ArticleFrontiers in psychology2021
Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation About COVID-19: Comparative Perspectives on the Role of Anxiety, Depression and Exposure to and Trust in Information Sources.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 105 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
105 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 304 citations in OpenAlex.
- Contemporary trends in psychological research on conspiracy beliefs. A systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Antecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: A systematic review.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2022Pooled it
- Social distancing in America: Understanding long-term adherence to COVID-19 mitigation recommendations.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Article
- Shattered Safety? Developmental Trajectories for Conspiracy Mentality and Violent Extremist Attitudes.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2026Article
- Conspiracy Beliefs, Institutional Mistrust, and Health-Related Behaviours During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Burkina Faso: A Mediation Analysis.The International journal of health planning and management · 2026Article
- The hyper-systemizing hypothesis: how the tendency to systemize influences conspiracy beliefs and belief inflexibility in clinical and general populations.Cognitive processing · 2026Article
- Perceived Disinformation, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms in the Czech Population: Age-Specific Associations.Depression and anxiety · 2026Article
- Development of a COVID-19 Vaccination Anxiety Scale to measure COVID-19 vaccine anxiety in Japanese adults.PloS one · 2026Article
- Digital health literacy and infodemic awareness among preschool teachers: skills, behaviors, and determinants.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Exploring the Relationship Between Conspiracy Theory Beliefs and Adherence to Government Guidelines During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Perceived Control and Trust in Social Media and Traditional Sources of Information.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- On the importance of communication, advocacy, and information accuracy in destigmatizing mpox disease.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Alternative theories of COVID-19: social dimensions and information sources.Journal of public health policy · 2025Review
- COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs in Poland. Predictors, psychological and social impact and adherence to public health guidelines over one year.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Prevalence of pharmaceutical industry conspiracy theories among the polish population.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Beliefs in Misinformation About COVID-19 and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Are Linked: Evidence From a Nationally Representative Survey Study.JMIR infodemiology · 2025Article
- Predictors of alcohol use disorder risk in young adults: Direct and indirect psychological paths through binge drinking.PloS one · 2025Article
- Paranoia affected COVID-19 vaccine refusal by increasing beliefs in conspiracy theories and mistrust of science.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Descriptive analysis of TikTok content on vaccination in Arabic.AIMS public health · 2025Article
45 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
While COVID-19 spreads aggressively and rapidly across the globe, many societies have also witnessed the spread of other viral phenomena like misinformation, conspiracy theories, and general mass suspicions about what is really going on. This study investigates how exposure to and trust in information sources, and anxiety and depression, are associated with conspiracy and misinformation beliefs in eight countries/regions (Belgium, Canada, England, Philippines, Hong Kong, New Zealand, United States, Switzerland) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in an online survey fielded from May 29, 2020 to June 12, 2020, resulting in a multinational representative sample of 8,806 adult respondents. Results indicate that greater exposure to traditional media (television, radio, newspapers) is associated with lower conspiracy and misinformation beliefs, while exposure to politicians and digital media and personal contacts are associated with greater conspiracy and misinformation beliefs. Exposure to health experts is associated with lower conspiracy beliefs only. Higher feelings of depression are also associated with greater conspiracy and misinformation beliefs. We also found relevant group- and country differences. We discuss the implications of these results.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.