"Trump didn't create the culture, he just leveraged it. and to say that the 'good/evil' problem comes from Trump is, at usual, wildly selective."
Yes, I agree. I didn't mean to imply that he "created" the culture, you worded it better by saying he leveraged it. Sure, I'm down with that.
"I can't blame you because you don't live here, but this statement is so ignorant. It's forgetting so many moments in very recent history (last 15 years). I'd argue you heard more about Qanon from left wing sources than right. MSNBC, CBS, CNN gave 4chan /pol/ a fucking platform. They literally showed the world the asshole of the internet and said "This is what people on the right think!"."
IF this were true, I would readily admit to it, but it's quite opposite from the truth. Everything I know or have learned about Q and Qanon is from the people that helped create it and those that started following. I've listened to their podcasts, watched their youtube videos... I started in that direction before Q was household.
Now that Q is more in the spotlight, I've been watching documentaries and listening to podcasts from the left, but in all reality the narrative from either side is pretty much identical. Q followers aren't claiming anything different than what the left already accuses them of. The only real difference is what people believe to be true or not, but I don't think Q supporters deny believing in any of the nonsensical bullshit that they believe in.
They don't like that the left tries to make them look batshit crazy, but I'm not sure how else you can present their views without looking like an insane person.
If you haven't already started, you should watch Q: Into the Storm on HBO Max. They're the only ones that were able to get Jim and Ron Watkins on camera discussing 4chan and the migration to 8chan and all the hands that touched the boards along the way. They showed the writing style of Q in the beginning and compare it to the "new Q" that starts posting after 8 chan was created. There's a lot more that makes sense now after watching it, and you get a better idea of how it all started. I understand Q better than most people I'd assume, but I won't fault you for not knowing what my knowledge base is on that topic. Don't have to be in America to understand what Q is, especially in this century.
As for blame... I don't know who to blame. Everyone is a little bit to blame here. Certainly 4chan, 8chan, the watkins etc. were a bit to blame for hosting, but their intentions of creating a 100% free speech platform had good intentions behind it. Guys like Trump, Flynn, Bannon etc. all saw a huge opportunity in Q when they realized a good percentage of the population was gullible enough to buy into it... all the people that used Q to gain political clout are at fault for sure. The users that responded, the youtubers that rebroadcast... the media for giving them attention. Hell yeah, I'm aware there isn't one person or group to blame. Now how do you turn the ship around?