Was John McAfee really Q?
John McAfee was a maverick until the end. The final instagram post on his account read simply ‘Q’. Was he trolling us? Or was McAfee really Q and responsible for the whole QANON conspiracy?
After news that the founder of McAfee antivirus software, John McAfee, was found dead in his prison cell, rumours and conspiracies have surfaced across the internet. These were multiplied by the final post on his instagram account, a single post, soon deleted along with the entire account, reading simply ‘Q’.
Could there be any truth in these rumours about McAfee and his possible involvement in QANON?
Let’s look at the evidence that John McAfee was indeed the creator of the QANON conspiracy, ‘Q’ himself.
John David McAfee was a two-time presidential candidate and a British-American computer programmer. He created the first commercial anti-virus software in 1987 and founded McAfee Associates to sell it. In 1994, McAfee resigned from the company and sold his remaining stock. McAfee became the company's most vocal critic in later years, urging consumers to uninstall the company's anti-virus software, which he characterized as bloatware. McAfee had also disavowed the company's continued use of his name in branding, a practice that has persisted in spite of a short-lived corporate rebrand attempt under Intel ownership.
John McAfee was reportedly found dead in his prison cell on Wednesday afternoon. Prison staff tried to revive the 75-year-old but were unsuccessful, according to reports in Spanish media.
The Catalan justice department said “everything points” to suicide in a statement, confirming previous reports in Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
The software antivirus entrepreneur died just hours after the Spanish National Court authorised his extradition to the US on charges of cryptocurrency fraud and tax evasion.
McAfee was arrested and imprisoned near Barcelona in October. In a virtual video hearing earlier this month, McAfee claimed the charges were politically motivated.
He also expressed fears that he would spend the rest of his life in prison if he was returned to the US.
McAfee hinted earlier this year that it was his involvement with Doge – a cryptocurrency launched as a joke seven years ago – that led to US authorities hunting him down on various charges.
The entrepreneur had tweeted about the digital asset, allegedly elevating its value.
John McAfee was a big fan of conspiracies and infamy. By leaving instructions to post ‘Q’ as his final instagram post, he has managed to become the centre of a conspiracy that will not go away.
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