Does the Scientific Discourse around the Coronavirus Reach the General Public?

Those who belong to the mainstream group are usually well informed about the scientific discourse on coronavirus and are hardly susceptible to conspiracy stories. The positions of the mainstreamers essentially agree with the expert opinions.

The worried generally judge the risk posed by COVID-19 to be even higher than experts from the scientific community do. Compared to the average of the survey participants, this group is slightly older and better educated. The group members are also well-informed about the virus and mainly use traditional media as a source of information.

The judgments of the doubters express a high degree of uncertainty, regardless of whether the claims are scientifically plausible or implausible statements. Those in the group of doubters usually have a lower level of education, obtain much of their information from online media and have a comparatively strong need for simple answers, which may explain why this group is more willing to believe in conspiracy theories.

Deniers estimate the medical risk posed by the coronavirus to be significantly lower than experts do. Statistically speaking, deniers are on average more likely to be employed, are middle-aged and consider themselves to be healthier than the average. Ideologically, they tend to align themselves with right-wing conservative and anti-elitist views, which is also expressed in their rejection of political crisis management and public-service media.

In addition to the four groups, Prof. Rothmund and his team also interviewed researchers who hold doctoral degrees and work at university institutes for virology and epidemiology. A total of 128 researchers with doctorates took part in the survey.