Supporters of the conspiracy theory QAnon, who believe several falsehoods and have made a number of inaccurate predictions down the years, have now turned their attention to Joe Biden's foot.
It was revealed over the weekend that President-elect Biden had fractured his right foot while playing with his dog Major.
"Initial X-rays are reassuring that there is no obvious fracture and he will be getting an additional CT for more detailed imaging," his doctor, Kevin O'Connor, said in a statement. "It is anticipated that he will likely require a walking boot for several weeks."
Following the news, followers of the baseless theory who think that Donald Trump has been waging a secret war against the "deep state," have regurgitated similar theories used against Hillary Clinton and John McCain, suggesting Biden is wearing a medical boot to hide an ankle monitor because he has been arrested.
"Biden has an ankle bracelet. Biden didn't hurt his foot . He's got ankle cuffs on," tweeted Joyce Ramgatie, along with the hashtags 'QANON and #WWG1WGA—an abbreviation of the QAnon slogan "where we go one we go all."
"Amazing how common right ankle injuries are with these criminals...," added Twitter user @Springjack73, again along with hashtags used by QAnon supporters.
The claim that leading Democratic figures will soon be getting arrested—a moment known as "the storm"—has been one of the most prominent beliefs of QAnon supporters.
This notion is based on message board posts by someone claiming to be "Q," the shadowy figure purportedly at the heart of the plot to expose deep state satanic pedophiles (who many believe to be Trump himself).
In October 2017, Q claimed Hillary Clinton would soon be arrested. The fact that this nor any other claim has come to fruition has not deterred QAnon supporters, who instead have frequently altered their beliefs and found meaning in events to suit their conspiracy theories. This includes Trump losing the election to Biden still being part of the overall plan.
The conspiracy theorists have previously said that Clinton wearing a foot brace in 2017 was proof that she was also wearing a secret ankle monitor because she had been arrested.
A similar claim was also made for McCain while he wore a medical boot the same year. Outlandish theories later suggested the senator did not die of brain cancer but instead killed himself ahead of his trial at Guantanamo Bay for aiding Islamic terrorists.
Other QAnon supporters believe that McCain was actually sentenced to death by a military tribunal following a secret trial.
"In QAnon world, politicians only wear medical boots in order to conceal a tracking monitor after their arrest, never because politicians tend to be old people with bad bones," tweeted Travis View, host of the QAnon Anonymous podcast.
"So the reports about Biden's injury are going to excite online conspiracists."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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