Who Believes in Conspiracy Theories? Factors Influencing Propensity for Conspiracy Thinking in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine

Abstract

Conspiracy thinking has a significant number of negative effects, namely: it reduces political participation and trust in science, worsens attitudes towards government, hinders safe behavior for health, etc. The issue of the spread of conspiracy theories has become especially acute in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to understand who is most affected by such content.

This study analyzes the factors influencing the propensity for conspiracy thinking based on materials from three countries — Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. The data was collected by polling users of social networks Facebook and VKontakte in April 13 — May 19, 2020. The authors conclude that people with a low level of education, generalized trust, and approval of the current government are most susceptible to conspiracy theories. In addition, older respondents showed a greater predisposition to conspiracy thinking. The influence of gender turned out to be significant in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, where men are less susceptible to conspiracy theories, but not in Russia. Interestingly, the conspiracy beliefs are more typical for people who receive information mainly from TV channels, while the impact of consuming news from blogs and aggregators is the opposite.

Acknowledgments. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant No. 19-18-00206.