Donald and Melania Trump in Alabama, March 2018. The TV show The View had a segment on "a surge of internet chatter about the former fashion model’s Alabama appearance under the #fakeMelania hashtag", relaying the conspiracy theory that the woman pictured here was not the real Melania.
BlueAnon (a portmanteau of blue and QAnon) is a term that, according to the Columbia Journalism Review citing the Washington Post was "first used by conservative commentators to mock the claim that Russia interfered in the 2016 election" and was later invoked by "some liberals" to "refer to a range of outlandish conspiracy theories about shadowy forces".[2] The Post's Taylor Lorenz has separately explained the term has been "used by people across the political spectrum to describe particularly outlandish conspiracies and denialism from [Joe] Biden supporters".[3]
The term comes from the blue political color of the Democratic Party, which is the major opposition to the Republican Party of Trump. It was criticized by the Washington Post's Philip Bump as a misleading comparison that equates isolated conspiratorial claims on the left with the organized extremist movement on the right.[4]
Theories attributed in media reports to BlueAnon thinking include the belief that the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in July 2024 was a false flag staged by Trump himself, that Ivana Trump was secretly cremated by Donald Trump to free room in her coffin to hide self-incriminating documents, and that a body double of Melania Trump was used during campaign appearances in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, among others.
According to the Columbia Journalism Review citing the Washington Post, the term was "first used by conservative commentators to mock the claim that Russia interfered in the 2016 election" and was later invoked by "some liberals" to "refer to a range of outlandish conspiracy theories about shadowy forces".[2] The Post's Taylor Lorenz has separately explained the term has been "used by people across the political spectrum to describe particularly outlandish conspiracies and denialism from [Joe] Biden supporters".[3]
The name appears to be derived from media coverage surrounding these theories, in reference to the QAnon right-wing conspiracy theory and the color blue, which has been associated with the Democratic Party in the 21st century.[7]
According to the Washington Post's Philip Bump, the analogy relies more on rhetorical whataboutism than substantive similarity, as QAnon was rooted in elaborate, long-running false narratives, while "BlueAnon" describes scattered and short-lived speculation. Bump argues the comparison exaggerates left-wing susceptibility to conspiracy theories and obscures the distinct scale, structure, and political impact of QAnon. He concludes that the main resemblance between the terms is phonetic rather than substantive.[4]
Some BlueAnon theorists have alleged that the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in July 2024 was a false flag staged by Trump himself.[8][9]Snopes has examined and discredited viral photos alleging to show Trump plotting with gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, as well as claims that Trump was injured by glass instead of shrapnel.[10][11]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.[12]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.[13]
If Trump & Elon’s “little secret” was to use Starlink in swing states to tally the votes & rig the election - an investigation & hand recount is crucial. Now.
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.[15][16][17] The claims have been investigated and discredited by the Associated Press.[16] They have also been rejected by CISA director Jen Easterly.[17][18]Deutsche Welle concluded "there is no evidence that Trump has cheated in this election".[19]
Ivana Trump coffin concealment
Another BlueAnon theory posits that Ivana Trump was secretly cremated by Donald Trump to free room in her coffin to hide self-incriminating documents so as to conceal them from discovery by investigators.[20] The conspiracy theory began circulating almost immediately after Ivana Trump's 2022 death and multiple people demanded the FBI exhume Trump's grave to search the coffin for the allegedly hidden documents.[21] Snopes has rated the theory "unfounded".[22]
Donald Trump illness and death
During Donald Trump's second term, he was seen on multiple occasions with bruised hands and swollen ankles, and in July 2025, Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a minor, age related illness.[23] Rumors spread that Trump was critically ill and suffering from various illnesses, including congestive heart failure, which culminated in August 2025, when a viral post claimed that Trump had six to eight months to live due to CHF, a claim Snopes said was "unfounded and not based on any hands-on diagnosis by any physician."[24] Later that month, after an absence from the public eye, claims of Trump's death went viral and were spread by Governor Pritzker.[25] These claims were debunked after Trump was seen golfing and posted on Truth Social.[26]
Other conspiracy theories
Other beliefs subscribed to by some[who?] BlueAnon theorists[who?] include that:
A cabal of Silicon Valley executives is plotting to overthrow Trump and replace him with JD Vance;[9]
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."[2] Numerous social media posts to X similarly suggested the assassination attempt had been staged.[2] 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.[29]
"... 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..."
In October 2024, the Lincoln Project produced a video advertisement promoting the 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.[9]
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.[5] It included one post by John Pavlovitz that received more than five million views.[5] Another post, seen more than 17 million times, alleged Trump "cheated this whole time".[15] 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.[6]
Propagation on Threads
Percentage of voter groups who said "suggestions that the shooting was staged ... were credible," as reported by a July 2024 Morning Consult survey.
According to Canadian political scientist Kawser Ahmed, Meta's social media network Threads is a "hotbed for BlueAnon conspiratorial content".[31]Taylor Lorenz has also noted that BlueAnon conspiracy theorizing has established itself on Threads.[32]
Coverage by media
BlueAnon as a sociological and social media phenomenon has been the subject of reporting by Columbia Journalism Review ("The Trump assassination attempt, 'BlueAnon,' and the X factor"[2]), by The New Statesman ("The alarming rise of BlueAnon"[8]), by WJLA-TV ("'BlueAnon' theories pop up as some on Left attempt to explain Trump's win"[17]), by Rolling Stone ("BlueAnon Conspiracy Theories Explode"[18]), by France 24 ("'BlueAnon' conspiracy theorists spread viral voter fraud claims after Trump victory"[15]), by the Washington Post ("‘BlueAnon’ conspiracy theories flood social media after Trump rally shooting"[3]), and by other media.[6] In 2024, HarperCollins published David Harsanyi's book The Rise of BlueAnon.[33]
↑ "'Fake Melania' conspiracy theory about body double is 'deranged' says Trump". South China Morning Post. March 14, 2019. Archived from the original on March 13, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019. The body double conspiracy theory... resurfaced on Monday when participants on ABC television's morning show The View examined a surge of internet chatter about the former fashion model's Alabama appearance under the #fakeMelania hashtag.
1 2 3 Loewinger, Michael (November 15, 2024). "Using Conspiracy Theories to Make Sense of a Loss". On the Media. Event occurs at 15:30. WNYC-FM. Retrieved January 30, 2025. The term BlueAnon, it first started being used in 2016 to refer to a loose collection of conspiracy theories about Donald Trump, conspiracy theories that he was a literal Manchurian candidate or a Russian agent who was acting solely at the behest of Putin. It's recurred several times since then in different forms as a reference to crackpot theories from the left... You quoted one man named Wayne Madsen, who you describe in your piece as a former journalist and documented conspiracy theorist who posted on Threads, the social media site, writing, "I'm beginning to believe our election was massively hacked. Think Elon Musk, Starlink, Peter Thiel, Bannon, Flynn, and Putin. 20 million Democratic votes don't disappear on their own."
↑ Milmo, Dan (July 15, 2024). "Trump shooting shows conspiracy theories not confined to right wing". The Guardian. Retrieved November 10, 2024. 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.
↑ Ahmed, Kawser (July 18, 2024). "How conspiracy theories polarize society and provoke violence". The Conversation. Retrieved November 10, 2024. 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.
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