Half of Americans believe health conspiracy theories, study says

Half of Americans believe health conspiracy theories, study says

(File Photo)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

CHICAGO — Nearly half of adults in America believe at least one medical conspiracy theory, according to a new study.

A survey asked adults if they had heard about six different popular medical conspiracy theories, which ranged from cellphones causing cancer to the CIA infecting African-Americans with HIV, and had them rate the levels of agreement with each statement. A total of 49 percent of Americans agreed with at least one conspiracy theory and 18 percent said they believed three or more, according to the study.

"Although it is common to disparage adherents of conspiracy theories as a delusional fringe of paranoid cranks, our data suggest that medical conspiracy theories are widely known, broadly endorsed, and highly predictive of many common health behaviors," the researchers wrote in the study published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday.

Related Story

The most widely believed conspiracy theory, which was heard by 63 percent of respondents and believed by 37 percent, was that "the Federal Drug Administration is deliberately preventing the public from getting natural cures for cancer and other diseases because of pressure from drug companies."

The conspiracy theory most people were familiar with was that "doctors and the government still want to vaccinate children even though they know these vaccinations cause autism and other psychological disorders." Sixty-nine percent of people said they had heard of the theory before, while 20 percent said they agreed with the statement.

Twenty percent of participants also agreed with the statement that "health officials know that cell phones cause cancer but are doing nothing about it because large corporations won't let them."

Researcher J. Eric Oliver suggested that the reason so many people believe conspiracy theories is that they are easier to understand than complex scientific explanations.


To talk about epidemiology and probability theories is difficult to understand, as opposed to 'if you put this substance in your body, it's going to be bad.'

–J. Eric Oliver


"Science in general — medicine in particular — is complicated and cognitively challenging because you have to carry around a lot of uncertainty," Oliver told Reuters. "To talk about epidemiology and probability theories is difficult to understand, as opposed to 'if you put this substance in your body, it's going to be bad.'"

The survey also found that people's beliefs affected their medical behaviors. They were more likely to buy organic or local food and take supplements, but less likely to get influenza shots or use sunscreen.

The data come from an online survey of 1,351 adults that was weighted to provide an accurate representation of the population. The information was collected in August and September.

The percentages of people who agreed with each conspiracy statement:

  • 37 percent: "The Federal Drug Administration is deliberately preventing the public from getting natural cures for cancer and other diseases because of pressure from drug companies."
  • 20 percent: "Health officials know that cell phones cause cancer but are doing nothing about it because large corporations won't let them."
  • 12 percent: "The CIA deliberately infected large numbers of African-Americans with HIV under the guise of a hepatitis inoculation program."
  • 12 percent: "The global dissemination of genetically modified foods by Monsanto Inc. is part of a secret program, called Agenda 21, launched by the Rockefeller and Ford foundations to shrink the world's population."
  • 20 percent: "Doctors and the government still want to vaccinate children even though they know these vaccinations cause autism and other psychological disorders."
  • 12 percent: "Public water fluoridation is really just a secret way for chemical companies to dump the dangerous byproducts of phosphate mines into the environment."

Related stories

Most recent Lifestyle stories

Related topics

ScienceLifestyle
Natalie Crofts

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast