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How QAnon Developed from a Fringe Group to a Digital Surrogate for the GOP
Book chapter   Open access

How QAnon Developed from a Fringe Group to a Digital Surrogate for the GOP

Josephine Lukito, Yunkang Yang and Sang Jung Kim
Connective Action and the Rise of the Far-Right, pp.62-89
Oxford University Press
2025
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197794937.003.0003
url
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197794937.003.0003View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

This essay examines the rise of the QAnon conspiracy theory group as it develops from a fringe online community to a constituency within the US Republican Party. As an exploration of nascent and developing digital surrogate, the authors apply a chronological approach to understand QAnon’s development, leveraging an extensive collection of QAnon content gathered from various online social media platforms. This can be broken down into the following stages: the start stage, the growth stage, a political opportunity, and a transformation point. The chapter explores each phase in three ways: narrative shifts, organizational development, and institutional relationships. In doing so, the authors show how the group’s relationship with the Republican Party becomes mutually beneficial over time: Republicans grant QAnon perceived legitimacy, whereas QAnon operates as a key voting blocs.
 far-right digital surrogate QAnon political extremism social media

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