The number of people in Germany who deny the existence of COVID-19 or believe in other conspiracy theories related to the pandemic has decreased from 14% in 2020 to 9% in 2021, according to a study by dpart. The remaining “hard core” of deniers is often politically right-wing and selfish. The study defines supporters of COVID-19 conspiracy myths as people who agree with statements such as “The protective measures are a hysterical overreaction” or “COVID-19 does not exist.” The authors attribute the decrease in deniers to the fact that almost everyone now knows someone who has been affected by COVID-19 or has been affected themselves.
However, the study also shows that there is still a hard core of COVID-19 deniers who cannot be convinced by numbers and scientific arguments. These deniers are also more likely to be politically right-wing and selfish. They are less likely to engage in solidarity and are more individualistic. The study suggests that many COVID-19 deniers are not actually concerned with the pandemic or scientific questions, but rather with political issues.
The study also found that COVID-19 deniers and vaccine opponents are more likely to get their information from social media, while science and government institutions are less trusted. The study highlights the difficulty of reaching these groups with traditional education and information campaigns. The number of COVID-19 deniers has only increased in the state of Saxony, where more than a quarter of the population now believes that COVID-19 is a lie. This has led to a low vaccination rate in the state, as many deniers refuse to get vaccinated against a virus they do not believe exists.
