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Nearly a third of Germans 'believe in conspiracy theories': Study

The Local Germany
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Nearly a third of Germans 'believe in conspiracy theories': Study
A man with a sign reading 'vaccination is healthy: trust me' Photo: DPA

Education level and political affiliation play a significant difference in whether a person in Germany is likely to believe in conspiracy theories.

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Around a third of Germans believe in conspiracy theories, a new study has found

Almost a third of the total population (30 percent) believe that it is “probably right” (19 percent) or “certainly right” (11 percent) that secret powers control the world. 

When asked to name which secret powers controlled the world, 16 percent said they did not know. 

13 percent said banks and financial entities, 12 percent said security or intelligence services such as the CIA or Mossad, while 11 percent nominated wealthy, prominent families like the Rockefellers or the Rothschilds. 

READ: Three-quarters of Germans 'don't support coronavirus protests' 

Education and political affiliation crucial

The researchers found that Alternative for Germany (AfD) voters were far more likely than voters of other parties to believe in conspiracy theories. 

More than half of supporters of the right-wing AfD (56 percent) believed in conspiracy theories. 

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Similarly, people with lower levels of education were also more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, as were older people and people from a migrant background. 

READ: 'Anti-coronavirus' demonstration takes place in Berlin 

Factors which had no influence on the belief in conspiracy theories was gender and whether a person comes from the former West or East Germany. 

The study was carried out by Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation over a five month period from October 2019 to February 2020, meaning that the spread of coronavirus did not play a role in influencing the findings. 

The study, entitled They Are Everywhere (Sie sind überall) was conducted via mobile and landline surveys and took into account the opinions of 3,250 people. 

 

 

 

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