BlueAnon is a catchall term for several loosely related left-wing conspiracy theories that posit Donald Trump is engaged in elaborate schemes to seize or maintain control of the United States Government or that he is the object of manipulation by shadowy forces.
The term BlueAnon was first coined sometime after 2017 and gained prominence in 2024. [1] [2] [3] It is derived from QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy theory, and the color blue, which has been associated with the Democratic Party in the 21st century. [4]
BlueAnon beliefs encompass several loosely related conspiracy theories.
Some BlueAnon theorists have alleged that the attempted assassination of Donald Trump was a false flag staged by Trump himself. [5] [6]
Snopes has examined and discredited viral photos alleging to show Trump plotting with gunman Thomas Crooks, as well as claims that Trump was injured by glass instead of shrapnel. [7] [8] PolitiFact has debunked claims that blood which appeared to be coming from Trump's ear following the assassination attempt was faked with a blood pill. [9] Reuters has analyzed viral photos from the 2024 Republican National Convention that purport to show Trump wearing a bandage on the ear opposite the one that was shot in the attack and determined the images were doctored. [10]
Other BlueAnon theorists believe Donald Trump rigged the 2024 U.S. presidential election by conspiring with Elon Musk to use Starlink satellites to change vote tabulation data and then orbitally detonated some of the satellites to erase evidence of the plot; [13] [14] [15]
The claims have been investigated and discredited by the Associated Press. [14] They have also been rejected by CISA director Jen Easterly. [15] [11] Deutsche Welle concluded "there is no evidence that Trump has cheated in this election". [16]
Other beliefs subscribed to by some BlueAnon theorists include that:
Following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in July 2024, Dmitri Mehlhorn distributed an email to colleagues — which the Columbia Journalism Review associated with BlueAnon theorizing — that suggested that Trump "encouraged and maybe even staged [the assassination attempt] so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash." [1] Numerous social media posts to X similarly suggested the assassination attempt had been staged. [1] A July 2024 poll by Morning Consult found that approximately one-third of voters supporting the Joe Biden 2024 presidential campaign believed the assassination attempt was staged. [19]
In October 2024, the Lincoln Project produced a video advertisement promoting the BlueAnon theory that Silicon Valley executives were plotting to replace Trump with JD Vance as president of the United States, should Trump be elected to that office. [6]
The following month, in the 12 hours after Trump's declared victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, posts to X alleging electoral irregularities and questioning the disparity in vote totals between the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections — which Wired associated with BlueAnon theorizing — peaked at 94,000 per hour. [3] It included one post by John Pavlovitz that received more than five million views. [3] Another post, seen more than 17 million times, alleged Trump "cheated this whole time". [13] On Threads, Wayne Madsen posted "I'm beginning to believe our election was massively hacked", while TikTok saw a surge of posts by astrologers alleging election irregularities. [20]
"... possibility -- which feels horrific and alien and absurd in America, but is quite common globally -- is that this ‘shooting’ was encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash. This is a classic Russian tactic..."
Email from Dmitri Mehlhorn of July 13, 2024, [21]
According to Canadian political scientist Kawser Ahmed, Meta's social media network Threads is a "hotbed for BlueAnon conspiratorial content". [22] Taylor Lorenz has also noted that BlueAnon conspiracy theorizing has established itself on Threads. [23]
According to Sander van der Linden, a professor of social psychology at the University of Cambridge, some people are inclined to believe that Donald Trump represents an existential threat but are disinclined to think about existentialism and develop conspiracy theories as a substitute method of reconciling their belief: "I think people see him as the apocalypse candidate, and that leads people down the conspiracy path". [24]
Joseph Uscinski, a professor of political science at the University of Miami and expert on conspiracy theorizing, commenting on BlueAnon posited that "people take a lot of things on credit and don’t scrutinize them because they match how they view the world". [24]
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy, when other explanations are more probable. The term generally has a negative connotation, implying that the appeal of a conspiracy theory is based in prejudice, emotional conviction, or insufficient evidence. A conspiracy theory is distinct from a conspiracy; it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, including but not limited to opposition to the mainstream consensus among those who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy, such as scientists or historians.
Elon Reeve Musk is a businessman known for his key roles in the space company SpaceX and the automotive company Tesla, Inc. Other involvements include ownership of X Corp., the company that operates the social media platform X, and his role in the founding of the Boring Company, xAI, Neuralink, and OpenAI. In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced Musk is set to become co-chair of the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the second Trump administration. Musk is the wealthiest individual in the world; as of November 2024 Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$304 billion.
QAnon is a far-right American political conspiracy theory and political movement that originated in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". Those claims have been relayed and developed by online communities and influencers. Their core belief is that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic child molesters is operating a global child sex trafficking ring that conspired against president Donald Trump. QAnon has direct roots in Pizzagate, an Internet conspiracy theory that appeared one year earlier, but also incorporates elements of many different conspiracy theories and unifies them into a larger interconnected conspiracy theory. QAnon has been described as a cult.
InfoWars is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website created by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operated under Free Speech Systems LLC.
Donald John Trump Jr., often nicknamed Don Jr., is an American businessman. He is the eldest child of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and his first wife Ivana Trump.
The Clinton body count is a conspiracy theory centered around the belief that former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have secretly had their political opponents murdered, often made to look like suicides, totaling as many as 50 or more listed victims. The Congressional Record (1994) stated that the compiler of the original list, Linda Thompson, admitted she had 'no direct evidence' of Clinton killing anyone. Indeed, she says the deaths were probably caused by 'people trying to control the president' but refuses to say who they were."
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, fatally shot his mother before murdering 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and later committed suicide. A number of fringe figures have promoted conspiracy theories that doubt or dispute what occurred at Sandy Hook. Various conspiracy theorists have claimed, for example, that the massacre was actually orchestrated by the U.S. government as part of an elaborate plot to promote stricter gun control laws.
One America News Network (OANN), also known as One America News (OAN), is a far-right, pro-Trump cable channel founded by Robert Herring Sr. and owned by Herring Networks, Inc., that launched on July 4, 2013. The network is headquartered in San Diego, California, and operates news bureaus in Washington, D.C., and New York City.
The murder of Seth Rich occurred on July 10, 2016, at 4:20 a.m. in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Rich died about an hour and a half after being shot twice in the back. The perpetrators were never apprehended; police suspected he had been the victim of an attempted robbery.
"Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle, falsely claiming that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to members of the Democratic Party while searching through Anthony Weiner's emails. It has been extensively discredited by a wide range of organizations, including the Washington, D.C. police.
The Gateway Pundit (TGP) is an American far-right fake news website. The website is known for publishing falsehoods, hoaxes, and conspiracy theories.
Joseph E. Uscinski is an American political scientist specializing in the study of conspiracy theories. His most notable work is American Conspiracy Theories co-authored with Joseph M. Parent. He is an associate professor at the University of Miami's Political Science department, and author of several academic publications. He was named a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry in 2020.
Laura Elizabeth Loomer is an American far-right political activist, conspiracy theorist, and internet personality. She was the Republican nominee to represent Florida's 21st congressional district in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, losing to Democrat Lois Frankel. She also ran in the Republican primary for Florida's 11th congressional district in 2022, losing to incumbent Daniel Webster.
The Palmer Report is an American liberal fake news website, founded in 2016 by Bill Palmer. It is known for making unsubstantiated or false claims, producing hyperpartisan content, and publishing conspiracy theories, especially on matters relating to Donald Trump and Russia. Fact-checkers have debunked numerous Palmer Report stories, and organizations including the Columbia Journalism Review and the German Marshall Fund have listed the site among false content producers or biased websites.
Conspiracy theories in United States politics are beliefs that a major political situation is the result of secretive collusion by powerful people striving to harm a rival group or undermine society in general.
Italygate is a pro-Trump, QAnon-affiliated conspiracy theory that alleges the 2020 United States presidential election was rigged to favor Joe Biden using satellites and military technology to remotely switch votes from Donald Trump to Biden from the U.S. Embassy in Rome. The conspiracy was also rumored to involve the Vatican. Fact-checkers at Reuters and USA Today, who investigated these claims, described them as "false" and "baseless".
Dmitri Mehlhorn is an American political advisor. He is an active figure in anti-Trump and Democratic Party politics in the United States.
Vindicating Trump is a 2024 political propaganda film about President Donald Trump, making its case on why he should be elected again. It was produced and directed by right-wing activist and conspiracy theorist Dinesh D'Souza, and Bruce Schooley. The film concerns the travails of former president Donald Trump, such as legal battles, the media, his actions on 6 January and assassination attempts, and falsely alleges voter fraud in the 2020 election and promotes debunked conspiracy theories that the left is behind an effort to assassinate Trump.
Conspiracy theories emanating from people with leftwing or liberal leanings have given rise to the term "Blueanon", in reference to the blue Democratic party. The term is a derivation of "QAnon", the baseless pro-Trump, rightwing conspiracy theory that a world-controlling satanic elite is operating a child abuse ring.
Many might associate conspiracy theories with far-right politics. However, radicalization scholars have observed that "a more conspiratorial mindset has become more pronounced in liberal circles over the last eight months." Meta's Threads has become a hotbed for BlueAnon conspiratorial content, demonstrating that conspiracy theories are not confined to any single political spectrum.
