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NEW: I've spent the last 3 months investigating the rise of QAnon in the UK and Save Our Children rallies up and down the country. I've spent hours in their Facebook groups, attended their rallies and talked to the protesters. Here's how it happened https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54065470
In May, a young woman began engaging with David Icke and QAnon influencers in the US and Canada on social media about Covid-19 lockdowns, George Floyd protests, and global child trafficking. A few weeks later, she launched Freedom for the Children UK https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54065470
The Facebook group quickly took off, amassing more than 13,000 members. On 22 August, they launched their first round of nationwide Save Our Children rallies. Hundreds attended. By September, they had held rallies in more than 20 UK towns and cities https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54065470
The pace of QAnon's growth was mind-blowing. Outside the US, British followers lead the way. My analysis of online data from the summer puts the UK ahead of all European countries in terms of QAnon-related engagements, followed by Germany and Netherlands https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54065470
A number of national scandals in relation to elite child abuse in recent years had already primed the UK for the rise of QAnon. The upheaval of the pandemic created a perfect storm which helped QAnon find common ground with Covid-19 conspiracists and grow https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54065470
The demographic makeup of the marches does not match the stereotypical crowd of far-right men. The crowds are ethnically diverse and made up mostly of young people and women. Even their leaders are mostly women, with a few coming from wellness communities https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54065470
"Pizzagate is 100% true," Jada, a young protester in London, told me. "There are paedophiles in our elite everywhere and they need to be taken down. This is happening in the US, in the UK and all over the world." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54065470
The piece features insight and analysis from @AnnieKNK of @QanonAnonymous, @nickbackovic and @TheOndrakGuy of @LogicallyAI, @_MAArgentino of @Concordia, David Lawrence of @hopenothate, @LauraMDuran of @ECPATUK, editors of @rattleliverpool and @thestephencw https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54065470
And finally, many many thanks to my editors @mwendling, @sarahshenker and @rebeccaskippage for their guidance, advice and help throughout. Please read and share my three-month-long investigation into how QAnon took off in the UK this year. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54065470
