AI-powered study sheds light on how QAnon beliefs shatter family bonds

A new study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships has shed light on how belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory affects family dynamics. By analyzing over 75,000 sentences referencing “family” from the subreddit r/QAnonCasualties, the study revealed a wide range of emotional, psychological, and practical impacts on those with QAnon-believing loved ones. From grief and fear to fractured holiday gatherings and broken ties, the findings offer one of the most comprehensive portraits to date of the interpersonal consequences of conspiracy belief.

The study focuses on a relatively unexplored but increasingly relevant issue: how belief in QAnon—an elaborate conspiracy theory alleging a global cabal of child-trafficking elites—is damaging family bonds. While research has frequently examined how conspiracy beliefs affect individuals and societies, few studies have explored how they disrupt intimate relationships. This study, led by Justin B. Phillips from the University of Waikato in New Zealand, addresses that gap by using advanced machine learning techniques to analyze real-world discussions from people seeking support and understanding.

“In one of my courses we explore the consequences of conspiracy beliefs. We don’t actually care much about whether conspiracy theories are true or false, but instead we’re more interested in the—typically negative—effects of such beliefs,” explained Phillips, a senior lecturer in the School of Law, Politics, and Philosophy. “Over the years I would routinely point my class to r/QAnonCasualties for examples of negative, interpersonal effects of conspiracy beliefs on families. So, I decided I might as well write about it.”

The QAnon movement, which emerged in 2017, centers on the claim that a secret government insider known as “Q” is revealing hidden truths about a satanic, child-abusing cabal. Followers believe that Donald Trump is leading a covert war to expose and defeat this group. Despite its fringe origins, QAnon quickly gained momentum. By 2022, about two-thirds of Americans had heard of it, and one in five reported knowing a supporter personally. The theory’s mix of political extremism, apocalyptic messaging, and internet-driven community has made it particularly polarizing and emotionally charged.

Phillips designed the study to investigate how people describe the effects of QAnon beliefs on their family relationships. To do this, he collected all posts and comments from the public Reddit forum r/QAnonCasualties that contained the word “family.” This subreddit serves as a support space for people who feel estranged or harmed by a loved one’s belief in QAnon. The final dataset included nearly 75,000 unique sentences from over 6,000 posts and more than 53,000 comments, spanning from mid-2019 to the end of 2023.

To analyze this vast dataset, Phillips used a technique called BERTopic, a machine learning method that identifies and groups related themes in large text corpora. This approach allowed him to identify 58 distinct categories of family-related discussion on the subreddit. These categories covered everything from emotional reactions and relationship breakdowns to attempts at reconciliation and broader reflections on the nature of QAnon as a belief system.

The results were striking in both their emotional depth and thematic variety. Many posts reflected intense emotional pain, with topics such as grief, devastation, anxiety, and fear appearing frequently. Posters described feeling as if they had lost a loved one to a “cult,” comparing the emotional fallout to mourning a death. In some cases, family members expressed concerns about safety—both their own and that of others—due to the increasingly erratic or extremist behavior of their QAnon-believing relatives.

For example, one poster wrote, “I am devastated. I have lost my family. I am grieving the living.” Others voiced concerns that their Q-believing family members were unstable or potentially violent. Some shared stories of loved ones stockpiling weapons or becoming hostile to marginalized groups, including racial minorities and LGBTQ+ people.

But not all posts were focused solely on loss and fear. A smaller but meaningful portion of discussions centered on hope, reconciliation, and coping strategies. Users exchanged advice on navigating family gatherings, managing conversations about COVID-19 and politics, and maintaining emotional boundaries. Some shared success stories of reconnecting with relatives who had left QAnon behind, offering encouragement to others in similar situations.

The most popular topics, based on upvotes from other users, often involved practical concerns. These included navigating pandemic-related conflicts—such as disagreements over vaccinations, mask-wearing, and social distancing—as well as managing holiday events with QAnon-believing family members. Posts that asked for understanding or advice on how to talk to a loved one were also widely engaged with, suggesting a strong desire among community members to preserve relationships where possible.

Interestingly, the data also revealed that users frequently discussed the specific roles of QAnon believers within their families. Posts mentioned mothers, fathers, siblings, and partners, highlighting the wide range of family members who had embraced the conspiracy. This diversity suggests that QAnon belief is not confined to any single demographic or relationship role, further complicating efforts at understanding and intervention.

The subreddit also served as a support network in its own right. Many users found comfort in hearing that others were experiencing similar struggles. Posts frequently expressed gratitude for the community and emphasized the need to build “chosen families” when biological ones became too toxic or unsafe.

Another recurring theme was the labeling of QAnon as a “cult.” Many users explicitly described their loved ones as having been “lost to a cult,” and some said that QAnon had become their relative’s new family or identity. The forum became a space to discuss the parallels between QAnon and other forms of radicalization or addiction, with users sometimes likening deprogramming efforts to interventions for substance abuse.

“The forum’s contributors talk at length about how conspiracy beliefs have negatively impacted their family, the support network they desire as a result, and the strategies they deploy to resolve the family friction,” Phillips told PsyPost. “For example, some urged patience, compassion and avoiding talking about politics, whereas others recommended dissolving marriages and issuing restraining orders.”

“We know these are typical strategies to resolve interpersonal relationships under threat, but the sad irony is that both believers and non-believers are seemingly using these strategies of confrontation and avoidance for largely the same reason (i.e. to save the family). The subreddit’s posters also desperately called out for more academic research on the effects of conspiracy beliefs on families, something which I found quite personally compelling.”

These findings align with earlier research on the interpersonal effects of QAnon. A 2024 qualitative study, also published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, identified four key themes through interviews with 15 individuals affected by a loved one’s QAnon involvement. These included radical personality changes in the believer, emotional and physical distance, intense conflict, and varied attempts at reconciliation. Participants in that study reported a decline in the emotional quality of their relationships and often had to choose between maintaining contact or preserving their well-being.

The present study builds on that work by analyzing a much larger dataset. Rather than relying on interviews or surveys with a small sample, Phillips leveraged the natural language of tens of thousands of Reddit posts to understand the collective voice of those affected. This approach provides a broader and more nuanced picture of the personal costs of QAnon belief, while still capturing the raw emotional texture of lived experience.

Still, the study has limitations. The r/QAnonCasualties subreddit is explicitly for people negatively affected by QAnon. It does not represent the full spectrum of QAnon-related family dynamics, and it excludes the perspectives of those who may have experienced reconciliation or perceived positive change. Additionally, the study does not include demographic information, which limits its ability to assess how factors like age, gender, political identity, or religion might influence these experiences.

“A reviewer quite rightly points out that the forum was likely populated by those negatively affected by conspiracy beliefs,” Phillips said. “So, anyone wanting to use this research should be aware of that. Some might also point to the specificity of QAnon beliefs as another limitation, but I’d argue that conspiracy theories have existed well before and will continue well after, and so there’s some potential for generalization here.”

The study, “‘I’m so worried about my whole family’: Modeling r/QAnonCasualties to better understand the effects of (QAnon) conspiracy beliefs on families,” was published March 21, 2025.