Beliefs in misinformation about COVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are linked: evidence from a nationally representative survey (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Detrimental effects of misinformation were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Presently, amid Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine, another wave of misinformation is spreading on the internet and impacting our daily lives, with many citizens and politicians embracing Russian propaganda narratives. Despite the lack of an objective connection between these two societal issues, anecdotal observations suggest that supporters of misinformation regarding COVID-19 (BM-C) have also adopted misinformation about the war in Ukraine (BM-U), while sharing similar media use patterns and political attitudes. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a link between respondents’ endorsement of the two sets of misinformation narratives, and whether some of the selected factors (media use, political trust, vaccine hesitancy, belief rigidity) are associated with both BM-C and BM-U. METHODS We conducted a survey on a nationally representative sample of 1,623 individuals in the Czech Republic. Spearman’s correlation analysis was performed to identify the relationship between BM-C and BM-U. Additionally, multiple linear regression was used to determine associations between the examined factors and both sets of misinformation. RESULTS We discovered that (1) BM-C and BM-U were strongly correlated (rho=0.636) and both were associated with belief rigidity. (2) Increased trust in Russia and decreased trust in the local government, public media, and Western allies of the Czech Republic predicted both BM-C and BM-U. (3) Media use indicating frustration from and avoidance of public/mainstream media, consumption of alternative information sources, as well as participation in online discussions indicative of epistemic bubbles, predicted beliefs in misinformation narratives. (4) COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy predicted only BM-C but not BM-U. However, vaccine refusers were overrepresented in the BM-U supporters and undecided individuals. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis that the health-related misinformation surrounding COVID-19 pandemic has been politicized and spread via specific media channels. Subsequently, supporters of BM-C were susceptible to political misinformation aligning with Russian propaganda.