15 percent of Americans believe central QAnon theory: poll

Fifteen percent of Americans agree with the central false tenet of the QAnon conspiracy theory: that the government and other entities are controlled by Satan-worshipping pedophiles running a child sex trafficking ring, according to a new poll.

Among Republicans the survey, released Wednesday by the Public Religion Research Institute, found that 23 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that “the government, media and financial worlds in the U.S. are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation.”

That number declines to 14 percent among independents and 8 percent among Democrats. 

The survey also found that 20 percent of Americans believe another central part of the conspiracy theory, that “there is a storm coming soon that will sweep away the elites in power and restore the rightful leaders.”

Twenty-eight percent of Republicans surveyed agreed with the statement, compared to 18 percent of independents and 14 percent of Democrats.

The poll also found that 15 percent of survey respondents said that “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.”

Twenty-eight percent of Republicans polled said that they agreed with the statement, along with 13 percent of independents and 7 percent of Democrats.

Approximately 4 in 10 Americans who say that they trust far-right news outlets like OANN and Newsmax said that they believe the false theory that the government and other institutions are controlled by “Satan-worshipping pedophiles.”

White evangelical Protestants, Hispanic Protestants and Mormons are the most likely among religious groups polled to agree with any of the central beliefs of the QAnon conspiracy theory.

The survey was conducted online between March 8 and March 30 among 5,149 adults in the U.S. The margin of error is plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.