'Saving the Children': How Russia Uses QAnon Conspiracy Theories to Justify the War

What is QAnon?

QAnon is an American conspiracy theory that emerged in 2017. Its core claim: a secret network of elites engages in child trafficking and paedophilia, and a certain political leader is waging a “secret war” against them.

The theory has no evidence whatsoever, but attracted millions of followers through social media.

How Russia adapted QAnon

After 24 February 2022, the following narratives appeared in Russian and pro-Russian information networks:

“Saving the children”

• Russia allegedly invaded to destroy child trafficking networks in Ukraine
• “Underground laboratories” were allegedly found beneath Mariupol and in other cities
• Western elites allegedly fund these networks through Ukraine

”Biolabs + children”

• The narrative about “American biolabs” (covered in a separate article) intertwined with QAnon: laboratories allegedly conducted experiments on children
• None of these narratives is confirmed by any fact

Distribution

• Telegram: the main platform for Russified QAnon content
• Twitter/X: English-language QAnon accounts mass-shared pro-Russian narratives
• TikTok: short videos with “revelations” garnered millions of views
• Research by the Stanford Internet Observatory documented coordinated spread of these narratives

Why it works

QAnon narratives exploit a universal emotion — the desire to protect children:

1. Emotional manipulation — anyone who expresses doubt is automatically cast as a “defender of paedophiles”
2. Requires no evidence — a “secret network” is by definition hidden, so the absence of evidence “confirms” the conspiracy
3. Devalues real crimes — the genuine problem of human trafficking drowns in a sea of fabrication
4. Depoliticises — transforms geopolitical aggression into a “moral mission”

The bitter irony

While pro-Russian conspiracy theories talk of “saving children,” Russia is actually:

Deporting Ukrainian children

• 19,546 Ukrainian children deported to Russia (Ukrainian government data)
• Children are placed in “re-education camps” and handed over for adoption by Russian families
• Children have their names changed, citizenship altered, Ukrainian identity erased
• 17 March 2023 — the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin and children’s rights commissioner Lvova-Belova specifically for the deportation of children

Killing children

• According to the UN: hundreds of children have died from Russian strikes
• Okhmatdyt (July 2024) — missile strike on Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital
• Mariupol maternity hospital (March 2022) — air strike on a maternity ward

Who spreads it

Researchers have identified the distribution network:

• Russian state media (RT, Sputnik) — do not spread QAnon directly, but support adjacent narratives
• Pro-Russian Telegram channels — the main source of Russified QAnon
• English-language “alternative media” — InfoWars, Grayzone and similar platforms
• Bot farms — automated distribution on social networks

How to recognise it

Signs of a QAnon narrative about Ukraine:

1. “Secret” knowledge — “they won’t show you this on TV”
2. No concrete evidence — only “testimonies,” screenshots, “insider tips”
3. Emotional blackmail — “if you’re against this, you must be for paedophiles”
4. Mixing real with invented — a real problem of human trafficking + an invented conspiracy
5. Source — anonymous Telegram channels, not journalists or human rights defenders

Conclusion

Using the theme of “protecting children” to justify war is a particularly cynical form of propaganda. A country that deports thousands of other people’s children, bombs children’s hospitals and maternity wards, has no moral authority to speak of “saving” anyone. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin not for “saving children,” but for deporting them.