Trust the Plan

‘Detailed and impeccably researched. Eye-opening' GUARDIAN

‘Punchy and well-reported. Sommer is the perfect person to tell this story' NEW YORK TIMES

How did a conspiracy theory reshape global politics? How did it tear families apart, inspire an insurrection and convince millions that a shadowy cabal was hellbent on eating children, and only Donald Trump could stop them?

On the 6th of January, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol. Their banners read, Trust the Plan, a reference to an alarming conspiracy theory that had gained unstoppable momentum over the last four years: these were followers of QAnon.

Decoding online clues from a mysterious figure – who has claimed to be a high-level government insider – QAnon adherents believe that Donald Trump has been anointed by God to stop a depraved deep state government that sexually abuse, kill, and eat children. But QAnon has also become a broad church of out-there beliefs, offering a welcoming community to anti-vaxxers, flat earthers, eugenicists, and white nationalists.

With first-hand access to the leading figures in the movement, investigative journalist Will Sommer unpacks the bizarre story of how a post from one of the darkest corners of the internet became a belief system for millions; how politicians cozied up to extremists; how unwavering trust in these ideas tore apart families, caused a mafia boss’s assassination, and threatened democracy. Trust the Plan is a timely and essential look at how the internet radicalised our politics, and how millions were convinced to believe the unbelievable.