QAnon moves into the shadows but movement remains active

Social media platforms have removed thousands of accounts associated with QAnon, so users are changing their tactics.

On the face of it, the QAnon conspiracy appears to have largely disappeared from big social media sites. But that is not quite the case. Popular QAnon catchphrases like “great awakening,” “the storm” or “trust the plan” are less prevalent on Facebook these days. Facebook and Twitter have removed tens of thousands of accounts dedicated to the baseless conspiracy theory, which depicts former President Donald Trump as a hero fighting a secret battle against a sect of devil-worshipping paedophiles who dominate Hollywood, big business, the media and government. Gone are the huge “Stop the Steal” groups that spread falsehoods about the 2020 US presidential elections. Trump is gone as well, banned from Twitter permanently and suspended from posting on Facebook until 2023.