Fact check: Sicilian theater featured in viral video hosts plays, not child sacrifices

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Video shows theater where elites sacrifice children

A Jan. 19 Instagram post features a screen recording of a now-deleted TikTok. The video shows a woman opening two hidden doors to show an underground theater.

"This is where elites sacrifice kids," reads the text at the beginning of the video.

The video garnered more than 20,000 likes in four days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Instagram.

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Our rating: False

This is yet another baseless QAnon conspiracy theory. The theater was built in Italy in the 19th century and hosts performances, workshops, concerts and events for children. There's no evidence in the video or anywhere else of child sacrifices occurring there.

Video shows historic theater in Italy

The same video has been shared in recent years by users on Facebook and YouTube – minus the conspiracy theory text.

It shows the Donnafugata Theater, the website for which features photos of the theater's interior, which match the theater shown in the Instagram video.

Housed in a medieval era castle in Sicily, Italy, the theater was built in the early 19th Century and restored in 2004 as a family theater. It regularly hosts performances, workshops, concerts and events for children, according to the website.

There's no evidence the theater has ever been the venue for child sacrifices.

People march during a "Save the Children" rally outside the Capitol on Aug. 22, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Some of the hundreds of rallies around the country decrying human trafficking and pedophilia were linked to social media accounts promoting the QAnon conspiracy.
People march during a "Save the Children" rally outside the Capitol on Aug. 22, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Some of the hundreds of rallies around the country decrying human trafficking and pedophilia were linked to social media accounts promoting the QAnon conspiracy.

This claim of child sacrifice is one of the numerous baseless conspiracy theories perpetuated by QAnon, whose followers believe the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic pedophiles.

QAnon conspiracy theories lack evidence or grounding in reality and have repeatedly failed to materialize in recent years.

For example, in 2021, a crowd of supporters gathered in Dallas, Texas waiting for John F. Kennedy Jr. to reappear and announce that former President Donald Trump would be reinstated as president. Kennedy, who has been dead for more than 20 years,  never appeared. Earlier that year on Inauguration Day, many supporters awaited a “Great Awakening,” where they believed Trump would declare martial law and bring his political enemies to justice. This also never happened.

Fact check: Photo of Brazilian 'QAnon shaman' dates back to 2021, not Jan. 8 riots

USA TODAY has previously debunked several other QAnon claims, including the claim that a historical sculpture shows adrenochrome being harvested from a child and that a set of images proves a QAnon-related cannibalism conspiracy theory.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.

This claim has been debunked by PolitiFact as well.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Theater in viral video hosts plays, not child sacrifices