Facebook and YouTube Usage is Linked to Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories Says Study

According to a study that was carried out by Ipsos Mori for King’s College London and published this week, many who believe coronavirus conspiracy theories have received their information from Facebook and YouTube.

The study found that 60% of those who believe the virus is linked to 5G radiation get their information from YouTube, compared with 14% of those who think this belief is false.

Meanwhile, 56% of people who believe there’s no hard evidence Covid-19 exists use Facebook to source their information, nearly three times higher than the 20% who believe otherwise.

The research reveals that people using social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube to find information about the coronavirus are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories about the disease.
The study also found that 30% of Britons surveyed in late May thought that the coronavirus was likely created in a lab, up from 25% at the start of April, while 8% believed the symptoms most people blame on Covid-19 appear to be connected with 5G radiation. Only 7% believe there is no hard evidence that the coronavirus exists.

These claims have been dismissed by scientists.

The research was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Psychological Medicine. The findings were based on three separate surveys conducted online from May 20 to May 22 and involved 2,254 interviews with U.K. residents aged 16-75.

“This is not surprising, given that so much of the information on social media is misleading or downright wrong,” said Daniel Allington, senior lecturer in social and cultural artificial intelligence at King’s College London.

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