When scientific literacy meets nationalism: Exploring the underlying factors in the Chinese public’s belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories

Abstract

This study investigated public beliefs in coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) conspiracy theories in China. It also examined the dynamic mechanisms underlying these beliefs. On the basis of a national sample (N = 1,000), three types of COVID-19 conspiracy theories were identified. Type I relates to the pandemic’s foreign origin. Type II is defined as “China as culprit” conspiracy theories, and Type III refers to the virus as being primarily a Western creation. The results revealed that nationalism and scientific literacy were significantly associated with conspiracy beliefs. There was a relationship between scientific literacy and a weaker belief in almost all COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Nationalism was associated with a stronger belief in theories favorable to China and a weaker belief in “China as culprit” theories. Media trust and attitudes toward science were also associated with conspiracy beliefs. However, the association depended on the nature of the media outlets and conspiracy theories. These findings are indicative of the multifaceted nature of conspiracy beliefs in China and the robust political dimensions of the relationship between such beliefs and science or media factors.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• conspiracy theory
• scientific literacy
• nationalism
• trust in science
• media trust

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study is supported by Key Project “Study on the permanent mechanism of communicating scientific spirit and professionalism in digital era” of National Social Science Foundation of China (No.21AZD013).

Notes on contributors

Xi Luo

Xi Luo is an assistant professor in the School of Communication at Soochow University, Suzhou, China. Dr. Luo earned a Ph.D. from Tsinghua University. Dr. Luo’s research focuses on political communication, health communication, computational communication, and communication methods.

Hepeng Jia

Hepeng Jia is a professor in the School of Communication at Soochow University, Suzhou, China. With a Ph.D. from Cornell University, Dr. Jia is also an active science journalist in China. His research interests include science, health and risk communication, science controversies, the sociology of science, and science journalism.