Search Results (65)

This study examines the evolution of willingness to accept the monkeypox (Mpox) vaccine in Romania between 2022 and 2025. It explores key sociodemographic and behavioral predictors of vaccine acceptance and investigates how public perceptions—particularly concerning disease severity and conspiracy beliefs—have shifted across two independent cross-sectional samples. Two nationally distributed surveys were conducted in July 2022 (n = 820) and January–February 2025 (n = 1029), targeting Romanian residents aged 18 and above. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests, and a Random Forest classification model to assess the relative importance of predictors of vaccine acceptance. Between 2022 and 2025, vaccine acceptance increased modestly, particularly among individuals aged 36–65 and those with prior experience of voluntary or COVID-19 vaccination. Random Forest analysis identified behavioral factors as the strongest predictors of acceptance in both years, while the influence of education and gender varied over time. Belief in conspiracy theories slightly declined and lost predictive relevance by 2025. Perceptions of pandemic potential and fear of infection also decreased, suggesting reduced risk salience and possible pandemic fatigue. Despite a slight upward trend, overall Mpox vaccine acceptance in Romania remains among the lowest in Europe. These findings highlight the need for targeted public health communication, particularly toward skeptical or demographically vulnerable groups. Prior vaccination behavior emerged as a key driver of acceptance, indicating that trust-building strategies should capitalize on existing pro-vaccination habits. Future research should adopt qualitative and longitudinal approaches to better capture the evolving psychosocial dynamics of vaccine hesitancy. Full article

Background/Objectives: Vaccine hesitancy has increased during the coronavirus pandemic, a period marked by the spread of disinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines. This qualitative study aimed to explore the beliefs and attitudes of Spaniards towards COVID-19 vaccines and analyze the role of information sources in this process. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 residents of Spain who exhibited varying levels of vaccine hesitancy. Through thematic content analysis, the narratives supporting vaccination-related decisions, as well as the influence and trust in information sources, were examined. Results: Reasons for getting vaccinated included perceptions of it being “almost an obligation” and “fear of illness and death”. Conversely, reasons for not getting vaccinated included “uncertainty about vaccines”, the belief that “the risk is not real”, and the perception that “vaccination is a personal decision”. Regarding vaccine-related information sources, interviewees expressed distrust of the media, particularly television, as they considered news about vaccine effectiveness and characteristics to be contradictory and constantly changing, which created uncertainty about its reliability. Most interviewees were unsure if social media influenced their decision not to get vaccinated. However, those who acknowledged its impact mentioned trusting sources such as people with a university education. Additionally, close contacts—particularly healthcare professionals—had a significant influence on the decision not to get vaccinated. Conclusions: This study shows that the decision not to vaccinate is shaped by personal beliefs and sources of information—particularly social media and close acquaintances, including healthcare professionals. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified concerns about misinformation, sparking interest in the field of infodemiology, which examines the spread and impact of information on public health perceptions. This research examines how geographic location influenced COVID-19 discourse across 10 Italian cities by analyzing geographically tagged Twitter data. Our network analysis of 4792 high-degree nodes identifies key information spreaders and community structures, while spatiotemporal mapping reveals regional variations in information patterns and influential narratives. Results demonstrate significant geographic and cultural influences on public discourse. In Milan and Rome, economic and political narratives dominated, suggesting targeted messaging about economic recovery and government transparency. Southern regions like Naples require trust-building through community-led initiatives addressing cultural health beliefs. The study identified a clear dichotomy among influencers: established public figures provided evidence-based information, while another group cultivated followings through conspiracy theories, creating echo chambers for skeptical views. This research informs strategies for location-specific information campaigns, helping public health agencies combat misinformation more effectively. Findings emphasize the need for context-specific interventions that consider geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic factors to enhance community resilience during health emergencies. Full article

What leads people to believe in conspiracy theories? While scholars have learned much about both the psychological, social, and political factors associated with individuals’ receptivity to conspiracy theories, and the rhetoric with which these ideas are communicated, these two lines of research have often proceeded in isolation, leaving scholars not fully understanding if rhetoric persuades audiences of conspiracy theories. Employing two U.S. national survey experiments, we test the effect of six rhetorical devices on respondents’ endorsements of eleven different conspiracy theories. Across both studies, we fail to find evidence showing that these rhetorical devices increased the endorsement of any of the eleven conspiracy theories. These findings suggest that conspiracy theory beliefs are more the product of worldviews and group identities than of leaders’ communication styles. Full article

Background/Objectives: The concepts of trust and distrust in health systems during health crises are significantly related to public adoption of health behaviors and health outcomes. The aim of this review is to examine trust and mistrust during times of health crisis, such as periods of viral pandemics and epidemics, and how these concepts relate to public health behaviors and, by extension, affect health outcomes. Methods: A focused search was conducted in PubMed and Scopus using a Boolean expression to identify relevant articles written in the English language and published between 2003 and 2023. The research methods comprised content analysis, thematic analysis, and a word cloud visualization to identify frequent themes related to trust and mistrust in healthcare systems. Results: The analysis included 57 studies and revealed that trust in healthcare systems, institutions, and professionals plays a significant role in shaping public health behaviors during health crises. The study also highlighted how mistrust leads to negative health outcomes, such as increased belief in conspiracy theories, vaccine hesitancy, and non-compliance with public health measures. Conclusions: The review emphasizes the importance of building and maintaining trust in healthcare systems to ensure better public health outcomes during crises. It calls for further research to better understand the nuances of trust and mistrust, aiming to inform public health strategies and interventions that could lead to more effective crisis management and improved health outcomes. Full article

This paper applies Antonio Gramsci’s theory of folklore—defined as the cultural expressions of subaltern groups reflecting their lived experiences of subalternity—to contemporary conspiracy beliefs, arguing that these beliefs function as a form of what he called “modern folklore”. Drawing on Gramsci’s insights into hegemony, it examines how subaltern beliefs emerge as both reflections of and responses to sociocultural conditions. The paper demonstrates that conspiracy mentality, akin to Gramscian folklore, inadequately encapsulates the issues and aspirations of those feeling marginalised and not represented within hegemonic systems. It outlines how distorted elements of modern scientific and political thought are integrated into folklore, resulting in inconsistent and fragmented worldviews. Key topics include the role of commercial literature in shaping subaltern consciousness and the political implications of conspiracy beliefs, particularly how they are utilised by reactionary movements to further their agendas. The analysis concludes with two case studies: one from Gramsci’s writings and another on contemporary conspiracy beliefs related to COVID-19, illustrating how these examples exemplify modern folklore. This approach offers a critical framework for understanding the social, cultural, and political origins and functions of conspiracy beliefs, highlighting the relevance of Gramsci’s thought to conspiracy theory studies. Full article

(1) Background: Populist radical right-wing parties and politicians have used conspiracy theories to perpetuate the antagonism between an evil elite conspiring against the good and unknowing people. Yet, less is known about whether and to what extent radical right-wing populism at the individual level is associated with different conspiracy beliefs. This analysis explores how the main components of radical right-wing populism—populist, nativist, and authoritarian attitudes—relate to both a general conspiracy mentality and specific conspiracy theories prevalent in political discourse. (2) Methods: Using data from an original 2023 online survey conducted in Austria, a stronghold of the populist radical right, this study includes new questions on immigration, COVID-19, and climate change, as well as a conspiracy mentality scale. (3) Results: The analyses reveal that all the main components are positively associated with different conspiracy beliefs, albeit to varying degrees. Across models, the strongest predictor is populism, followed by nativism and authoritarianism. Nativism varies the most across different conspiracy beliefs and is particularly associated with the belief in conspiracy theories related to immigration and climate change. (4) Conclusions: The results highlight the prevalence of radical right-wing populist attitudes across various conspiracy beliefs, reflecting how populist radical right-wing actors leverage conspiracy theories in their political discourse. Full article

Long COVID comprises persistent symptoms that extend beyond four weeks post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. The potential association between long COVID and the endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy theories has not been explored, particularly in Arab countries, where high endorsement of these theories has been reported. This study aimed to explore the association between endorsing COVID-19 conspiracy theories and the prevalence of self-reported long COVID symptoms among adults in Jordan and Kuwait in addition to other Arab countries. The study employed a cross-sectional design using Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI), conducted in Arabic. Recruitment utilized convenience-based snowball sampling via social media and the survey was distributed in July 2024. Long COVID manifestations were assessed across ten recognized symptoms, and belief in conspiracy theories was measured using a five-point Likert scale across five items. The final study sample comprised 755 respondents, the majority of whom self-reported a history of confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis at least once (n = 493, 65.2%). The results indicated a neutral average attitude towards COVID-19 conspiracy theories (mean score = 15.18 ± 4.64 out of 30.00). Participants with high COVID-19 conspiracy theories scores were more likely to report high (aOR = 6.85, p < 0.001) or middle long COVID symptoms (aOR = 2.82, p = 0.008) compared to those with lower scores. Additional predictors of higher long COVID reporting included female sex, lower household income, frequent COVID-19 infections, and hospitalizations. The study results revealed a significant correlation between the endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy theories and a higher frequency and magnitude of long COVID symptom reporting. The findings also highlighted the influence of sociodemographic factors and COVID-19 infection history on long COVID reporting, which suggests that public health strategies should address these factors to mitigate long COVID challenges effectively. Full article

This paper aims to investigate how social media use and gender affect beliefs in conspiracy theories on COVID-19 and how these beliefs correlate with the frequency and patterns of their use, as well as the distribution of population density in rural, town, and urban areas. I collected data from Valcon Project surveys, analyzing the usage of social media by citizens from six European countries (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, and Ireland) on issues like the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic spread. The findings, which take into consideration gender and population density, suggest that different social media platforms affected such beliefs in different ways (platform association), and this effect is also mitigated by the specific content of such conspiracy theories (content association). Full article

This study examines the effect of one of three sources of information: a politician (authority figure), a physician (expert), and an ordinary person (non-expert) who appeared in a personal story related to a controversial issue (COVID-19 vaccination) on Facebook, on the willingness to engage with it. Using a between-subjects experiment (N = 848) conducted among Israeli adults (18 and older), we found a higher likelihood of sharing the story in interpersonal conversations than in other types of communications, regardless of the source that appeared in the story. However, respondents with high levels of institutional trust preferred sharing a politician’s story, while conspiracy believers tended to comment on an ordinary person’s story. The findings of the different patterns of communication behavior among conspiracy believers and people with high trust in political institutes contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the spread of misinformation in the digital age and during times of crisis. Full article

Gene editing contributes to enhancing food security through the creation of novel foods. However, public perception of gene-edited (GE) foods is crucial to their acceptance and adoption. This study expanded the knowledge–attitude–practice model and constructed an integrated framework comprising four dimensions: demographic factors, scientific literacy and beliefs, social trust, and perceptions of gene technology, aimed at explaining the public’s attitudes toward GE foods. A questionnaire survey was conducted (N = 649), revealing a positive attitude toward GE foods, with over 80% expressing a certain willingness to pay (WTP) for them. Factors such as income level, subjective knowledge, scientific beliefs, trust in scientists, trust in government, and trust in national technological capabilities and perceived benefits positively correlated with WTP. Conversely, objective knowledge, perceived risks, and perceived ethical concerns were negatively correlated with WTP. The impact of objective knowledge on attitudes toward GE foods demonstrated a significant, nonlinear relationship. Additionally, it is noteworthy that the Chinese public currently exhibits relatively low trust in national technological capabilities, necessitating vigilance against the emergence of conspiracy theories akin to those surrounding genetically modified foods. This research contributes theoretical insights into the public communication of GE foods. Full article

Vaccines decrease morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, their benefits depend on public response. During COVID-19, vaccine hesitancy and refusal were rampant, threatening public health. A thorough understanding of opponents’ arguments is required to address the diffusion of unreliable information on social media and prevent vaccine hesitancy from developing into vaccine refusal. The focus on the opponents’ viewpoints and their justifications makes the study unique. Accordingly, textual content analysis of reader comments on three health-related Israeli Facebook pages was conducted. Data collection encompassed the Israeli COVID-19 vaccination period from October 2020 to May 2022. The comments were analyzed according to the health beliefs model (HBM). We found that vaccine opponents were characterized by low perceptions of the severity of the disease combined with high perceptions of the damages of the vaccine; low perceived benefits of vaccine compliance; vaccine hesitancy and fear along with public distrust as barriers to change; and call for action to resist the vaccine and spread related anti-establishment views on the web. Hesitancy was found to develop into public distrust in the state systems and escalate into conspiracy beliefs and anti-vaccination activism. These results are important and instructive that early detection is necessary to prevent future vaccine resistance. Full article

Background: Vaccine hesitancy is a complex challenge that demands a comprehensive approach, one that not only acknowledges legitimate concerns within communities but also actively confronts misinformation. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of belief in conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines among Brazilians, seeking to understand the factors associated with this behavior. Method: Utilizing a national online survey conducted between May and August 2020, with a sample of 4247 participants, we conducted multivariate analysis to identify the independent determinants of this adherence, calculating adjusted prevalence ratios (APRs) and their 95% confidence intervals. Results: It was revealed that 27.7% of participants believed in at least one conspiracy theory. Factors associated with a higher level of adherence included agreement with at least one piece of COVID-19 misinformation on social media (APR: 3.65; 95% CI: 3.07–4.34), lack of difficulty accessing leisure activities during the pandemic (APR: 3.11; 95% CI: 1.85–5.24), age 50 years or older (APR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.49–1.94), absence of difficulty accessing protective measures (APR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.26–1.72), use of face masks (APR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1.33–1.97), non-use of at least one traditional media source for information (APR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.26–1.72), female gender (APR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.25–1.60), and age between 30 and 49 years (APR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.19–1.52). Conclusions: Our findings highlight that it is crucial to recognize that vaccine hesitancy is not merely an isolated phenomenon but often rooted in a complex interplay of social, cultural, psychological, and political factors. There is a need for multifaceted strategies to combat vaccine hesitancy, effectively address conspiracy theories, and consider the various factors associated with their prevalence. Full article

While the doctors’ role in immunization is essential, their lack of knowledge or vaccine hesitancy may affect their ability to communicate effectively and educate patients about vaccination, vaccine hesitancy, and vaccine conspiracy theories. This, in turn, may hinder health policy aimed at fighting infectious diseases. Vaccine hesitancy is prevalent not only among the general population but also among healthcare workers; thus, this study is aimed at assessing future doctors’ attitudes towards anti-vax conspiracy theories. A total of 441 medical students at Poznan University of Medical Sciences completed a web-based survey designed to explore their attitudes toward the six most prevalent anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. The survey showed that although over 97% of future doctors support vaccinations as an effective form of fighting infectious diseases, and 80% did not believe in any anti-vax conspiracy theory, a significant fraction of 20% of medical students either believed in at least one such theory or were unsure. It has also shown that male and younger students who had not received a flu vaccination and defined themselves as politically right-wing or conservative and religious were more likely to believe in anti-vax conspiracy theories. Our data suggest that, in order to overcome medical students’ ambivalent attitudes towards anti-vax conspiracy theories, they should receive more education about the importance of vaccination in preventing disease and about effective ways to combat vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax conspiracy theories. Full article

Conspiracy beliefs can have a significant destructive impact on sustainable development. When individuals embrace conspiracy theories, it can result in social mistrust, polarization, and even harmful behaviors. Previous studies linked creativity to intelligence and fairly evidenced links between conspiracy beliefs and paranoid thinking and diminished psychological wellbeing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the associations between conspiracy beliefs and creativity, negative attitudes toward people, and psychological wellbeing. Based on the data derived from the ESS10, several relationships using mediation and SEM analyses were disclosed. The study confirmed that positive attitudes toward people significantly negatively predict conspiracy beliefs and significantly positively predict psychological wellbeing and self-reported creativity, while psychological wellbeing significantly negatively predicts conspiracy beliefs and is a mediator in the links between attitudes toward people and conspiracy beliefs. The SEM model demonstrated an acceptable fit, χ² = 987.210; Df = 16; CFI = 0.989; TLI = 0.975; NFI = 0.989; RMSEA = 0.040 [0.038–0.042], SRMR = 0.039. The study supported the insights of A. Hon that “conspiracy theories thrive in the absence of trust”. However, there are several avenues for future research to address potential limitations, including using more comprehensive scales, employing diverse research methods, controlling for confounding variables, or exploring potential moderating variables, such as personality traits or cultural factors. Full article