit”. 

Support of these theories, though, is where it gets a little interesting. It’s hard to get an exact number but it’s estimated in the hundreds of thousands. Though breaking it down by political party shows the division in the U.S.

Three-quarters of respondents who said they had read or heard of the theories agreed it was “bad” for the U.S. Democrats reported the strongest awareness at 55% compared to Republicans at 39%. Democrats also overwhelmingly said the theories were “very bad” for the U.S. On the flip side, 41% of Republicans who reported awareness of the theories said that the theory was a good thing for the U.S. 

Since Donald Trump has become President, the QAnon theory has morphed to involve Donald Trump. According to the theory, Donald Trump is working with the military to expose & execute anyone involved. This information could suggest QAnon supporters are Trump supporters since the theory paints Trump as “the good guy”. 

QAnon gained its massive following on social media. Facebook is inundated with groups creating rallies to support causes like #SaveTheChildren, taking over the hashtag from a group that is actually trying to stop child sex trafficking. 

Since the coronavirus pandemic has forced many people to stay in & entertain themselves with social media, support & awareness of QAnon have only grown. With distrust in many American institutions like the government at all levels, it’s not hard for theories like QAnon to take root in someone’s brain.