#106
Deep Prejudices Surface During the COVID-19 Crisis

A disturbing survey in England found that nearly half of the population surveyed believe in conspiracy theories about COVID-19. Nearly 20 percent agreed separately that either Jews or Muslims were responsible for spreading the virus.
 
The survey, conducted by psychologists at Oxford University, reached over 2,500 people. Almost half of those questioned endorsed to some degree the idea that "COVID-19 is a bioweapon developed by China to destroy the West" and around one-fifth endorsed to some degree that "Jews have created the virus to collapse the economy for financial gain." Nearly 20 percent also agreed to some extent with the statement that "Muslims are spreading the virus as an attack on Western values." And approximately 59 percent of adults in England believe to some degree that the government is misleading the public about the cause of the virus, and 62 percent agree to some extent that the virus is man-made.
 
Such ideas do not appear confined to the fringes. Those who share beliefs about conspiracy theories were more likely than not to distrust institutions and professions. The researchers reported that these ideas are linked to lower compliance with government guidelines and are associated with paranoia, general vaccination conspiracy belief, climate change conspiracy belief, and a conspiracy mentality more broadly.
 
The study did find that, overall, approximately 50 percent of the population showed little evidence of conspiracy thinking. However, 25 percent showed a degree of endorsement of conspiracy beliefs about coronavirus, 15 percent showed a consistent pattern of endorsement, and 10 percent had very high levels of endorsement.

The data comes from “Coronavirus conspiracy beliefs, mistrust, and compliance with government guidelines in England,” published in Psychological Medicine. The survey was conducted from May 4 to 11.

(Based on: May 22, 2020, Newsweek article.)