QAnon may finally have a champion in Congress with the addition of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, but luckily for the rest of us, the ranks of the conspiracy theory’s believers, already much smaller than people had supposed, has plummeted since the storming of the Capitol last month.
A new poll from Morning Consult found that even as more of the country has learned about QAnon in the past winter, far fewer of those who are familiar with it support it.
Back in October, Morning Consult found that the majority of the nation had heard nothing at all about QAnon, which claimed that Donald Trump would crush a global sex trafficking ring run by prominent Democratic politicians and Hollywood celebrities, culminating in a series of mass executions. If that sounds insane to you, you’re in luck — most Republicans and Democrats agree.
Whereas 24% of respondents polled back in October said QAnon was “very” or “somewhat” accurate based on what they know — note that that includes many respondents who also reported knowing nothing or very little about QAnon — only 18% say so now. That’s specifically because of a loss of support among the minority of Trump supporters who had ever heard of QAnon, let alone adhered to it.
More than a third of people who voted for Trump in 2016 said QAnon was very or somewhat accurate four months ago, but now, less than a quarter do. Those who voted for Trump last year were even less supportive of QAnon, with just 1 in 5 deeming it somewhat or very accurate. That’s despite Trump’s refusal to denounce the conspiracy theory outright.
Last year, people who voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump were far more likely to have ever heard of QAnon. Today, more people have heard of it all around, although Clinton voters are still significantly more likely to have heard of it.
Between the Capitol storming that left five dead and Greene’s election to represent Georgia in the House of Representatives, the media has panicked that QAnon is becoming mainstream on the Right. The Biden administration is even debating how to crack down on domestic terrorism. Morning Consult’s findings don’t prove that QAnon isn’t a problem. But just as the October poll indicated, the conspiracy theory remains at the fringe and, in fact, has been largely discredited on its own terms with the inauguration of President Biden, which was not part of “The Plan.”
One prediction that a majority of both Clinton and Trump voters made was that Biden’s election wouldn’t diminish QAnon support. They seem to have been wrong. But it’s also worth noting that prior to Jan. 6, belief in such kookery was not taken to be something malicious or dangerous. It was one thing for bored wine moms to consider QAnon a positive force casually when most people’s conception of it came from a Facebook meme claiming Trump was cracking down on pedophilia. But now that people have seen the violent logical conclusion of its thesis, including the murder of a police officer, those not actively committed to it seem to be jumping ship.
Given these findings, the media would be wise to take QAnon’s threat seriously but also to adopt a more realistic idea of its scope. Although capable of violence, its followers comprise a shrinking minority of extremists.
