There are higher levels of conspiracy beliefs in more corrupt countries

Abstract

In four studies I found evidence that people living in countries with higher levels of corruption have a greater tendency for conspiracy ideation. In Study 1 (21 countries N = 20207) participants living in more corrupt countries reported having higher COVID-19 and generic conspiracy beliefs. Study 2 (25 countries N = 4935) Study 3 (25 countries N = 24424) and Study 4 (24 countries N = 5973) replicated the same finding. Internal meta-analysis suggested that this association remained significant after adjusting for other relevant cross-country differences. Studies 1 and 2 but not 3 and 4 also showed that corruption moderated the association between individuals' gullibility (i.e. lack of education) and their conspiracy beliefs and this association was significant only in low-corruption countries. The findings suggest that country-level corruption breeds conspiracy beliefs and moderates the effect of individuals' gullibility on conspiracy beliefs.