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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.

Etymology

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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 theorizing centers on various schemes its supporters believe Donald Trump (pictured) or his associates are plotting.

Beliefs

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BlueAnon beliefs encompass several loosely related conspiracy theories.

Assassination false flag conspiracy theory

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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]

Morgan J. Freeman[a]
@mjfree
 X logo, a stylized letter X

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.

November 10, 2024[11][12]
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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]

Ivana Trump coffin concealment theory

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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.[17] The conspiracy theory began forming 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.[18] Snopes has rated the theory "unfounded".[19]

Other conspiracy theories

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Other beliefs subscribed to by some BlueAnon theorists include that:

Propagation and influence

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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.[21]

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.[22]

"... 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, [23]

Percentage of voter groups who said "suggestions that the shooting was staged ... were credible," as reported by a July 2024 Morning Consult survey.

Influence of Threads

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According to Canadian political scientist Kawser Ahmed, Meta's social media network Threads is a "hotbed for BlueAnon conspiratorial content".[24] Taylor Lorenz has also noted that BlueAnon conspiracy theorizing has established itself on Threads.[25]

Psychology of BlueAnon

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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".[26]

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".[26]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The X account "Morgan J. Freeman" is not the account of the actor Morgan Freeman.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Ingram, Matthew (July 17, 2024). "The Trump assassination attempt, 'BlueAnon,' and the X factor". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  2. ^ Lorenz, Taylor (November 10, 2024). "'BlueAnon' conspiracy theories flood social media after Trump rally shooting". Washington Post. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Gilbert, David (November 6, 2024). "Election Denial Conspiracy Theories Are Exploding on X. This Time They're Coming From the Left". Wired. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Ahmari, Sohrab (July 15, 2024). "The alarming rise of BlueAnon". New Statesman. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Ward, Ian (October 7, 2024). "The anti-Trump conspiracy that's sweeping the internet". Politico. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  7. ^ Liles, Jordan (August 1, 2024). "Fake Photo of Trump, Gunman Thomas Crooks Planning Assassination Attempt Generated by AI". Snopes. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  8. ^ Kasprak, Alex (July 26, 2024). "Rumor That Shards of Glass, Not Bullet, Injured Trump in Assassination Attempt Is False". Snopes. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  9. ^ Sanders, Katie (July 15, 2024). "When Donald Trump was shot, the internet unleashed wild conspiracy theories". Politifact. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  10. ^ "Fact Check: RNC video altered to show Trump with bandaged left ear". Reuters. July 21, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Klee, Miles (November 12, 2024). "BlueAnon Conspiracy Theories Explode". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  12. ^ Morgan J. Freeman [@mjfree] (November 10, 2024). "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" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 12, 2024 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ a b c "'BlueAnon' conspiracy theorists spread viral voter fraud claims after Trump victory". France24. November 10, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "The Conspiracy Theory That Elon Musk Stole the Election Using Starlink Is Everywhere Now". WIRED. November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Gaskins, Kayla (November 15, 2024). "'BlueAnon' theories pop up as some on Left attempt to explain Trump's win". WJLA-TV. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  16. ^ "Fact check: Did Donald Trump cheat to win the US election?". Deutsche Welle. November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  17. ^ Merlan, Anna (August 11, 2022). "Resistance Twitter Is Trading Bonkers Theories About Ivana Trump's Casket". Vice. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  18. ^ Rothschild, Mike (September 16, 2022). "Why Resistance Twitter still wants to dig up Ivana Trump's grave". The Daily Dot. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  19. ^ Liles, Jordan (September 20, 2022). "There's No Evidence Ivana Trump Was Cremated". Snopes. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  20. ^ Silverman, Rose (July 16, 2024). "How the American Left jumped on the conspiracy theory bandwagon". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  21. ^ "Many Voters Blame Rhetoric, Media and Even Trump Himself for Conditions That Caused Assassination Attempt". Morning Consult. July 15, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  22. ^ On the Media. November 15, 2024. Event occurs at 15:30. WNYC-FM.
  23. ^ Goba, Kadia (July 14, 2024). "Top Democratic strategist pushed reporters to consider 'staged' shooting". Semafor. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ Duke, Amber (September 12, 2024). "The rise of BlueAnon". The Spectator. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  26. ^ a b Cumming, Ed (September 23, 2024). "How Trump assassination conspiracy theories went mainstream". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 16, 2024.

Further reading

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