Q Vadis?

The second report of the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy "Q Vadis? The Spread of QAnon in the German-Speaking World" surveys the conspiracy-ideological QAnon in Germany and Austria. It provides information on the history of this conspiracy ideology, its prevalence in Germany, and the resonance of QAnon narratives in both countries.

For the first time, representative data on the spread and resonance of QAnon conspiracy narratives in Germany and Austria is collected and evaluated. The report combines these findings with an analysis of groups and channels associated with the QAnon spectrum on Telegram and YouTube.

The data reveals that even more than a year after Donald Trump's 2020 defeat in the US presidential election and the storming of the Capitol in Washington D.C. in January 2021, the QAnon scene continues to reach hundreds of thousands in Germany and Austria. In Germany, more than one in ten agree to some extent with central narratives of the QAnon milieu (12.4 percent). In Austria, the rate is even higher (16.2 percent). Agreement is particularly pronounced among the unvaccinated: almost half (46 percent) agree with QAnon conspiracy narratives to at least some extent. There is much to suggest that Germany and Austria may even form the largest resonance area for QAnon conspiracy narratives outside the USA.

QAnon adherents are particularly active on Telegram: the analysis identified 115 channels and 84 groups in which millions of messages have been exchanged. The level of interest and activity in the milieu remains high.

As the findings of the report demonstrate, the QAnon conspiracy ideology continues to gain ground in the USA as well as in German-speaking countries and has successfully established itself within the conspiracy-ideological milieu. Even in the absence of new Q-Drops, the QAnon-milieu manages to find new narratives and topics to integrate into its ideology.