ArticlePloS one2022
On the relationship between conspiracy theory beliefs, misinformation, and vaccine hesitancy.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparative synthesis of sociocultural and political influences (SPIs) on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: an interdisciplinary systematic review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Understanding HIV Vaccine Misinformation and Vaccine Intentions Among Young Women in South Africa: Insights from an Online Survey.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Article
- Racial disparities related to the perception of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among parents of children aged 0-12 years old in Canada.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2025Article
- COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy continuum and its psycho-behavioral predictive models among general population: a cross-sectional study in Ethiopia.BMC public health · 2025Article
- References to unbiased sources increase the helpfulness of community fact-checks.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Prevalence, nature, and determinants of COVID-19-related conspiracy theories among healthcare workers: a scoping review.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025Article
- The Interplay of Politics and Conspiracy Theories in Shaping Vaccine Hesitancy in a Diverse Cultural Setting in Italy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- An Exploratory Investigation of Representations of Herpes Zoster and Adjuvanted Recombinant Herpes Zoster Vaccination in a Sample of Fragile Adults in Italy.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Immunization safety monitoring: addressing vaccine hesitancy and enhancing coverage in crisis-affected regions-insights from Lebanon, Ukraine, and Sudan.Therapeutic advances in vaccines and immunotherapy · 2025Review
- Exploring Implications of Risk Communication Strategies in Diminishing Adversities of Misinformation and Disinformation Against Hepatitis Vaccination in Global South.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2025Article
- Experiences and perceptions of migrant populations in South Africa on COVID-19 immunization: an interpretative phenomenological analysis.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Logistic and organizational barriers to herpes zoster vaccination in europe: A systematic review.Vaccine: X · 2024Review
- Association between beliefs in medical conspiracy theories and health behaviors among medical and healthcare students. Implications for professional practice.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Exploring the perceptions and experiences of mobile teams on COVID-19 vaccine uptake at the community level: evidence from Benue and Niger states.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Delusion-proneness predicts COVID-19 vaccination behavior.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Who shares fake news on social media? Evidence from vaccines and infertility claims in sub-Saharan Africa.PloS one · 2024Article
- Vaccination against emerging and reemerging infectious diseases in places of detention: a global multistage scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Correlation between coronavirus conspiracism and antisemitism: a cross-sectional study in the United Kingdom.Scientific reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
At the time of writing, nearly one hundred published studies demonstrate that beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and misinformation are negatively associated with COVID-19 preventive behaviors. These correlational findings are often interpreted as evidence that beliefs in conspiracy theories and misinformation are exogenous factors that shape human behavior, such as forgoing vaccination. This interpretation has motivated researchers to develop methods for "prebunking," "debunking," or otherwise limiting the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation online. However, the robust literatures on conspiracy theory beliefs, health behaviors, and media effects lead us to question whether beliefs in conspiracy theories and misinformation should be treated as exogenous to vaccine hesitancy and refusal. Employing U.S. survey data (n = 2,065) from July 2021, we show that beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and misinformation are not only related to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and refusal, but also strongly associated with the same psychological, social, and political motivations theorized to drive COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and refusal. These findings suggest that beliefs in conspiracy theories and misinformation might not always be an exogenous cause, but rather a manifestation of the same factors that lead to vaccine hesitancy and refusal. We conclude by encouraging researchers to carefully consider modeling choices and imploring practitioners to refocus on the worldviews, personality traits, and political orientations that underlie both health-related behaviors and beliefs in conspiracy theories and misinformation.
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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.