This statistic shows the results of a 2019 survey on conspiracy theories in the United States. During the survey, ** percent of respondents stated they believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone when he assassinated JFK, while ** percent of respondents said they believe that climate change is a hoax.

A survey conducted in 2021 found that those who identify with the Republican Party were more likely to adhere to various components of the conspiracy theories known as QAnon. Around ** percent of surveyed Americans believe that because things have gotten so far off track in the U.S., true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save the country.

As of late 2024, 58 percent of adults who responded to a global survey stated that they trusted traditional media whereas 63 percent said they trusted search engines. The source considered the least trustworthy was social media. Social media was by far the least trusted news source in Europe and North America, and a survey held in the United States revealed that most U.S. adults considered the majority of news seen on social media to be biased. Examining trust in news on a global level The reasons for news consumers’ growing suspicions about the trustworthiness of media are multifaceted, but the onslaught of fake news is a major contributing factor. Adults in several countries worldwide have wrongly believed a news story was real until later realizing it was fake, and one of the top reasons for avoiding news was the inability to rely on its truthfulness. Conspiracy theories, tweets by politicians and poorly written or inaccurate news content often fall under the heading of fake news, and the term is also frequently used to describe news an individual disagrees with. Fake news Fake news is not a recent phenomenon, and has historically been used to defame individuals, garner support for corrupt movements and portray minority groups in a negative way. This tactic of generating publicity by presenting false information as fact was utilized as a means of propaganda during the First and Second World Wars, and by the 21st century became a major problem. Fake news is frequently connected to politics and was famously thrust into the public eye in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, resulting in concerns about the influence of fake news on voters and elections in the United States.

As of late 2024, 58 percent of adults who responded to a global survey stated that they trusted traditional media whereas 63 percent said they trusted search engines. The source considered the least trustworthy was social media. Social media was by far the least trusted news source in Europe and North America, and a survey held in the United States revealed that most U.S. adults considered the majority of news seen on social media to be biased. Examining trust in news on a global level The reasons for news consumers’ growing suspicions about the trustworthiness of media are multifaceted, but the onslaught of fake news is a major contributing factor. Adults in several countries worldwide have wrongly believed a news story was real until later realizing it was fake, and one of the top reasons for avoiding news was the inability to rely on its truthfulness. Conspiracy theories, tweets by politicians and poorly written or inaccurate news content often fall under the heading of fake news, and the term is also frequently used to describe news an individual disagrees with. Fake news Fake news is not a recent phenomenon, and has historically been used to defame individuals, garner support for corrupt movements and portray minority groups in a negative way. This tactic of generating publicity by presenting false information as fact was utilized as a means of propaganda during the First and Second World Wars, and by the 21st century became a major problem. Fake news is frequently connected to politics and was famously thrust into the public eye in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, resulting in concerns about the influence of fake news on voters and elections in the United States.

This statistic shows the results of a 2019 survey on conspiracy theories in the United States. During the survey, the respondents were asked whether they believe in so-called chemtrails - i.e. the conspiracy theory that the government is using chemicals to control the population, or not. Eight percent of respondents stated they strongly believe in this theory, while ** percent said they strongly disbelieve.

QAnon is a far-right, decentralized political movement founded on conspiracy theories that have gained popularity on social media after emerging on the alt-tech site 4chan in 2017. According to a 2020 report, the United States was the leading social media platform for QAnon-related posts on Twitter, accounting for 87 percent of tweets. Overall, the United Kingdom made up 2.8 percent of tweets that contained QAnon-related hashtags and phrases.

Conspiracy theories about COVID-19 began to emerge immediately after the first news about the disease and threaten to prolong the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by limiting people’s willingness of receiving a life-saving vaccine. In this context, this study aimed to explore the variation of conspiracy beliefs regarding COVID-19 and the vaccine against it in 5779 people living in 13 Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) according to sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, educational level and source of information about COVID-19. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic between September 15 and October 25, 2021. The Spanish-language COVID-19 Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (ECCV-COVID) and a sociodemographic survey were used. The results indicate that, in most countries, women, people with a lower educational level and those who receive information about the vaccine and COVID-19 from family/friends are more supportive of conspiracy ideas regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. In the case of age, the results vary by country. The analysis of the responses to each of the questions of the ECCV-COVID reveals that, in general, the countries evaluated are mostly in some degree of disagreement or indecision regarding conspiratorial beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines. The findings could help open further study which could support prevention and treatment efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frequencies and percentages for the most common responses to the question “who is to blame for COVID-19?” among voting groups.

The purpose of the study: to assess the political and social attitudes of Lithuanian residents, as well as their trust in government institutions and international organizations. Major investigated questions: the first block of statements aimed to identify respondents’ inclination to believe in conspiracy theories (Governments allow or carry out terrorist acts in their own countries while concealing their involvement; Evidence of contact with extraterrestrials is hidden from the public; 7 in total). The next block of statements examined trust in political and economic elites (People, not politicians, should make the most important decisions related to politics; Politicians talk too much but do too little; 5 in total). The third consecutive block of statements assessed the perception of political efficacy and trust in the effectiveness of democratic representation among Lithuanian residents participating in the survey (The opinion of people like me about what the government does not matter; I do not think the government cares what people like me think; 4 in total). The survey also explored what is more important – to respond as accurately as possible to voters’ needs or to seek support for one’s party’s policies; and whether politicians should be held accountable for their electoral promises or present their electoral commitments. Further questions asked whether EU membership benefits Lithuania and whether Lithuania should implement EU decisions even if it disagrees with them. The survey examined opinions on whether the EU should have much more power than the governments of its member states. Respondents were asked how they would vote if a referendum were held today on whether Lithuania should remain a member of the EU. Participants had the opportunity to indicate whether they support the current ruling majority, which includes the party “Nemuno Aušra.” The effectiveness of anti-corruption measures in Lithuania’s healthcare system was also assessed. At the end of the survey, to determine public opinion on defense policy and international cooperation in the field of security, respondents were asked about the proposal to increase Lithuania’s defense spending to 5% of GDP in response to growing regional security threats, and about the possibility of applying mandatory initial military service to women, as is currently done for men. Further questions sought to determine whether ethnic minorities living in Lithuania pose a threat to national security or stability, and how the importance of the United States for Lithuania’s national security is evaluated. Respondents were asked whether Lithuania should invest more in regional defense cooperation with the EU to reduce dependence on the United States. In the final question, Lithuanian residents participating in the survey indicated how often, in their opinion, hate speech occurs in Lithuania. Socio-demographic characteristics: gender, age, level of education, membership in organizations, religion, marital status, nationality, political views, political participation, size of household, respondent's average personal income, place of residence, working situation of the respondent and of his/her spouse or partner. Temporary accessibility restrictions apply for this dataset. Data will be made available without restrictions from 2026-08-31.

Since 1789, the United States has had 45 different men serve as president, of which five are still alive today. At 78 years and two months, Joe Biden became the oldest man to ascend to the presidency for the first time in 2021, however Donald Trump was older when he re-entered the White House, at 78 years and seven months. Eight presidents have died while in office, including four who were assassinated by gunshot, and four who died of natural causes. The president who died at the youngest age was John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated at 46 years old in Texas in 1963; Kennedy was also the youngest man ever elected to the office of president. The longest living president in history is Jimmy Carter, who celebrated his 100th birthday in just before his death in 2024. The youngest currently-living president is Barack Obama, who turned 63 in August 2024. Coincidentally, presidents Clinton, Bush Jr., and Trump were all born within 66 days of one another, between June and August 1946. George Washington The U.S.' first president, George Washington, died after developing a severe inflammation of the throat, which modern scholars suspect to have been epiglottitis. However, many suspect that it was the treatments used to treat this illness that ultimately led to his death. After spending a prolonged period in cold and wet weather, Washington fell ill and ordered his doctor to let one pint of blood from his body. As his condition deteriorated, his doctors removed a further four pints in an attempt to cure him (the average human has between eight and twelve pints of blood in their body). Washington passed away within two days of his first symptoms showing, leading many to believe that this was due to medical malpractice and not due to the inflammation in his throat. Bloodletting was one of the most common and accepted medical practices from ancient Egyptian and Greek times until the nineteenth century, when doctors began to realize how ineffective it was; today, it is only used to treat extremely rare conditions, and its general practice is heavily discouraged. Zachary Taylor Another rare and disputed cause of death for a U.S. president was that of Zachary Taylor, who died sixteen months into his first term in office. Taylor had been celebrating the Fourth of July in the nation's capital in 1850, where he began to experience stomach cramps after eating copious amounts of cherries, other fruits, and iced milk. As his condition worsened, he drank a large amount of water in an attempt to alleviate his symptoms, but to no avail. Taylor died of gastroenteritis five days later, after being treated with a heavy dose of drugs and bloodletting. The most commonly accepted theories for his illness are that the ice used in the milk and the water consumed afterwards were contaminated with cholera, and that this was further exacerbated by the large amounts of acid in his system from eating so much fruit. There are some suggestions that recovery was feasible, but the actions of his doctors had made this impossible. Additionally, there have been conspiracy theories suggesting that Taylor was poisoned by pro-slavery secessionists from the Southern States, although there appears to be no evidence to back this up.

This survey, conducted across the United States in January 2014, shows the extent to which Americans believe in 12 common superstitions. 88 percent of the respondents stated they did not believe that 13 is an unlucky number.

Belief in superstitions and religious faith

While light-hearted superstitions bringing good or bad luck are alive and well, the majority of Americans do not believe in them. The most-believed superstition is that finding a penny brings good luck; approximately one third of Americans believe in this. The second most-believed superstition is that seeing the groom before a wedding is bad luck; close to a quarter of the Americans agreed. In contrast, only seven percent of Americans believe that stepping on a crack is bad luck.

Results of the same survey analyzed by religious affiliation show that Catholics tend to believe in such superstitions at higher rates than both Protestants and atheists or agnostics. Therefore it is likely that the more religious you are, the more likely you are to believe in the common cultural superstitions. Looking at a broader poll, which includes differing superstitions/religious beliefs, indicates that almost three quarters of Americans believe in God - an overwhelming majority. Other religious beliefs such as in miracles, heaven, angels, and the devil, were also at the top of this list of things people believe in. The results of the same survey show witches, astrology and reincarnation at the bottom of the list. Interestingly, less people believe in the concept of Heaven than do in the concept of Hell. However, more people believe in them than they do in superstitions, such as seeing the groom before the wedding.

QAnon is a far-right, decentralized political movement founded on conspiracy theories that have gained popularity on social media after emerging on the alt-tech site 4chan in 2017. According to a 2020 report, the United States was the leading social media platform for QAnon-related posts on Twitter, accounting for 87 percent of tweets. Overall, the United Kingdom made up 2.8 percent of tweets that contained QAnon-related hashtags and phrases.

The anti-mask movement originated in the United States at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, and has gradually spread to Europe. In France, the movement brought together only a few hundred people in the streets but was able to mobilize several thousand people on social networks. In total, the online media, the national and the written press recorded ** pro-mask hashtags, compared to ** anti-mask hashtags. On social media the use of negative hashtags about the use of masks were much higher, representing ** percent of hashtags about masks.

Anti-maskers on social media

The microblogging platform Twitter being very popular among professional and amateur news broadcasters, had registered several anti-masker accounts, amongst which info non stop (@ActuNonStop) was the most influential, aggregating more than ** thousand followers. However, it was the account Let's Comment, which had the most anti-mask mentions on the platform. As some media platforms were met with suspicion by the broader French population as well as French authorities, the spreading of false information on the web is monitored to a certain extent. Some anti-maskers and conspiracy theorists went on to use the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, considering it to be a safer space.

Hashtags and conspiracy theories

Among the most common hashtags related to wearing masks, the hashtag #JamaisSansMonMasque (never without my mask) was the most popular one, in a close fight for the title with the hashtag #antimasque (anti-mask). Among anti-maskers, the most utilized hashtag was #dictaturesanitaire (sanitary dictatorship), representing a rather tyrannical view anti-maskers had on the government involvement in reducing the spread of the virus. These hashtags were frequently coupled with conspiracy theories and repeatedly proliferated on social networks. The most common conspiracy theory was that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by ** waves.

As of late 2024, ** percent of adults who responded to a global survey stated that they trusted traditional media whereas ** percent said they trusted search engines. The source considered the least trustworthy was social media. Social media was by far the least trusted news source in Europe and North America, and a survey held in the United States revealed that most U.S. adults considered the majority of news seen on social media to be biased. Examining trust in news on a global level The reasons for news consumers’ growing suspicions about the trustworthiness of media are multifaceted, but the onslaught of fake news is a major contributing factor. Adults in several countries worldwide have wrongly believed a news story was real until later realizing it was fake, and one of the top reasons for avoiding news was the inability to rely on its truthfulness. Conspiracy theories, tweets by politicians and poorly written or inaccurate news content often fall under the heading of fake news, and the term is also frequently used to describe news an individual disagrees with. Fake news Fake news is not a recent phenomenon, and has historically been used to defame individuals, garner support for corrupt movements and portray minority groups in a negative way. This tactic of generating publicity by presenting false information as fact was utilized as a means of propaganda during the First and Second World Wars, and by the 21st century became a major problem. Fake news is frequently connected to politics and was famously thrust into the public eye in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, resulting in concerns about the influence of fake news on voters and elections in the United States.

July 2024 saw an incredibly close assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump while he was on the campaign trail for the 2024 presidential election. While speaking to his audience, a bullet whizzed past Trump's head, nicking him on the ear and drawing blood in the process, before the Secret Service escorted him to safety. One spectator was killed while shielding family members from the gunfire, and two more were shot but survived, before the perpetrator was shot and killed by security services. Throughout U.S. history, there have been numerous plots and attempts to assassinate U.S. presidents. The first known case was a failed attempt on Andrew Jackson's life in 1835, where both the assassin's guns misfired due to moisture in the air and Jackson then beat the culprit into submission with his cane. More recent attempts include separate, high-profile cases in October 2018, where sixteen bombs were sent via mail to prominent Democrats (including presidents Obama and Clinton), Trump critics, and news outlets, while another culprit sent letters laced with ricin to President Trump and senior U.S. military figures. Throughout history, the majority of these plots have been uncovered or prevented, however several have come close to achieving their aims and four have resulted in the successful assassination of a sitting president. Successful attempts The first successful assassination occurred in 1865, when Confederate sympathizers and spies plotted to kill the three highest-ranking figures in the Union, in an effort to re-ignite the American Civil War. Of the three targets, only Lincoln was assassinated after being shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died within 12 hours of being shot, which was much sooner than the second presidential assassination, where James Garfield took almost four months to eventually die from his wounds after being shot in a train station in 1881. The third U.S. president to be assassinated was William McKinley, who was shot twice while meeting members of the public just six months into his second term. The attempt was not immediately fatal and McKinley was even able to dissuade bystanders from killing his attacker, however, one of the bullets was never found and McKinley passed away one week after the attack. The most recent U.S. president to have been assassinated was John F. Kennedy, who was shot by former marine and defector to the Soviet Union, Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald shot Kennedy from the sixth floor of a nearby warehouse during a public motorcade in Dallas, Texas in 1963, and Kennedy died almost immediately. Although official investigations, forensic tests and eyewitness accounts corroborate the official story that Oswald acted alone, a high number of conspiracy theories surround the event, and a large share of the U.S. population believes that the assassination is part of a larger plot or cover-up, orchestrated by either the CIA, mafia, or foreign entities (among other theories). Close calls While on the 1912 campaign trail, former president Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest before giving a speech. Roosevelt knew that the injury was not fatal, and proceeded to deliver an 84 minute speech before seeking medical attention. In 1981, a gunman shot six bullets at Ronald Reagan as he was meeting a crowd outside a Washington hotel, injuring the president and three others in the attack. One bullet had ricocheted off the side of a car, punctured the president's lung, and caused severe internal bleeding. The president almost died en route to the hospital, but doctors were able to stabilize him and remove the bullet; Reagan returned to the White House less than two weeks later. Another close call was where a gunman fired shots at President-Elect Franklin D. Roosevelt's car in 1933, missing the President but killing the Mayor of Chicago in the attack. Coincidentally, the only female culprits in these attempts both tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford, in two unrelated attacks in California in September, 1975. The first (who was a member of the Manson Family) was stopped before she could get a shot off at the president, while the second was restrained after shooting twice and injuring one bystander -Ford was unharmed in both attacks. Another near miss was an unsuccessful attempt on Abraham Lincoln's life nine months before his successful assassination; the bullet went through his distinctive, stovepipe hat as he was riding to his summer cottage one evening. The only attempt included here that did not involve a firearm and did not take place in the United States was when a grenade was thrown on stage in Tbilisi, Georgia, as George W. Bush was making a speech there in 2005. Although the pin had been removed, the handkerchief used to conceal the grenade was wrapped too tightly around it for the lever for it to detach; nobody was injured in this attempt; however, the culprit did kill one agent as he was being arrested two month...