What is QAnon?

Q (anonymous) · 2017-2021

QAnon is an American political conspiracy theory movement. On October 28, 2017, an anonymous user calling themselves 'Q' posted on 4chan's /pol/ board, claiming to be a U.S. government insider with Q-level security clearance who had knowledge of a secret plan involving global elites.

Between 2017 and 2022, Q published approximately 4,950 posts (known as 'Q drops'), initially on 4chan and later on 8chan (renamed 8kun). These posts were characterized by cryptic hints, rhetorical questions, and slogans, claiming that former President Trump was secretly fighting a 'deep state' criminal network of political, business, and media elites.

The QAnon movement peaked during the 2020 U.S. presidential election and was closely linked to the January 6, 2021 Capitol breach. The movement made numerous specific predictions, including mass arrests, military tribunals, and 'The Storm' — the vast majority of which never materialized. This site compiles the verifiable core predictions in an academically neutral manner and fact-checks each one.

Core Message

"The Storm is coming." — Q (October 2017)

Key Timeline

October 2017 — Q's first post on 4chan, claiming Hillary Clinton's arrest was imminent
2018 — Q migrates to 8chan; follower community grows rapidly
2019 — FBI classifies QAnon as a domestic terrorism threat
2020 — Movement peaks during the election; multiple QAnon supporters run for Congress
January 6, 2021 — U.S. Capitol breach; multiple participants linked to QAnon
November 2022 — Q posts final drops after over a year of silence

Data Sources

Q drops archived on public databases (QAlerts Archive)
Background from Wikipedia (Wikipedia: QAnon) and academic research
Fact-checks based on mainstream news reports, court documents, and public government records
FBI 2019 memo classifying QAnon as domestic terrorism threat (FBI)
Editorial opinions do not represent academic consensus; this site aims to fact-check, not endorse any conspiracy theory
Site icon: letter Q — the self-chosen alias of the anonymous poster and the movement's most recognizable visual symbol

QAnon Predictions All Prophecies17 Q&A entries in total

#1 Politics 2017

Q's first post: Hillary's imminent arrest

Q (anonymous): "Hillary Clinton will be arrested between 7:45 AM – 8:30 AM EST on Monday – the morning of Oct 30, 2017. Massive civil unrest will follow, and the National Guard has been deployed in major cities."

#2 Politics 2017

John Podesta to be indicted

Q (anonymous): "John Podesta will be indicted on November 3, and it will trigger a massive actionable event."

#3 Politics 2017

Huma Abedin to be indicted

Q (anonymous): "Huma Abedin will be indicted on November 6."

#4 Politics 2018

"The Storm": mass arrests

Q (anonymous): "A massive wave of arrests ('The Storm') is coming. Thousands of deep state members, politicians, and celebrities will be detained and tried in military tribunals. Tens of thousands of sealed indictments are ready."

#5 Politics 2018

John McCain's military tribunal

Q (anonymous): "John McCain did not die of brain cancer but was secretly executed after a military tribunal for treason. Q predicted the timing of his death one month before."

#6 Politics 2020

Trump's secret plan

Q (anonymous): "President Trump is secretly executing a plan, working with the military to dismantle the deep state from within. Everything is under control. Trust the Plan."

#7 Politics 2019

Guantanamo military tribunals

Q (anonymous): "Guantanamo Bay detention facility is being expanded to house deep state figures who will be arrested. Military tribunals will be held there."

#8 Politics 2021

Declaration of martial law

Q (anonymous): "Trump will declare martial law, take over government operations, and the military will carry out mass arrests. The Emergency Broadcast System will be activated."

#9 Politics 2020

Deep state takedown

Q (anonymous): "The deep state criminal network will be completely dismantled. Corrupt officials within the CIA, FBI, and DOJ will be purged."

#10 Politics 2019

Mueller is secretly helping Trump

Q (anonymous): "Special Counsel Mueller's 'Russia investigation' is actually cooperating with Trump to secretly investigate the deep state and Democratic crimes. Mueller is a patriot."

#11 Politics 2020

"The Great Awakening": global consciousness shift

Q (anonymous): "As the truth is revealed, the world will experience a Great Awakening. People will see through the lies of the deep state and mainstream media."

#12 Politics 2019

Sealed indictments prove mass arrests coming

Q (anonymous): "There are tens of thousands of sealed indictments in the federal court system, far exceeding historical norms. These indictments are being prepared for the coming mass arrests."

#13 Politics 2018

2018 midterms: "Red Wave"

Q (anonymous): "The 2018 midterm elections will produce a Republican 'Red Wave'. The election results will prove Trump's plan is working."

#14 Politics 2020

2020 election: Trump landslide victory

Q (anonymous): "In the 2020 election, Trump will win by a landslide. The deep state plot will be foiled. Trust the Plan."

#15 Politics 2021

After January 6: Trump will return to power

Q (anonymous): "Even after Biden's inauguration, Trump remains in control behind the scenes. The military supports Trump, and he will return to power at the appropriate time. March 4 (the original constitutional inauguration date) is the key date."

#16 Society 2020

Mainstream media will collapse

Q (anonymous): "When the truth is revealed, mainstream media will lose all credibility for deceiving the public. People will turn to alternative media for real information."

#17 Society 2019

Elite pedophile network to be exposed

Q (anonymous): "A massive pedophile criminal network run by global elites will be exposed. This is the deep state's core secret."

Prophecy VerificationEvaluating predictions against reality for expired time points

#1 Failed undefined: 2017

Q's first post: Hillary's imminent arrest

Q (anonymous): "Hillary Clinton will be arrested between 7:45 AM – 8:30 AM EST on Monday – the morning of Oct 30, 2017. Massive civil unrest will follow, and the National Guard has been deployed in major cities."

Hillary Clinton was not arrested on October 30, 2017, nor has she been arrested or indicted at any point since. No mass civil unrest occurred, and no National Guard deployment was made. This was Q's very first post (Q drop #1) and the earliest core prediction to be falsified.

#2 Failed undefined: 2017

John Podesta to be indicted

Q (anonymous): "John Podesta will be indicted on November 3, and it will trigger a massive actionable event."

John Podesta (Hillary's campaign chairman) was never indicted or arrested. No 'massive actionable event' occurred on November 3, 2017. This prediction came from Q drop #14.

#3 Failed undefined: 2017

Huma Abedin to be indicted

Q (anonymous): "Huma Abedin will be indicted on November 6."

Huma Abedin (Hillary's longtime aide) was never indicted or arrested. This prediction came from Q drop #15, posted the same day as the Podesta prediction.

#4 Failed undefined: 2018

"The Storm": mass arrests

Q (anonymous): "A massive wave of arrests ('The Storm') is coming. Thousands of deep state members, politicians, and celebrities will be detained and tried in military tribunals. Tens of thousands of sealed indictments are ready."

'The Storm' was QAnon's central prediction, repeatedly deferred from 2017 through 2021. No mass arrests ever occurred. The 'sealed indictments' were routine legal filings in the U.S. court system, which exist in large numbers every year and have no connection to the conspiracy theory. As of 2026, 'The Storm' never arrived.

#5 Failed undefined: 2018

John McCain's military tribunal

Q (anonymous): "John McCain did not die of brain cancer but was secretly executed after a military tribunal for treason. Q predicted the timing of his death one month before."

John McCain died on August 25, 2018, of glioblastoma (brain cancer) at age 81. His diagnosis had been public since July 2017, and his declining health was consistent with the known progression of the disease. There is no evidence of a military tribunal or secret execution. Q followers claimed Q 'predicted' the death timing, but McCain was already in hospice care, making his passing foreseeable.

#13 Failed undefined: 2018

2018 midterms: "Red Wave"

Q (anonymous): "The 2018 midterm elections will produce a Republican 'Red Wave'. The election results will prove Trump's plan is working."

The 2018 midterm results were the opposite of Q's prediction: Democrats gained a net 40 seats in the House, reclaiming the majority. Republicans only gained 2 Senate seats. This was widely regarded as a 'Blue Wave' backlash against the Trump administration.

#7 Failed undefined: 2019

Guantanamo military tribunals

Q (anonymous): "Guantanamo Bay detention facility is being expanded to house deep state figures who will be arrested. Military tribunals will be held there."

No military tribunals for U.S. politicians were held at Guantanamo Bay. The detention facility did undergo some renovations in 2018, but these were routine maintenance unrelated to QAnon claims. As of 2026, Guantanamo still holds a small number of War on Terror detainees, and no American political figures have been sent there.

#10 Failed undefined: 2019

Mueller is secretly helping Trump

Q (anonymous): "Special Counsel Mueller's 'Russia investigation' is actually cooperating with Trump to secretly investigate the deep state and Democratic crimes. Mueller is a patriot."

The Mueller investigation concluded in March 2019. The final report did not charge any Democrats or 'deep state' members. It confirmed Russian interference in the 2016 election and indicted several Trump campaign members (including Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn). Mueller was never shown to have been cooperating with Trump.

#12 Partial undefined: 2019

Sealed indictments prove mass arrests coming

Q (anonymous): "There are tens of thousands of sealed indictments in the federal court system, far exceeding historical norms. These indictments are being prepared for the coming mass arrests."

Large numbers of sealed legal documents do exist in the federal court system; QAnon followers claimed over 200,000. However, legal experts noted severe methodological flaws: the count included all sealed court filings (search warrants, subpoenas, settlement agreements, etc.), not just indictments. The growth in sealed filings reflected an overall increase in federal cases, not an anomaly. No mass arrests occurred.

#17 Partial undefined: 2019

Elite pedophile network to be exposed

Q (anonymous): "A massive pedophile criminal network run by global elites will be exposed. This is the deep state's core secret."

The systematic criminal network directly tied to political power structures as described by Q was not confirmed. However, the 2019 Jeffrey Epstein case did reveal a sex trafficking network involving multiple prominent figures. Epstein died in prison in August 2019 (ruled suicide); his associate Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021. While different from Q's 'deep state conspiracy,' it did involve elite sex crimes.

#6 Failed undefined: 2020

Trump's secret plan

Q (anonymous): "President Trump is secretly executing a plan, working with the military to dismantle the deep state from within. Everything is under control. Trust the Plan."

During Trump's 2017-2021 presidency, no systematic action against the alleged 'deep state' was initiated. There were no mass arrests, no military tribunals, and no signs of the 'deep state' being dismantled. Trump left office normally on January 20, 2021, with power peacefully transferred to Biden.

#9 Failed undefined: 2020

Deep state takedown

Q (anonymous): "The deep state criminal network will be completely dismantled. Corrupt officials within the CIA, FBI, and DOJ will be purged."

During Trump's first term (2017-2021), the CIA, FBI, and DOJ continued to function normally. While some senior officials were fired or resigned (e.g., FBI Director Comey, Deputy Director McCabe), these were routine political personnel changes, not the systematic 'purge' described by Q. No criminal network was exposed or dismantled.

#11 Partial undefined: 2020

"The Great Awakening": global consciousness shift

Q (anonymous): "As the truth is revealed, the world will experience a Great Awakening. People will see through the lies of the deep state and mainstream media."

The 'Great Awakening' as defined by QAnon (deep state exposed, mass arrests followed by public revelation) did not occur. However, the QAnon movement itself experienced massive expansion during 2019-2021, attracting millions of followers worldwide and having a tangible impact on American politics. Several QAnon supporters were elected to Congress. In this sense, an 'awakening' did occur, just in a completely different direction than Q described.

#14 Failed undefined: 2020

2020 election: Trump landslide victory

Q (anonymous): "In the 2020 election, Trump will win by a landslide. The deep state plot will be foiled. Trust the Plan."

In the 2020 election, Biden defeated Trump with 306 to 232 electoral votes and over 7 million more popular votes. Election lawsuits filed by the Trump team were dismissed by courts in multiple states (over 60 cases lost), including the Supreme Court. Federal election security officials called it 'the most secure election in American history'.

#16 Partial undefined: 2020

Mainstream media will collapse

Q (anonymous): "When the truth is revealed, mainstream media will lose all credibility for deceiving the public. People will turn to alternative media for real information."

The 'truth revealed' event Q described never occurred, and mainstream media did not collapse because of it. However, trust in mainstream media has indeed declined: Gallup's 2024 survey showed only 31% of Americans trust mass media, a historic low. Alternative media and social platforms (Substack, Rumble, Truth Social) gained significant influence. While the causes are complex (political polarization, social media rise), the directional trend partially aligns.

#8 Failed undefined: 2021

Declaration of martial law

Q (anonymous): "Trump will declare martial law, take over government operations, and the military will carry out mass arrests. The Emergency Broadcast System will be activated."

Trump never declared martial law. After the 2020 election, despite his challenges to the results, federal courts dismissed over 60 related lawsuits. The Emergency Broadcast System was not activated. On January 20, 2021, power was transferred normally to President Biden.

#15 Failed undefined: 2021

After January 6: Trump will return to power

Q (anonymous): "Even after Biden's inauguration, Trump remains in control behind the scenes. The military supports Trump, and he will return to power at the appropriate time. March 4 (the original constitutional inauguration date) is the key date."

Biden was inaugurated on January 20, 2021, and exercised full presidential authority. Nothing happened on March 4. The QAnon community repeatedly moved the goalposts for Trump's 'return,' but none materialized. Trump left the White House as a private citizen until running again in 2024.