Kash Patel is the hero QAnon has been waiting for

Contrary to popular belief that QAnon followers are typically older and have more time on their hands to spend on conspiracy websites, PRRI data shows that 22% of those under 50 believe in QAnon conspiracy theories, compared to just 14% of older adults. Over 65.

“I don’t think belief in conspiracy theories like QAnon is going to dissipate anytime soon,” Melissa Dickman, CEO of PRRI, told WIRED. “Trump supporters in particular are already willing to support conspiracies that are not based in any fact at higher levels than the general public. Coupled with historical levels of distrust of government and a variety of other institutions among many Americans, the conditions that allow these theories to fester Even the growth unfortunately is not going away any time soon.

Trump’s return to the White House has been widely celebrated by the QAnon community, with its members believing that all the wild predictions made by Q in thousands of their posts will now come true.

“The general agreement is that Trump will crush the deep state and that all the bad guys will go to prison as quickly as possible, that we will go back to the gold standard and the Fed will be destroyed,” Mike Raines, a researcher who closely follows the QAnon community, tells WIRED. “Ukrainian biolabs will be exposed as the source of Covid and (Anthony) Fauci and his accomplices will be sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.”

This can be seen in Telegram channels and fringe platforms like Gab and Truth Social, where QAnon influencers have hunkered down in the wake of the mass purge of QAnon accounts on major platforms in 2021 following the attack on the Capitol.

But it can also be increasingly seen on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and most notably X, which has since become Acquisition by billionaire Elon MuskIt provided fertile ground for the conspiracy to flourish, as well as providing income for powerful people who could monetize their nonsense.

Meta, TikTok and X did not respond to comments about QAnon content on their platforms.

“Certainly, under Musk, unproven QAnon conspiracy theories have flourished throughout X, giving them a massive audience and a veneer of legitimacy,” Cook says.

Among those who launched what was then called Twitter after the January 6 attack on the Capitol was Trump. He was pushed to post on his small platform, Truth Social, and quickly embraced QAnon wholeheartedly, promoting QAnon-related accounts nearly 1,000 times, according to October analysis by Media Matters.