Q is probably Ron Watkins, the administrator of the internet image board 8kun, formerly known as 8chan. The claim was made in the sixth and final episode of HBO’s Q: Into the Storm, which aired late Sunday, by filmmaker Cullen Hoback. Hoback concedes his theory “lacks definitive proof” but highlights an apparent slip-up that Watkins makes in his final videoconference conversation with Hoback. After briefly discussing his role in spreading conspiracy theories about voter fraud following the 2020 election, Watkins says, “It was basically three years of intelligence training, teaching normies how to do intelligence work. It was basically what I was doing anonymously before—” and then realizing his error quickly adds, “—but never as Q.” In the documentary, Watkins tries to convince Hoback that former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon is actually Q, the mysterious leader of the QAnon conspiracy theory that has a legion of increasingly violent adherents. Hoback muses, “In order to throw off anyone who came sniffing around, wouldn’t it be smart to create a fake digital forensics trail, one that leads to someone from Trump’s inner circle?”
Ron Watkins told me he never posted as Q, never talked to anyone who claimed they were Q, never knew who it was. Here, it appears he finally slipped up.
The widely believed thesis may wind up being the correct one: Q was a bunch of anons on 4chan, then the Watkinses on 8chan. https://t.co/9L4OZcbUoL
