- The Fox News host Jesse Watters did a segment Saturday explaining the conspiracy theory QAnon, and his neutral to positive spin on the topic was well-received by its supporters online.
- "Q," the figure at the center of the pervasive yet easily discredited theory, even posted that the "Watters' World" segment "generates awareness."
- The QAnon theory encapsulates numerous conspiracies but centers on the idea that President Donald Trump is secretly working to take down a satanic child-sex-trafficking operation run in part by Hillary Clinton, who Q says will be taken to Guantánamo Bay in an operation termed the "Great Awakening."
- Watters didn't discredit the theory and said one of his good friends was a believer. Some QAnon supporters even suggested that there was pushback from Watters against the political-science professor he interviewed, who emphasized that QAnon was a fantastical conspiracy theory.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
A Fox News segment explaining the QAnon conspiracy was received positively online by its supporters, who believe President Donald Trump is secretly conducting an operation to expose Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats as running a satanic child-sex-trafficking operation.
Jesse Watters, the host of "Watters' World," interviewed a political-science professor about QAnon and offered a few neutral to positive takes — conflating the more outrageous, easily debunked parts of the theory with real events (investigations into Trump's conduct) and saying that one of his good friends was a QAnon supporter.
Before the segment aired, "Q," the central figure of the conspiracy, posted that it would be biased but that more discussion "generates awareness" for the theory. Q posts on 4chan, an image-based forum that houses several fringe right-wing communities, and claims to have "Q clearance" in the Trump administration, giving him access to top-secret information.
As Watters' guest explained QAnon, the Fox News host stayed away from criticism of the conspiracy theory
Watters' guest, Joseph Uscinski, an associate professor at the University of Miami, described QAnon as a theory that originated about two years ago alleging that "a battle" was happening between Trump and a "deep state" made up of satanic pedophiles said to include Clinton and her 2016 campaign chairman, John Podesta.
Uscinski zeroed in on the more outlandish aspects of the theory, which is pervasive and has been indirectly supported by Trump's campaign. The theory is thematically religious, with Q suggesting that Clinton and former President Barack Obama will eventually be jailed in Guantánamo Bay in an event termed the "Great Awakening."
"OK, and isn't it also about the Trump fight with the deep state in terms of the illegal surveillance of the campaign, the inside hit jobs that he's sustained in terms of Comey and Mueller and Strzok and Page and all of that as well?" Watters asked, conflating QAnon with pro-Trump characterizations of actual events.
Uscinski replied that QAnon encompassed several conspiracy theories woven together with pro-Trump sentiment. Watters then told the professor that he was doing the segment because one of his good friends was "a Q guy" and said QAnon was connected to the conspiracies about Jeffrey Epstein — many of which are also pervasive, appealing to both liberals and conservatives, and are grounded in a fundamental mistrust of US authority.
Uscinski said polls showed about 10% of Americans thought QAnon was "a good thing," a figure Watters described as "significant." The professor said that there's nothing inherently Republican about the theory and that both liberals and conservatives believed it. Watters then asked whether Q was Trump, and Uscinski said that he didn't think so and that he'd also been accused of being Q.
Supporters of QAnon reacted positively to the segment
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the affirming nature of the discussion, QAnon supporters seemed pretty happy with how their community was portrayed on national television. Some tweets from QAnon supporters suggest the supporters viewed Watters as pushing back against an unfair characterization supplied by Uscinski.
"#QAnon TAKEAWAYS. 1 - kudos to @JesseBWatters for being the first to #AsktheQ," one tweet said. "Now, ask the right person, Mr. Watters. 2 - Professor knew very, very little about Q. And while his tone was surprisingly non-confrontational, he made a lot of mistakes designed to make us look bad."
Another said: "Finally! A positive introduction of Q on Watters World, expect many new eyes."
Watters has brought up QAnon before, by way of his mother. He frequently reads texts from his mother, who is liberal, on the air. In one, he said, she wrote: "Pay attention to your sources. QAnon??????"
- Read more:
- Chrissy Teigen says she and John Legend face daily accusations that they were part of Jeffrey Epstein's 'pedo ring'
- Former Playboy model Karen McDougal is suing Fox News, saying Tucker Carlson defamed her by falsely accusing her of extorting Trump
- Ex-Trump officials Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos to speak at conference organized by a QAnon backer who wants to train 'digital soldiers'
- Former Fox News staffers speak out after Sean Hannity invited Bill O'Reilly back to Fox News following his 2017 departure amid sexual-harassment allegations
