In late October 2017, a user posted on 4chan, an anonymous forum, or image board. Under the title “The Calm Before the Storm,”. The poster claimed to have a high-level government security clearance — Q clearance to be exact. He…or she said they had been instructed to post intelligence leaks straight to 4chan “in order to covertly inform the public about President Trump’s master plan to stage a countercoup against members of the deep state”. In the months that followed, more and more people began paying attention to subsequent Q posts and a community formed, complete with its own terminology, inside jokes, and theories. Then, in the summer of 2018, Q supporters began to draw attention to themselves at Trump rallies, holding signs and openly speaking to reporters about the movement. Today, the community and theory lives on among others on the fringes of the internet, but also in plain sight on more “common” sites like Facebook, and now also in mainstream media. Joining me on this episode is Anon, a follower of the movement to talk about its intricacies as well as the internet sub culture of message boards.

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Some definitions and further reading:

Fredrick "Hotwheels" Brennan, founder of 8chan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredrick_Brennan

8chan /pol forum: https://8ch.net/pol/index.html

"Weaponized Autism" Definition: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/weaponized-autism

LARP: Live Action Role Play

POTUS: President of the United States

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Links:

(Sponsor) www.lacabezagallery.com 

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Recorded on August 14th, 2018

Music: Hazardous - Light