What the media is missing in all of this is that ‘QAnon’ is technically not a thing. ‘Q’ is an anonymous person who posted what are supposedly bits of military intel on a message board. The ‘anons’ - other anonymous users on the board - attempt to decipher what they mean, and sometimes this leads to some of the wackier theories that might have been reported on but were NOT written or endorsed by the original ‘Q’.

So, there is actually no core set of beliefs, nor is it run like a cult. A real cult like NXIVM (which WAS proven to be involved in sex trafficking and involved many high profile members) would require monetary contributions, recruitment of new members, etc. None of that is present in what either ‘Q’ or the ‘anons’ have posted.