What is QAnon and how did the group linked to the insurrection on Capitol begin? | CNN

CNN correspondent recounts the assault from within 1:45

(CNN) -

The uprising on Capitol Hill on Wednesday was fueled by conspiratorial groups, extremists and fringe movements linked to QAnon and the Proud Boys, two far-right factions that President Donald Trump repeatedly refused to condemn during his election campaign last year. past.

MIRA: The insurrection in the Capitol was fueled by conspiratorial groups, extremists and marginal movements

Since its inception, QAnon has lived in the darkest corners of the internet.

Now the group's followers, who call themselves "believers," have found a niche on social media and within the Republican Party.

QAnon started out as a unique conspiracy theory.

But his followers now act more like a virtual cult, greatly worshiping and believing any disinformation the conspiracy community distributes.

Their main conspiracy theories claim that dozens of A-list politicians and celebrities work in conjunction with governments around the world to engage in child sexual abuse.

Supporters also believe there is a "deep state" effort to wipe out President Donald Trump.

LOOK: «Chaos.

Anarchy.

Assault on democracy ».

This is how newspapers around the world reacted to the riots in the US Capitol.

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But the group's admirers have expanded from those beliefs and now cite unsubstantiated theories surrounding mass shootings and elections.

These people have falsely claimed that 5G cellular networks spread the coronavirus.

There is no evidence that anything QAnon claims is real.

These followers make unsubstantiated claims and then amplify them with manipulated or out of context evidence posted on social media to back up the allegations.

The birth of the anarchic group and its continued infiltration into American life, is the result of the Russian disinformation campaign that targeted the 2016 American elections.

While the Russian campaign had an apparent goal - to influence voters to elect Trump - QAnon is decentralized and has no clear goal other than its popular catchphrase, "Question Everything."

Anyone can create a conspiracy, offer evidence to support it, and tag it with QAnon hashtags to spread the word.

But no one is responsible for the trail of chaos and misinformation it leaves behind.

They deny theories that relate 5G to covid-19 1:02

How QAnon started

QAnon's origins are emblematic of what has evolved - a baseless and out of context claim made to support an allegation, which is easily discredited.

It all dates back to a cryptic and anonymous post on October 28, 2017 on 4chan, an online message board that frequently features extremist and intolerant content.

The individual, later called "Q" by supporters, claimed that Hillary Clinton was going to be arrested.

There was no arrest.

However, similar posts pushing unsubstantiated claims of arrests and "deep state" actions continued to appear on 4chan.

It's unclear who was behind the posts, or if the ones that followed were posted by the same person - 4chan's posts are anonymous.

Believers claim that his "Q" is so efficient because of his request for security clearance within the United States government.

QAnon supporters have compared the initial posts, and later ones, to breadcrumbs like Hansel and Gretel's or "drops," as they now call them.

LOOK: Congress certifies Biden's victory after insurrection: minute by minute

Since then, the group has injected itself into the mainstream by creating communities on Reddit and finding footholds on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

In a series of videos posted online in 2018, QAnon targeted Cemex, a Mexican cement company, because it allegedly owned an abandoned camp in Arizona, which conspiracy theorists mistakenly believe is the location of a trafficking site. people.

In early 2020, Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks were the targets of QAnon conspiracies.

At the time, CNN reached out to Cemex and spokespersons for Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey, but there was never a response.

Believers claimed on various social media sites that an Oprah home in Boca Raton, Florida, was raided by police in a bust against child sex trafficking and cordoned off.

Another person on Twitter made a post, which was shared thousands of times, in which he falsely claimed that Tom Hanks, who tested positive for coronavirus in Australia, was arrested for pedophilia.

The post said that other A-list celebrities would soon be arrested.

QAnon's conspiracy theories have been further elevated through high-profile figures and organizations.

In March 2018, before being fired from her comedy, actress Roseanne Barr tweeted about the pedophilia conspiracy theory, alluding to an unsubstantiated claim that President Trump "has broken trafficking networks in high places everywhere. parts ».

Barr later deleted the tweet.

The Republican Party and QAnon

QAnon nearly reached the GOP main stage at President Trump's July 31, 2018 rally in Tampa, Florida, where posters reading "We Are Q" and "Q" appeared near the front of the crowd during the President's speech. .

Four months later, Vice President Pence posted - and later deleted - a photo on Twitter with a law enforcement officer wearing a QAnon patch on his uniform.

And in July 2019, the White House invited a QAnon supporter to an event billed by the White House as a "social media summit" with conservative influencers.

Today, the Republican Party has three candidates who sympathized or supported the group and could be seen in Congress in January: Jo Rae Perkins, a candidate for a US Senate seat from Oregon;

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Congressional candidate for the office from Georgia's 14th District;

and Lauren Boebert, who defeated a Trump-backed five-term incumbent during the primary election to become a candidate for Colorado's third district.

"Everything I've heard from Q: I hope this is real because it just means America gets stronger and better, and people are getting back to conservative values, and that's what I'm for," said Boebert, favorite for the House seat. , in a May interview.

His campaign manager, Sherronna Bishop, told CNN in a statement that despite those comments, Bishop "does not follow QAnon."

CNN reached out to the Republican National Committee and President Trump's campaign for comment on QAnon and comments from Republican candidates on the group, but has received no response.

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