海角大神

It seems ludicrous to think that President Trump is set to imminently declare martial law, so as to arrest and execute tens of thousands of people 鈥� ranging from Hillary Clinton to Tom Hanks 鈥� on charges involving a mix of murder, pedophilia, and Satanism.

But that is just one of the beliefs of the followers of internet pseudo-prophet Q, or 鈥淨Anon,鈥� who leaped into the mainstream at Mr. Trump鈥檚 rally Tuesday in Tampa Bay, Fla.

Q, who claims to be a government insider, offers up alleged secrets to his followers on internet forums like 4chan and 8chan. Though Q鈥檚 information tends to be vague, 鈥渇ollowers of Q鈥� say it reveals an ongoing battle between good and evil, with Trump leading the former and a deep state/Hollywood liberal alliance embodying the latter. The conspiracy theory is complex and sprawling, and fed by followers鈥� own social media contributions to the mythos.

It could also be dangerous. As聽, Q promised July 2018 would be 鈥渢he month the world discovered the truth鈥� 鈥� a promise that appears unfulfilled. The resulting disillusionment could lead to 鈥減izzagate鈥�-like incidents, in which followers try to harm the conspiracy鈥檚 鈥渧illains鈥� by themselves.

But perhaps the weight of truth is what鈥檚 needed to break Q鈥檚 followers from their conspiratorial dreams.

Now to our five stories for today.