• Supporters of the far-right QAnon movement are jubilant after President Donald Trump praised them in public for the first time.
• Its supporters have been largely been banned from mainstream platforms, but on alternative networks like Gab they shared celebratory messages and memes. 
• “I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,” Trump said at a press briefing. “I have heard that it is gaining in popularity.”
• The president has previously shared messages from pro-QAnon accounts on Twitter, but it’s the first time he’s explicitly approved of the movement. 
• The movement has been identified as a domestic terror threat by the FBI, and experts have warned that the president’s comments will embolden its sometimes-violent supporters. 
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Supporters of the far-right QAnon conspiracy movement are celebrating after President Donald Trump explicitly acknowledged and praised them in public for the first time.

Speaking from a podium at the White House’s press briefing room, Trump responded to a question asking his views on the movement.

QAnon supporters believe, groundlessly, that Trump is on an undeclared mission to dismantle a network of child abusers involving top Democrats, “deep state” agents, and Hollywood stars. There is no evidence that this is true.

“I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,” he said. “I have heard that it is gaining in popularity.”

—Red Pill Dealer🍀🇮🇪🇺🇸⭐⭐⭐ (@hmcd123) August 19, 2020

The movement was identified as a potential domestic terror threat by the FBI in documents obtained by Yahoo News last year.

QAnon supporters have been tied to a series of violent crimes around the country, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights non-profit group.

In late July, thousands of pro-QAnon accounts were removed from Twitter. This week Facebook followed suit, banning thousands of accounts and groups.

But on fringe platforms such as Gab and Parler, where many supporters have regrouped, they were jubilant a moment they had long anticipated. 

“Trumps answer yesterday has me grinning like a mandman, even hours later. It’s been a great honor observing and participating in this movement!” wrote one supporters on Gab, an online gathering space used often by the far-right.

“It’s not over yet but I just had to share my feelings on this watershed happening.” 

On the Parler platform, another supporter wrote “”I’ve just heard these people love our country” – Donald J. Trump on ‘The #QAnon Movement’ Hold tight, anons. The best is yet to come.”

Other supporters celebrated the news with memes. 

Experts have warned that Trump’s comments will further embolden the movement, and be interpreted as proof that their elaborate theories are true. 

—Molly McKew (@MollyMcKew) August 20, 2020

For about a year, Trump and top officials have been giving tacit signs of approval of the movement, sharing tweets by pro-QAnon accounts and slogans associated with the movement. 

Business Insider in July reported that some of Trump’s most popular slogans, including the #Obamagate hashtag, were being sourced from a large network of QAnon accounts on Twitter.

After the president used the slogans, the network then repeated and further amplified his messages. 

At the time, neither the White House nor the Trump campaign would comment on the president’s apparent embrace of QAnon. Business Insider has sent further requests for comment in light of Trump’s statement on Wednesday.

Speaking to Business Insider in July, Manchester University professor Peter Knight, an expert on US conspiracy theories, said that there was a large overlap between QAnon and Trump’s traditional base. He noted that encouraging the movement would be to the president’s electoral advantage.

The QAnon movement emerged in 2017 in on the messaging boards 4Chan and 8Chan, when a user began posting cryptic messages claiming to be a US government official with “Q-level” clearance alleging a child abuse plot Trump was seeking to dismantle.

Trump supporters soon began to show up at rallies carrying signs and wearing clothing emblazoned with Q slogans, and the movement has seeped into the congressional GOP.

Media Matters for America has documented that 70 Republican candidates have expressed support for QAnon.

On August 12, Marjorie Taylor Greene won the party primary for a GOP safe seat in Georgia, meaning she is likely to become the first supporter of the movement elected to Congress.