$150 “Qux” gadget sure looks a lot like this generic Linux TV box that wholesalers list for $15

There’s some buzz on the internet about the Qux (“Cucks”, see), a mysterious gadget being marketed at the MAGA crowd. Its Indiegogo campaign went into orbit, with more than a thousand people apparently ponying up $170,000 to pre-order one.

The brainchild of former Infowars reporter Millie Weaver, the Qux has succeeded in spite of or because of that lack of specificity, raising more than $170,000 on crowdfunding site Indiegogo with a promise to create electronic “portals” free from censorship. The Qux is coming, whether anyone involved knows what it is or not.

The Qux looks different in the marketing photos and promo video on the Indiegogo page—rarely a happy sign—but each closely resembles generic linux TV streaming boxes that you can buy wholesale from the factory.

This listing has one with the same rough dimensions and port layout at $4.90 a box, but the wording implies that this is just for a sample. If you want to buy lots for resale or customization, try $15.50 a box.

In essence, it’s a box that turns your TV into a smart TV (or replaces its built-in smart TV functions). As vague as its promo and crowdfunding pages are, the Qux difference is plainly that it has a custom portal with all your MAGA faves set up and ready to binge.

You can also buy these gadgets for $30 on Amazon, primed to your door in 2-3 days, albeit without Tomi Lahren’s YouTube channel pinned to the home screen.

These devices offer performance roughly on a par with the lowest-end Roku and Chromecast devices, which are sold in the $20-$40 range. Unlike the name-brand offerings, though, they come with no support and no promises of security.

The other design (as seen in the marketing video) has the port layout of wholesale knockoffs of the Xiaomi Mi Box. It has a more rounded style, but it’s all much of a muchness at the low-end of generic set-top boxes.

Given that censorship and privacy are watchwords here—”determine the future of digital freedom and a new, secure, intergalactic virtual network”—I’m sure we’d all love to hear team Qux’s plans to audit the hardware and firmware of a product manufactured abroad. The consequences can be dire.

If Millie Weaver’s name rings a bell, it might be because she’s an Infowars correspondent. She and her boyfriend, named by News 5 Cleveland as Gavon Wince, were both charged with robbery, tampering with evidence, obstructing justice and domestic violence in an alleged altercation with Weaver’s mother, though the charges appear to have since been dropped. A Gavin Wince may be found on Twitter at present, furiously defending the Qux’s honor.