New research reveals that 50% of U.S. adults (age 18+) think they are related to someone who believes in conspiracy theories because they were exposed to it on Facebook.
The following questions were asked in the national survey of 1,004 adults conducted by SSRS between November 1-4, 2021.
“Do you happen to know anyone personally who you think was persuaded to believe in a conspiracy theory because of content on Facebook, or don’t you know anyone like that?”
The answers are evenly split, with 49% saying they do know someone like that and 51% saying that they don’t. At 95% confidence, the margin of sampling error is +/-4.0 for all respondents.
According to the survey, younger people are more inclined than those older to think they have a friend or relative who believes in conspiracy theories that can be found on Facebook.
While 61% of those 18-34 years old say they know someone influenced by Facebook, that percentage declines steadily, to 52% of those 35-49, 44% of those 50-64, and only 35% of adults 65 and older.
Only 37% of conservatives self-described as such say they are aware of someone persuaded by Facebook to accept a conspiracy theory. That compares with 54% of liberals or 54% among independents. Based on their annual income, people with at least $50,000 more than others (44%) are somewhat more likely to believe they have such a person.
There is little to no difference in the results of men and women (50% and 47% respectively).
As CNSNews.com has reported, the survey finds that 76% believe that Facebook has a negative effect on American society.
The full results of the SSRS poll, which was conducted for CNN, are posted online here.
Editor’s Note: Original publication of this blog on CNSNews.com
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