Almost one-fourth of Russians (23.2%) consider the COVID-19 pandemic a fiction, concocted by the “interested parties”, Russian media reports. An additional 9% of Russians think that the danger of the pandemic is exaggerated.
These are the findings of an online nationwide survey conducted by the Directorate for the Expert Analysis of the Higher School of Economics – one of the Russia’s leading universities. The survey was conducted in five stages between March and May and involved over 30,000 people from all the regions of Russia. The results of the survey were reported by several Russian media outlets, including RBC and Vedomosti.
Disinformation damage
The survey also revealed that the behavior of Russians who consider the pandemic a fiction differs substantially from those who recognize is as a fact. 43% of Russians who do not believe in the pandemic said they visited their relatives, compared to only 18% of those who believe in the pandemic.
Although it is challenging to trace the origins of personal beliefs about the pandemic, it is noteworthy that the notion of a “plandemic”, alleging that the COVID-19 outbreak is a hoax or at least an exaggeration, has been spread by the pro-Kremlin media. Multiple disinformation outlets have claimed that COVID-19 is a stunt by “Big Pharma” and a grand scheme of secret elites.
COVID-19 conspiracy theories are neither unique nor limited to Russia or the pro-Kremlin media (which has nonetheless amplified them in English, German, and several other languages). They have appeared in other media markets as well, creating confusion and polluting the information environment.
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Source: EUvsDisinfo
