[6][7] QAnon is an ongoing, American far-right, political conspiracy theory and mass political movement centering around false claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q" that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic sexual abusers of children operate a global child sex trafficking ring that conspired against U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in office.
[8] Bracewell noted a similarity to the Tea Party movement, which attracted both local and national female leaders – most notably vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
[8] According to BuzzFeed News, lifestyle influencers began to spread pastel QAnon-related messages on Instagram as early as April 2020,[12] largely using content relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, but were also one of the primary sources of misinformation.
The movement also uses private groups, and the technique of posting and then auto-deleting stories on Instagram to promote their claims, giving conspiracy spreaders semi-plausible deniability.
[22] The messages tend to use and expand upon the targeted groups' existing distrust and misunderstanding, positive reinforcement,[14] and fears for children's safety and security that became heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
[14][27] These aesthetics include glitter; diluted colors; cursive fonts; illustrations and photographs of natural scenery, fashion, make-up and aspirational lifestyles; along with language in the form of spiritual and motivational quotations, in styles with which the targeted groups are familiar to make them attractive.