MyPillow CEO, election denier, and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell appears to be partnering with multiple QAnon figures to promote an upcoming “election summit” that purports to “reveal the plan that will save our election platforms immediately.” Multiple QAnon supporters have claimed that Lindell and his associates have asked them to promote the event, and at least one of them has also claimed that Lindell is paying them to do so via referral codes.

Lindell, a pillow salesman and one of Fox News’ biggest advertisers, has been a prominent booster of false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Following the 2020 election, Lindell hosted forums pushing election fraud claims and was photographed entering the West Wing in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency with notes that seemed to advocate for martial law. In January, Lindell unsuccessfully ran for chair of the Republican National Committee.

Lindell’s promotion of election denial has led to legal troubles and, according to him, also a financial toll: In July, he announced that he was auctioning off more than 700 pieces of MyPillow equipment after losing $100 million in sales “due to big retailers halting sales of the company’s products.” He was also ordered by an arbitration panel to pay $5 million after offering that amount to “anyone who could prove a store of computer data he had acquired wasn’t, in fact, 2020 election data” — which someone subsequently did.

In addition to pushing election fraud claims, Lindell has been tied to supporters of the dangerous QAnon conspiracy theory, associating with these figures and pushing claims that have been largely amplified by them. Lindell has also provided MyPillow discount codes using terms associated with the conspiracy theory (“QAnon,” “Q,” and “storm”), and Media Matters previously reported that he has funded numerous QAnon shows by giving them MyPillow discount codes.

Now, Media Matters has found that Lindell appears to be partnering with QAnon figures for his upcoming “election summit” on August 16 and 17. The event’s site asks attendees signing up for the event for a referral code in order to “support our partners” — which Media Matters found includes QAnon figures.

Since at least July 18, multiple QAnon figures — some of whom already have MyPillow codes — began promoting the event and offering their own referral codes. 

On July 20, one of the QAnon figures, Melissa Redpill The World, announced on social media that Lindell “had a meeting with all of us who have been supporting him” and that he “wants to make sure that each one of us is on it” and gets people signed up for the event. She also encouraged people to use her code.

That same day, another QAnon figure, MJTruth, claimed, “I was contacted by an associate of Mike Lindell’s team to join in on a meeting with Mike Lindell to talk about this event” because Lindell “needs help from people like me who have an audience to register people to view this live streamed event he’s got planned.” The figure also mentioned referral codes, admitting, “To be 100% transparent, there is compensation.”

And other QAnon figures with “an audience” joined in, urging followers to show them “support” and attend, while also promising to participate in the event themselves and asking followers to use their referral codes for the event “so Mike knows I sent you” and to “receive a free online gift.”

Lindell also apparently reached out to other online far-right accounts, including YouTube channel Next News Network, known for repeatedly spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories; far-right cartoonist Ben Garrison; and an apparent supporter of the far-right Three Percenters militia movement. Both Next News Network and Garrison claimed their referral codes would provide attendees with a gift, and Garrison wrote on social media that Lindell had “reached out to us and said he is going to need our help.” Lindell has also gone on conspiracy theory network Infowars to promote the event and announced a referral code for the event for its founder Alex Jones. (Jones also said that he was invited to attend the event.)

Lindell’s apparent partnership and financing of QAnon figures to get them to promote his election denialism is a continuation of the ties between the QAnon and election denial movements. And it furthers QAnon’s central role of being an anti-reality online distribution network useful for others’ agendas.