de:hate report #01 (publication year: 2020)
Unrealistic, antisemitic, dangerous: Since spring 2020, the conspiracy ideology QAnon has been spreading in Germany. User data from Telegram and YouTube show that this growth directly corresponds to the COVID-19 pandemic. But this dynamic hasn’t just fuelled the rise of the QAnon conspiracy. The international popularity of QAnon has also accelerated the globalization of the far-right. These findings, along with further research by the Amadeu Anontio Foundation’s monitoring project de:hate, are explained in the report “QAnon in Germany”.
The series “de:hate reports” aims to provide regular insights into the qualitative and quantitative monitoring work of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. This first de:hate report details significant groups and channels within the world of QAnon, the process of radicalization within this conspiracy ideology, as well as the social conditions which underlie its dissemination. A timeline illustrates how violent incidents related to QAnon have proliferated in the U.S. since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. These analyses and forecasts are followed by specific recommendations for policy makers, the media, security agencies, and the public.
This is a translation of the German version of the report.