QAnon Anonymous
{{Short description|Investigative journalism podcast about QAnon}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox podcast
| title = QAnon Anonymous
| image = QAnon_Anonymous_podcast_logo.jpg
| hosting = Travis View, Julian Feeld, Jake Rockatansky, Annie Kelly, Liv Agar, Brad Abrahams{{cite news |last1=Joho |first1=Jess |title=The best podcasts on conspiracy theories and disinformation |url=https://mashable.com/article/best-conspiracy-theory-podcasts-qanon-misinformation/ |work=Mashable |date=2021-02-15 |quote=... hosts Julian Feeld, Travis View, and Jake Rockatansky ...}}{{Cite news|title=Official Twitter Page|url=https://twitter.com/QAApod|access-date=2021-06-14}}
| genre = News, investigative journalism
| language = English
| length = 40-100 minutes
| country = United States, United Kingdom, Canada
| num_episodes = 634 (309 Main, 275 Premium, 50 Miniseries)
| began = 11 August 2018
| ended = Ongoing
| website = {{URL|https://www.qanonanonymous.com/}}
}}
QAnon Anonymous (QAA) is an investigative journalism podcast that analyzes and debunks conspiracy theories. It is co-hosted by Travis View (pen name: Logan Strain{{Cite news|last=Timberg|first=Craig|title=One of QAnon's most widely quoted critics reveals his real name. Hint: It's not Travis View.|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/04/01/qanon-travis-view-logan-strain/|date=2021-01-04|access-date=2021-04-01|issn=0190-8286}}), Julian Feeld,{{cite news |title=Podcaster explains QAnon belief behind March 4th |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2021/02/10/qanon-march-fourth-conspiracy-theory-julian-feeld-newday-camerota-vpx.cnn |work=CNN Video |date=2021-02-10}} and Jake Rockatansky, alongside Annie Kelly (British correspondent), Liv Agar (Canadian correspondent), Brad Abrahams (Inner Earth correspondent), and Allie Mezei (QAA Legal Analyst).
History
The podcast premiered in August 2018, around 10 months after the first couple of posts made by the person claiming to be 'Q' on the 4chan message board.{{Cite web|title=QAnon Anonymous – Episode 1: Introduction to QAnon – 43:48|url=https://radiopublic.com/qanon-anonymous-69aJ79/s1!4f9eb|access-date=2021-02-22|website=radiopublic.com}} NPR called QAA "a podcast that tracks and debunks online conspiracy theories", initially focusing on the QAnon conspiracy theory but has since widened to discuss related conspiracy theories in general and the history of conspiratorial and reactionary thinking in other time periods.{{Cite web|title=Why QAnon Survives After Trump|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/02/04/963861418/why-qanon-survives-after-trump|access-date=2021-02-22|website=NPR.org}}
On April 11, 2024, the podcast officially rebranded from QAnon Anonymous to simply the QAA Podcast, along with a new theme song and cover art.
The members of QAA have attended various QAnon live events, including the first ever QAnon conference, as well as events relating to other subjects of their journalism.{{Citation |title=Episode 188: Undercover at the Secret Space Conference in Grafton, Illinois |url=https://soundcloud.com/qanonanonymous/episode-188-undercover-at-the-secret-space-conference-in-grafton-illinois |access-date=2024-02-02 |language=en}}
QAA describes QAnon as a "big tent conspiracy theory"{{cite news |last1=Roose |first1=Kevin |title=What Is QAnon, the Viral Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-qanon.html |newspaper=The New York Times |url-access=limited |date=2021-03-04}}{{cite news |last1=Beer |first1=Tommy |title=Nearly 30% Of Republicans Believe 'American Patriots May Have To Resort To Violence' To Save U.S., Study Finds |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/05/27/nearly-30-of-republicans-believe-american-patriots-may-have-to-resort-to-violence-to-save-us-study-finds/ |work=Forbes |date=2021-05-27}} and a "meta conspiracy theory that provides an underlying narrative for other baseless theories".{{Cite news |last=Miller|first=Ryan W.|title=What is QAnon? What to know about the baseless, far-right conspiracy theory connected to Marjorie Taylor Greene|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/04/what-qanon-marjorie-taylor-greene-and-false-conspiracy-theory/4385690001/|access-date=2021-02-22|newspaper=USA Today}}
= Hosts and correspondents =
Travis View has written extensively for the Washington Post on the subject of QAnon.{{Cite news|title=Travis View|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/travis-view/|access-date=2021-02-22|newspaper=Washington Post}} The podcast's hosts and correspondents, and View in particular, have been quoted and interviewed extensively by media covering the QAnon phenomenon, including Salon,{{Cite web|date=2019-08-18|title=QAnon is the conspiracy theory that won't die|url=https://www.salon.com/2019/08/18/qanon-is-the-conspiracy-theory-that-wont-die-heres-what-they-believe-and-why-theyre-wrong/|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Salon}} Vice,{{Cite web|title=The QAnon Conspiracy Has Spread to Canada|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-qanon-conspiracy-has-spread-to-canada/|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Vice News|date=20 December 2018 }} BBC,{{Cite web|title=Why is QAnon going global?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcnc|access-date=2021-02-22|website=www.bbc.co.uk}} Yahoo,{{Cite web|title='The possibility of real-world harm is high': Experts warn of violence from QAnon around the election|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/the-possibility-of-realworld-harm-is-high-experts-warn-of-violence-from-q-anon-around-the-election-165756171.html|access-date=2021-02-22|website=sports.yahoo.com|date=28 October 2020 }} the Atlantic Council,{{Cite web|date=2019-10-23|title=Combating everyday falsehoods|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/combating-everyday-falsehoods/|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Atlantic Council}} USA Today,{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Ryan W.|title=What is QAnon? What to know about the baseless, far-right conspiracy theory connected to Marjorie Taylor Greene|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/04/what-qanon-marjorie-taylor-greene-and-false-conspiracy-theory/4385690001/|access-date=2021-02-22|website=USA Today}} and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).{{Cite web|title=QAnon Conspiracy Increasingly Popular with Antigovernment Extremists|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/04/23/qanon-conspiracy-increasingly-popular-antigovernment-extremists|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|date=23 April 2019 }}
Julian Feeld has told Wired that QAnon is "a colorful expression of a broader and more worrying global trend towards 'information warfare' in the service of those seeking to consolidate capital and power".{{Cite magazine |title=Qanon Deploys 'Information Warfare' to Influence the 2020 Election |url=https://www.wired.com/story/qanon-deploys-information-warfare-influence-2020-election/ |access-date=2021-02-22 |magazine=Wired |issn=1059-1028}}
Annie Kelly acts as the podcast's United Kingdom correspondent and joined the podcast as the conspiracy theory spread from the United States to other countries, such as when it was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news |date=2020-10-12 |title=What's behind the rise of QAnon in the UK |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-54065470 |access-date=2021-02-22 |work=BBC News}}
Liv Agar has covered conspiracy theories focused on Canada, as well as topics relating to modern-day adolescent internet culture. Brad Abrahams was a documentary filmmaker working on projects relating to new age conspiracies when he joined the podcast as an occasional host.
= Miniseries =
A number of limited miniseries have been produced by various members of QAA. Trickle Down, hosted by View, discusses the historical dispensation of bad ideas and their results.{{Cite web |title=QAnon Anonymous: UNLOCKED! Trickle Down Episode 1: Bad Seed (Part 1) on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/unlocked-trickle-down-episode-1-bad-seed-part-1/id1428209307?i=1000557750130 |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-GB}} ManClan, by Feeld and Kelly, is a deep dive into the emerging online manosphere and its various figures.{{Cite web |title=QAnon Anonymous: Manclan Episode 1: Liver King vs the Soy Boys on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/manclan-episode-1-liver-king-vs-the-soy-boys/id1428209307?i=1000581420374 |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-GB}} The Spectral Voyager, courtesy of Rockatansky and Abrahams, talks about aliens and related subcultures.{{Citation |last1=Abrahams |first1=Brad |title=The Spectral Voyager Episode 1: The Curious Case of William Mumler |date=2023-07-31 |type=Documentary |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28594893/ |access-date=2024-02-02 |last2=Rockatansky |first2=Jake}} Perverts, hosted by Feeld and Agar, and is an exploration of "horny" online communities.{{Citation |title=PERVERTS Episode 7: Attending the X3 Porn Expo feat Zoë Ligon (Sample) |url=https://soundcloud.com/qanonanonymous/perverts-episode-7-attending-the-x3-porn-expo-feat-zoe-ligon-sample |access-date=2024-02-02 |language=en}}
Reception
The Washington Post named QAnon Anonymous as their Podcast of the Year for 2020.{{Cite news |last=Weigel |first=David |title=Analysis {{!}} The Trailer: Best and worst of 2020 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/22/trailer-best-worst-2020/ |access-date=2021-04-01 |newspaper=Washington Post |issn=0190-8286}}
QAnon Anonymous has collaborated with a number of other podcasts, including Knowledge Fight, Boontavista and the Conspirituality Podcast.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|https://www.qanonanonymous.com}}