Can we dismiss QAnon?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 17 October 2019
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The far right conspiracy theory featuring child molesters and baby eaters may sound far-fetched, but the FBI names Q Anon in a report warning conspiracy theorists pose a growing threat of violence. So can we dismiss Q Anon?
Q releases anonymous internet posts and claims to have a high level of security clearance in the US, signing messages with only ‘Q’. The cryptic posts apparently reveal that Trump is fighting a battle against the deep state and trying to take on an A list paedophile ring. The followers decode the messages and enjoy feeling part of an online community who have ‘insider knowledge’. There’s no evidence behind any of it. The worrying thing is, it’s not just an online community, some followers have taken real world action, turning up in the desert with guns to hunt for satanic child molesters and a murder suspect has appeared in court with a letter Q written on his palm. Recently, the site Q posts on has been shut down, but our expert witnesses say that doesn’t mean we can dismiss Q Anon.
(Trump supporters with Q Anon posters at a 'Make America Great Again' rally in Tampa, Florida, 31 July 2018. Credit: Thomas O'Neill / Getty images.)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the inquiry on the BBC World Service. |
| 0:03.0 | I'm Neil Riselle. |
| 0:04.3 | Each week, four expert witnesses answer one question from the news. |
| 0:08.9 | But actually they respect us. That's more important. Look at that beautiful baby. |
| 0:15.3 | Look at that beautiful baby. Wow, what a baby! |
| 0:18.2 | President Donald Trump speaking last July. |
| 0:20.7 | What a baby! He points at a little girl being held aloft. That is a beautiful baby. The mother turns the baby around. The front of its little onesy says Trump. The back has a big letter Q. |
| 0:34.0 | Man, what a picture. |
| 0:37.0 | Grown-ups too have been spotted sporting big cues at the president's rallies. The letter means |
| 0:45.0 | something, belief in a conspiracy called Q-Anon. The conspiracy has Mr. Trump at its |
| 0:51.4 | center, vanquishing America's domestic enemies. |
| 0:55.0 | The details are so far-fetched, they're easy to disregard. But Time magazine has called Q one of the most |
| 1:05.5 | influential people on the internet. The FBI has warned that conspiracy theorists pose a growing |
| 1:11.4 | threat of violence. Indeed, a murder suspect has appeared in |
| 1:14.9 | court with a letter Q written on his palm. So this week we're asking, can we dismiss |
| 1:21.2 | QAnon? |
| 1:29.5 | Part 1, meet Q. Hi, I'm Julian Field, and I am the co-host of the QAnon Anonymous podcast. |
| 1:38.0 | He's a skeptic, but he follows QAnon closely. |
| 1:41.3 | QAnon is an anonymous person claiming to have military intelligence information, |
| 1:49.0 | insider information, specifically in cahoots with Trump, a whistleblower in some ways. |
| 1:55.0 | Q first appeared on an anonymous online forum called Fourchan in October 2017. |
| 2:04.0 | The very first message focused on that right-wing |
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