Survey on conspiracy myths: QAnon legends spread among AfD voters

From stories of children being sacrificed to the storming of the Capitol, the QAnon movement has garnered a lot of attention across the US. A study shows: In Germany, AfD voters in particular believe in these legends.

To this day it is not clear exactly how the QAnon cult came about – but precisely this diffuse aura seems to be one reason for the movement’s popularity. In the US, QAnon has become a gathering place for conspiracy believers.

The storming of the Capitol in 2021 unleashed the destructive force of the movement; Images of attackers – dressed as shamans or in fantasy uniforms – amazed the public at the conspiracy cult.

But QAnon also has many supporters in Europe. A representative survey tagesschau.de exclusively available, shows how widespread the belief in central QAnon legends is. The survey was conducted by the non-profit organization Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS).

According to CeMAS, the results support the thesis that the German-speaking area outside of the USA is probably the largest digital QAnon scene.

Minority believes in QAnon myths

According to this, seven percent in Germany and more than eleven percent in Austria believe that their own country is being ruled by a foreign power that pulls the strings in the background. Less than five percent of people in Germany (3.1 percent) and Austria (4.3 percent) think the government, media and financial world are controlled by a group of satanic pedophiles who run a global child sex trade. Another five percent think this is at least partially possible.

Just over five percent in Germany and just under eight percent in Austria believe that “true patriots” may have to resort to violence to save their country.

Child Trafficking, Deep State and the Great Storm

QAnon is often described as a metaconspiracy narrative because it combines very different narratives. But there are certain legends that are typical of this milieu – such as alleged satanic child trafficking networks or the idea of ​​a so-called Deep State, i.e. a secret state within the state.

It also includes the belief in rigged elections and the conviction that it would take a “great storm” to install the “rightful leaders”.

The unvaccinated agree much more often

A large part of society in Germany and Austria rejects such statements. But who agrees? According to the results, people who are not yet vaccinated believe significantly more often in QAnon-typical conspiracy stories.

In Germany, 46 percent of the unvaccinated agree at least partially with key conspiracy narratives of the QAnon scene, while only 8.7 percent of people who have received at least one vaccination agree with such narratives.

The situation is similar in Austria: approval ratings of 41.1 percent for unvaccinated people in contrast to 11.4 percent for people who have been vaccinated.

A total of 4.3 percent of respondents from Germany and 9.2 percent from Austria said they had taken part in protests against corona protection measures at least once – more than half of the protesters believe in QAnon conspiracy stories.

AfD and FPÖ supporters tend to believe in QAnon

In addition, the supporters of the AfD and FPÖ in particular tend to believe in QAnon conspiracies. In Germany, almost 44 percent from this milieu (rather) agree with such legends. Other groups of voters reject this very clearly – from 91 percent in the party Die Linke to 96.3 percent in the Greens.

A similar pattern can be seen in Austria: Here, 46.1 percent of the supporters of the FPÖ and 32 percent of the MFG party, which is critical of vaccinations, agree with QAnon conspiracy tales; at least 90 percent of the other parties reject these statements.

range explodes

The study states that with the onset of the corona pandemic, “the reach and size of the QAnon scene on YouTube and Telegram exploded”. Legends from the QAnon movement were linked to those from the Reichsbürger milieu.

Six QAnon channels on Telegram have more than 100,000 subscribers, and a total of 115 QAnon channels with at least 1000 subscribers have been identified. News from the QAnon milieu reaches hundreds of thousands of accounts in German-speaking countries every day. The survey also confirms that people with a strong belief in QAnon conspiracies get more information on Telegram.

With around 140,000 subscribers, the German-language channel Qlobal-Change is well behind the largest English-language channel GhostEzra (300,000 subscribers) – but it also addresses a significantly larger audience than the German-language channel.

The recruitment of participants for the survey took into account that the sample reflects the distribution in the general population by parameters such as age, gender, education and state. In the survey, which was conducted online by the market research institute Bilendi & respondi, 2,202 people in Germany and 1,099 people in Austria over the age of 18 took part in the period from January 17, 2022 to January 22, 2022. After data cleansing, the data of 1970 people in Germany and 1012 people in Austria could be used.

Suddenly friendly towards China

The pandemic is no longer the dominant topic in public. But as already expected by experts: The topics are interchangeable, conspiracy believers can adapt their legends to current events. Many “lateral thinkers” were suddenly spreading Russian propaganda – and the QAnon networks have recently shown themselves to be conspicuously well-disposed towards China – which has a central role as a strategic ally for Putin.

One Analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) notes that the Russian attack on Ukraine is shifting many views: “In a surprisingly short time, Xi Jinping appears to have been transformed from villain to hero in the QAnon conspiracy pantheon.” The ISD warns that QAnon could become a gateway for Chinese state media propaganda.