Table 3. Change in 37 additional conspiracy beliefs over time.
| Question wording | Percentage 1 (Time 1) |
Percentage 2 (Time 2) |
Diff. |
p-value for difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Humans have made contact with aliens and this fact has been deliberately hidden from the public. | 23 (07/2019) | 33 (03/2020) | +10 | <0.001 |
| 2. Do you think the U.S. government has engaged in the assassination of entertainers who have tried to spread a counterculture message they didn’t like, such as John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur, and others, or not?ab | 12 (09/2013) | 20 (05/2021) | +8 | <0.001 |
| 3. Billionaire George Soros is behind a hidden plot to destabilize the American government, take control of the media, and put the world under his control. | 19 (10/2011) | 26 (05/2021) | +7 | <0.001 |
| 4. Do you think one man was responsible for the assassination of President Kennedy, or do you think there were others involved?b | 50 (12/1966) | 56 (05/2021) | +6 | <0.001 |
| 5. Do you believe that the pharmaceutical industry is in league with the medical industry to "invent" new diseases in order to make money, or not? ab | 15 (03/2013) | 20 (05/2021) | +5 | <0.001 |
| 6. Thinking about space exploration, do you think the government staged and faked the Apollo moon landings, or don’t you feel that way?b | 6 (07/1995) | 10 (05/2021) | +4 | <0.001 |
| 7. Do you believe media or the government adds secret mind-controlling technology to television broadcast signals, or not? ab | 15 (03/2013) | 17 (05/2021) | +2 | 0.132 |
| 8. Do you believe the government adds fluoride to our water supply, not for dental health reasons, but for other, more sinister reasons, or not? ab | 9 (03/2013) | 11 (05/2021) | +2 | 0.067 |
| 9. Do you think the government is keeping information from the public that shows U.F.O.’s (Unidentified Flying Objects) are real or that aliens have visited the Earth?b | 49 (06/1996) | 50 (05/2021) | +1 | 0.637 |
| 10. Hillary Clinton conspired to provide Russia with access to nuclear materials. | 28 (03/2020) | 29 (04/2021) | +1 | 0.481 |
| 11. The U.S. government is mandating the switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs because such lights make people more obedient and easier to control. | 11 (10/2011) | 12 (05/2021) | +1 | 0.325 |
| 12. Health officials know that cell phones cause cancer but are doing nothing to stop it because large corporations won’t let them. | 20 (09/2013) | 20 (05/2021) | 0 | >0.999 |
| 13. Certain U.S. government officials planned the attacks of September 11, 2001, because they wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East. | 19 (10/2011) | 19 (05/2021) | 0 | >0.999 |
| 14. Regardless of who is officially in charge of governments and other organizations, there is a single group of people who secretly control events and rule the world together. | 35 (03/2020) | 35 (10/2020) | 0 | >0.999 |
| 15. The number of Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II has been exaggerated on purpose. | 15 (03/2020) | 15 (10/2020) | 0 | >0.999 |
| 16. Climate change is a hoax perpetrated by corrupt scientists and politicians. | 19 (07/2019) | 19 (10/2020) | 0 | >0.999 |
| 17. Barack Obama faked his citizenship to become president. | 20 (03/2020) | 19 (05/2021) | −1 | 0.422 |
| 18. Do you completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or completely disagree that AIDS is a form of systematic destruction of minorities like blacks and Hispanics?b | 16 (11/1995) | 15 (05/2021) | −1 | 0.416 |
| 19. The dangers of vaccines are being hidden by the medical establishment. | 30 (03/2020) | 29 (05/2021) | −1 | 0.486 |
| 20. The Food and Drug Administration is deliberately preventing the public from getting natural cures for cancer and other diseases because of pressure from drug companies. | 37 (09/2013) | 35 (05/2021) | −2 | 0.235 |
| 21. The one percent (1%) of the richest people in the U.S. control the government and the economy for their own benefit. | 55 (03/2020) | 52 (05/2021) | −3 | 0.056 |
| 22. A powerful family, the Rothschilds, through their wealth, controls governments, wars, and many countries’ economies. | 29 (03/2020) | 26 (05/2021) | −3 | 0.033 |
| 23. The AIDS virus was created and spread around the world on purpose by a secret organization. | 22 (03/2020) | 19 (06/2020) | −3 | 0.054 |
| 24. The dangers of 5G cellphone technology are being covered up. | 26 (03/2020) | 23 (10/2020) | −3 | 0.027 |
| 25. Do you feel that the Assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy was the act of one individual or part of a larger conspiracy?b | 48 (03/1981) | 43 (05/2021) | −5 | 0.009 |
| 26. The dangers of genetically-modified foods are being hidden from the public. | 45 (03/2020) | 40 (05/2021) | −5 | 0.001 |
| 27. School shootings, like those at Sandy Hook, CT and Parkland, FL are false flag attacks perpetrated by the government. | 17 (03/2020) | 12 (10/2020) | −5 | <0.001 |
| 28. Do you believe that Osama bin Laden is dead, or do you think he is still alive?b | 11 (06/2011) | 5 (05/2021) | −6 | <0.001 |
| 29. Donald Trump colluded with Russia to rig the 2016 presidential election. | 41 (07/2019) | 34 (05/2021) | −7 | <0.001 |
| 30. Some people are hiding the truth about the December 14, 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in order to advance a political agenda.ab | 25 (04/2013) | 16 (05/2021) | −9 | <0.001 |
| 31. Some people have argued that President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew about Japanese plans to bomb Pearl Harbor but did nothing about it because he wanted an excuse to involve the U.S. (United States) on the side of the allies in the war.b | 31 (11/1991) | 19 (05/2021) | −12 | <0.001 |
| 32. Republicans won the presidential elections in 2016, 2004, and 2000 by stealing them. | 27 (03/2020) | 15 (05/2021) | −12 | <0.001 |
| 33. Do you believe global warming is a hoax, or not?b | 37 (03/2013) | 19 (05/2021) | −18 | <0.001 |
| 34. Do you think there was a police conspiracy to frame O.J. Simpson or not?b | 34 (10/1995) | 11 (05/2021) | −23 | <0.001 |
| 35. Do you feel that the Assassination of Martin Luther King was the act of one individual or part of a larger conspiracy?b | 59 (03/1981) | 33 (05/2021) | −26 | <0.001 |
| 36. Do you think there is, or is not, a national conspiracy to kill police?b | 44 (11/1970) | 16 (05/2021) | −28 | <0.001 |
| 37. Do you think that the Reagan campaign made a deal with the Iranians to hold the American hostages in Iran until after the 1980 presidential election or not?b | 43 (07/1991) | 12 (05/2021) | −31 | <0.001 |
Note: P-value corresponds to two-tailed difference in proportions test. All polls are of U.S. adults. Where response options are not dichotomous (e.g., yes/no, believe/don’t believe), the proportion expressing belief is those who “agree” or “strongly agree” with a sentiment.
aRegistered voters only.
bExplicit “don’t know” or “no opinion” option provided; otherwise respondents could opt-out of answering or select “neither agree nor disagree”.