There's also ample historical evidence that even more people are willing to believe the most ludicrous things said about other people without any proof whatsoev

There's also ample historical evidence that even more people are willing to believe the most ludicrous things said about other people without any proof whatsoever, so long as Satanism/demonology and/or sex are sprinkled into the tale. "Satanic panic" wasn't a "deflection mechanism". It's the reality that the vast majority of the things people were worrying about existed only in their heads. Dark, demonic forces have better things to do with their time than hang out in your toaster or mess about with angsty pimple-faced teens when there's desperate college graduates with a lifetime of student loan debt and "promising futures" practically falling from the sky. Most satanists (just like most non-satanists) have never even played D&D.