COVID-19 conspiracy theories are widespread in Croatia, but what are the characteristics of the groups that believe in them? Find the answer to that question in Gong's research conducted by professors Mirjana Tonković, Andrea Vranić, and professor Nebojša Blanuša, from the University of Zagreb, entitled "Prevalence, Structure and Trends of Conspiratorial Beliefs: The Analysis of Croatian Citizens With Different Degrees of Susceptibility to COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories".
By conducting a survey on a nationally representative population of 1,400 participants, enough data was collected for a detailed statistical analysis of the behavioral correlations of conspiracy theories about COVID-19, in order to determine which groups of citizens are most susceptible to disinformation and conspiratorial beliefs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as broader national and global conspiracies.
The results of the survey indicate that a significant number of Croatian citizens still believe in the COVID-19 conspiracy theories, and that this has decreased slightly since the beginning of the pandemic. Belief in the same is closely related to non-vaccination and the intention to vaccinate in the future, lower levels of scientific, media and political literacy, weaker socio-economic status, more pronounced populist tendencies and nationalism. What binds all COVID-19 conspiracy theories into a solid narrative structure is their connection to a religious understanding of the world, as well as to various global conspiracy theories.
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