Skip to main content

Trending

  • Durham report
  • Steven Crowder
  • Tucker Carlson

Social Media Menu

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Utility Navigation

  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate

Media Matters for America

Main navigation

  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives

Media Matters for America

  • Nav
  • Search

Main navigation

  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives

Trending

  • Durham report
  • Steven Crowder
  • Tucker Carlson

Utility Navigation

  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate

Social Media Menu

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
QAnon Russia Ukraine
Andrea Austria / Media Matters

QAnon supporters and far-right figures hail Russian invasion of Ukraine as Putin taking down the “cabal”

QAnon supporters continue to associate themselves with authoritarianism

Written by Alex Kaplan

Published 02/24/22 5:01 PM EST

Supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory and other far-right figures cheered the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it a step toward destroying the so-called “cabal.” This is not the first time such figures have praised an international authoritarian action -- they were equally vocal in their support of the military coup in Myanmar in early 2021. 

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine and Russian troops invaded the country. In response, multiple QAnon figures thanked Putin and cheered the Russian attack, writing that the invasion was “a proper, and NECESSARY deep cleaning of Cabal operations and military assets” and meant that “the Cabal will be exposed in Ukraine and it will be one of the last pieces of the Plan.” (“Cabal” is a reference to a tenet of the conspiracy theory about the power of a supposed cabal of pedophiles around the world.) 

QAnon supporters also claimed that Putin was simply invading a new world order “stronghold” and “destroying the money laundering operation” and Ukraine’s “deep state government,” thus “removing the [deep state] players.” They also claimed that the U.S. politicians criticizing the invasion are “deep state players … protecting their interests in Ukraine.”

QAnon John Russia response
QAnon Russia response3
QAnon Russia response4

Much of the QAnon community (along with those on far-right message boards and elsewhere on social media) also spread a baseless and previously debunked pro-Russian conspiracy theory that the invasion was actually a Russian effort to take out American-funded biolabs -- a reference to the claim that the coronavirus was created in a lab. A QAnon influencer claimed this was in order to “possibly derail the future plans of Bill Gates, the WEF and [their] ‘next plandemic.’”

Russia biolabs7

The far-right praise for Putin extended outside of the QAnon community, and multiple people allegedly involved with the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol weighed in as well. Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab who lauded the insurrection as it occurred and encouraged people to storm the Senate, called Putin “brilliant” because “Ukraine needs to be liberated and cleansed from the degeneracy of the secular western globalist empire.” 

Patrick Howley, a far-right figure who has previously hosted a show on a major QAnon channel, wrote that Russia was “protecting the independence of the breakaway regions, where dissidents have been getting slaughtered for 8 years by the Ukraine-CIA cabal.”

White nationalist Patrick Casey, who was subpoenaed by the House January 6 committee over his connections to the insurrection, wrote that he hoped the invasion would cause “NATO to be humiliated and delegitimized.” And white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who was also subpoenaed by the committee over his ties to the insurrection, wrote that he was “totally rooting for Russia,” adding that the invasion was “the coolest thing to happen” since January 6.

This isn’t the first time the QAnon community and others on the far-right have embraced authoritarian actions undermining democracy. In addition to participating in the January 6 insurrection, many in the QAnon community (along with users of far-right message boards) cheered the military coup in Myanmar and called for similar actions in the United States.

The Latest

  1. Newsmax guest defends Chick-Fil-A: “They sell fried chicken. I don't know how much more inclusive we can get.”

    Video & Audio 06/01/23 10:09 PM EDT

  2. Fox News' Jesse Watters suggests Joe and Hunter Biden, the Mexican president and drug cartels are conspiring to steal the 2024 election

    Video & Audio 06/01/23 8:17 PM EDT

  3. Sean Hannity promises he won’t challenge or fact-check Donald Trump during Iowa town hall

    Video & Audio 06/01/23 7:17 PM EDT

  4. Fox host Mark Levin opposes prison sentence for woman who threatened to hang Nancy Pelosi

    Video & Audio 06/01/23 1:44 PM EDT

  5. The debt ceiling deal collapses the right’s Biden “dementia” smear

    Article 06/01/23 12:59 PM EDT

Pagination

  • Current page 1
  • …
  • Next page ››

In This Article

  • Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

  • QAnon Conspiracy Theory

    QAnon-Conspiracy-Theory-MMFA-Tag.png

Related

  1. QAnon supporters and far-right message boards hail Myanmar coup and say the same thing should happen in America

    Article 02/02/21 10:39 AM EST

  2. QAnon supporters and far-right message boards follow Michael Flynn’s lead on endorsing a Myanmar-like military coup

    Article 06/03/21 5:22 PM EDT

  3. In 2021, people thought QAnon would go away -- instead, it continued to fuel attacks on democracy

    Article 12/31/21 9:15 AM EST

Media Matters for America

Sign up for email updates

Footer menu

  • About
  • Contact
  • Corrections
  • Submissions
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Social Media Menu

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2023 Media Matters for America