There is good and bad news about beliefs in conspiracy theories by U.S. adults. It is from a survey at the back of Dr. Michael Shermer’s 2022 book CONSPIRACY Why the Rational Believe the Irrational. That book is a long, serious look at conspiracies published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. There is a 32-minute YouTube discussion of it from Skeptic.
First the bad news. A quarter of us (24.7%) agree with them, as is shown above in a bar chart listing 29 theories. (Click on it to see a larger, clearer view). More than a quarter agree with 15 theories. There are two theories made-up just for this survey: 5G Dakota Crash (11.92%) and COVID Vaccine Magnetic Reactions (14.55%). One in seven of us could agree with a made-up theory we never ever heard of before!
Second, the good news. Half (49.7%) of us disagree with them, as is shown above in a second bar chart. A majority (more than half) disagree with 15 of 29 theories.
A CODA at the end of the book is titled What People Believe About Conspiracy Theories and Why. It describes a survey done in spring and summer 2021 by Qualtrics on a random sample of 3,139 Americans. They were asked about 29 conspiracy theories, and asked to reply on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from: strongly disagree, moderately disagree, slightly disagree, uncertain, slightly agree, moderately agree, strongly agree. Results reported in the book on pages 279 to 299 were summarized via bar charts grouped in three categories of Agree, Disagree, or Uncertain. Here are the detailed questions corresponding to the labels in my bar charts:
GOVERNMENT/POLITICAL CONSPIRACY THEORIES
QAnon
The government, media and financial worlds in the United States are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global sex trafficking operation.
Deep State
The actions of the US government are not determined by elected officials, but by an unelected secret group of business and cultural elites known
Rigged Election 2016
The 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump was fraudulent, because it was tampered with by high-ranking politicians and computer programmers in Russia.
Rigged Election 2020
The 2020 presidential election of Joe Biden was fraudulent, because it was tampered with by high-ranking politicians, voting machine programmers, and poll workers.
Obama Birtherism
The government has suppressed evidence that Barack Obama was not born on US soil and was thus an illegitimate president.
9/11 Inside Job
The Bush administration has hidden the truth about their role in bringing down the Twin Towers on 9/11.
FEMA Concentration Camps
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) is secretly building concentration camps in the United States that will be used as holding cells for citizens and political prisoners.
Moon Landing Faked
NASA and the American government are hiding the truth that the moon landing in 1969 was faked.
Global Warning Hoax
Global warming is a hoax developed by liberal elites and careerist scientists who are hoping to appeal to political popularity.
Woke Race
The way the founders of the United States set things up ensures that, even today, only whites can be truly free and successful.
Woke Gender
The way the founders of the United States set things up ensures that, even today, only men can be truly free and successful.
Reptilian Aliens
Reptilian aliens occupy positions of significant power and influence in the US government, as well as in the media.
UFOs
The US government is hiding the truth about alien visitations to Earth.
MEDICAL/VACCINE/COVID-19 CONSPIRACY THEORIES
COVID Chinese Lab
COVID-19 was developed in a Chinese lab, and Chinese officials have covered it up.
COVID Vaccine Surveillance Chips
The COVID-19 vaccine contains tiny computer chips, to help make government surveillance of people easier.
COVID Vaccine Magnetic Reactions (made-up conspiracy theory)
Political and medical elites are hiding the truth about how COVID-19 vaccines cause magnetic reactions.
Vaccines Cause Autism
Political and medical elites are hiding the truth about the harmful role of vaccines in causing autism in children.
Chemtrails
The US government and major corporations have been involved in releasing toxic poisons through the chemtrails generated by commercial airliners.
GMOs
Governments around the world are hiding the truth about the role of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in rising rates of cancer and autism.
5G COVID
5G cell-phone towers reduce our immune functioning and increase our risk of COVID-19 infection.
5G Dakota Crash (made-up conspiracy theory)
High-ranking officials in the US Air Force are hiding important information regarding the role of 5G technologies in the Dakota crash.
SUSPICIOUS DEATHS CONSPIRACY THEORIES
JFK Assassination
Individuals within the US government have hidden the truth about who was really responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Princess Diana Murder
Powerful people are hiding evidence that Princess Diana was murdered.
Epstein Murder
High-ranking officials, powerful politicians, and noted celebrities are hiding information about the murder of Jeffrey Epstein, to cover up illegal or immoral sexual activity.
Sandy Hook False Flag
The Sandy Hook school shooting was staged as a false-flag operation, so progressive liberals could further promote gun control laws or even overturn the Second Amendment.
Clinton Murders
Though it goes unreported, the Clinton family is known to be directly responsible for numerous murders of important political figures.
SECRET ORGINAZATION CONSPIRACY THEORIES
Secret Societies
Global and national politics are controlled by the world’s richest individuals and secret societies, such as the Illuminati, the Rothschild family, the Rockefeller family, and the British royals, who advocate a New World Order.
Israel/Jews
Israel/Jews secretly control most of the decision-making processes across key US institutions, including government and media.
Smart Phone Spying
Political and business elites are regularly using iPhones and other popular consumer electronics to spy on us without our consent.
On October 15, 2016 I blogged about What is the government concealing from us? Paranoia in the 2016 Chapman Survey of American Fears. And on November 22, 2017 I blogged about What is our government sweeping under the rug? Paranoia in the 2017 Chapman Survey of American Fears.
The image of four loons came from Wikimedia Commons.
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