Conspiracy theorists dwindle despite Covid crisis

A Covid sceptic in Zurich in January 2022. More than 13,400 people have died in connection with Covid-19 in Switzerland. Keystone / Walter Bieri

Belief in conspiracy theories has decreased markedly in Switzerland during the pandemic, according to a study. But those who stick with them are likely to become more radical, reckons one expert.

Conspiracy theories boomed during the pandemic – false claims that the coronavirus came from a bio-lab or that Bill Gates wanted to force-vaccinate humanity are just two examples.

But the assumption that the pandemic has lured more people into the ranks of conspiracy theorists is mistaken, according to a representative study by the Institute for Delinquency and Crime Prevention at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).

In 2018, 36% of Swiss still believed in conspiracy theories, said a reportExternal link by Swiss public radio, SRF, on Monday. In 2021, the proportion had fallen to 28%, where it remains today.

ZHAW Institute Director Dirk Baier said he was surprised by this. “After all, there’s been a lot of discussion about conspiracy theories in the past two years. This has also given the impression that the Covid crisis is a driver for such theories,” he told SRF.

More radical

So why has the health crisis dampened support for conspiracy theories? Baier says that on the one hand outspoken conspiracy theorists who already existed took to the streets and became more visible.

On the other hand, the loud and sometimes aggressive protests seem to have had a deterrent effect on many people. Baier says many people would have thought about the conspiracies more carefully and then distanced themselves from them.

Baier assumes that the percentage of people who believe in conspiracy theories will decrease even further. That said, he thinks the remaining followers are likely to become even more extreme and further radicalised, for example in the direction of eco-terrorism among the young.

“But most Swiss conspiracy theorists are older, insecure, have a rather pessimistic view of the world and perceive the world as unregulated,” he said.