In the UK, social media use associated with COVID-19 conspiracy theories

A laughing woman wears a hat made of tin or aluminum foil as she walks down a street.

The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted society with a profusion of cases where critical pieces of information simply aren't known yet. And the public has had to deal with managing a huge number of situations where the risks were outside its control. Under those circumstances, we shouldn't be surprised that the human belief formation system has stepped into these gaps by latching on to conspiracy theories and substituting nefarious actors for the unknowns and uncontrolled. That's set off an ongoing battle, pitting unsubstantiated beliefs against public health experts and scientists, as well as the press that conveys their understanding to the public.

So who's winning? Some academics decided to poll the UK public to find out. The results are a mix of good news and bad news. No conspiracy theory has reached the point where a third of the public believes it yet. But belief is more likely among younger people, who rely on social media for more of their information.

Public opinion

The poll, done by a team at King's College London, relied on three surveys of the UK public. The first was a relatively small sample of self-selected respondents. But that was followed by two larger surveys (over 2,000 individuals each) that were arranged to accurately reflect the UK's demographics. Those surveyed were asked questions about whether certain statements about the pandemic were true, as well as about their own behavior in terms of obeying the country's social restrictions. They were also asked where they got their information about SARS-CoV-2.

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