Ron Watkins

For the drama teacher and Shakespeare scholar, see Ronald Watkins.

Ron Watkins
Ronald Watkins pictured from the shoulders up, wearing a brown-green t-shirt and glasses.
Watkins in 2022
Born
Ronald Watkins

(1987-04-18) April 18, 1987 (age 37)[1][2]
Other namesCodeMonkeyZ
Known forSpreading of QAnon conspiracy theories
Administration of 8kun
FatherJim Watkins

Ronald Watkins (born April 18, 1987), also known by his online pseudonym CodeMonkeyZ, is an American conspiracy theorist and site administrator of the imageboard website 8kun (formerly known as 8chan).[3][4] He has played a major role in spreading the discredited far-right QAnon conspiracy theory,[5][6] and has espoused conspiracy theories that widespread election fraud led to Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.[5][7] He is the son of Jim Watkins, the owner and operator of 8kun.[8]

Numerous journalists and researchers believe that one or both of the Watkinses know the identity of, or are themselves, "Q", the person or group of people behind QAnon.[9]

Watkins served as site administrator for 8kun from 2016 until he announced he had resigned in November 2020, though some have questioned the veracity of his resignation.[5][7][10][11]

  1. ^ Ron Watkins [@CodeMonkeyZ] (April 14, 2014). "@hiro_0816 Im from the US. This Friday, April 18, is my birthday" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 5, 2019 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Malone, Patrick (April 13, 2021). "Seattle man wonders if his childhood friend is the leader of Q-Anon". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Gilbert, David (December 15, 2020). "The Dangerous QAnon Figure Doing Whatever It Takes to Win Trump's Approval". Vice. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Ling, Justin (January 6, 2021). "QAnon Is Trumpism Now". Foreign Policy. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference watkinses-q-bundle was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wired-McLaughlin3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).