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Belief in Conspiracy Theories

May 19, 2020
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Q. Here are some things people have been saying about Covid-19. They’re all things that some people say are true and others say aren’t true. To what extent do you believe each of the following to true or false?

  TOTAL:

True

 TOTAL: False Definitely true Probably true Probably false Definitely false I don’t know enough to make a decision
The outbreak in China is actually much worse than the official Chinese statistics show 77% 11% 33% 44% 7% 4% 12%
The Covid-19 virus was engineered and released from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan 39% 39% 14% 25% 22% 17% 22%
The number of Covid-19 deaths have been exaggerated by the media and governments to scare the population 20% 71% 7% 13% 23% 48% 10%
Bill Gates played a role in the creation and spread of Covid-19 13% 71% 4% 9% 17% 55% 15%
The Covid-19 virus is not dangerous and is being used to force people to get vaccines 13% 79% 4% 10% 14% 65% 8%
The 5G wireless network is being used to spread the Covid-19 virus 12% 75% 4% 8% 14% 61% 13%

 

TOTAL: True   Gender Age Group
Total Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+
The outbreak in China is actually much worse than the official Chinese statistics show 77% 79% 75% 69% 75% 85%
The Covid-19 virus was engineered and released from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan 39% 40% 39% 41% 39% 37%
The number of Covid-19 deaths have been exaggerated by the media and governments to scare the population 20% 23% 16% 30% 21% 10%
Bill Gates played a role in the creation and spread of Covid-19 13% 14% 13% 20% 13% 8%
The Covid-19 virus is not dangerous and is being used to force people to get vaccines 13% 17% 10% 20% 15% 6%
The 5G wireless network is being used to spread the Covid-19 virus 12% 15% 9% 20% 13% 4%
Base (n) 1,073 524 549 339 349 385
  • There is widespread belief that the outbreak in China is actually much worse than the official Chinese statistics show with three-quarters (77%) believe this to be definitely, or probably true.
  • Around the same number of people believe it’s true that the Covid-19 virus was engineered and released from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan as believe it to be false (both 39%).
  • Only a small minority believe other conspiracy theories to be true.
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