Polls

Democrats and Republicans differ on conspiracy theory beliefs

| Tom Jensen


Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –

PPP’s latest national poll finds the American public differing along party
lines on many conspiracy theories involving issues like global warming and the
Iraq War, although some of the more bizarre ideas merit bipartisan skepticism.

The poll finds 28% of voters believe that a secretive power elite with a
globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an
authoritarian world government, or New World Order. 34% of Republicans and 35%
of independents believe in the New World Order threat compared to just 15% of
Democrats.

44% of voters believe the Bush administration intentionally misled the
public about weapons of mass destruction to promote the Iraq War, while 45%
disagree. 72% of Democrats believed the statement while 73% of Republicans did not.
22% of Democrats, 33% of Republicans and 28% of independents believe Saddam
Hussein was involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Just 6% of voters think
Osama bin Laden is still alive.

There is an intense partisan divide on whether or not global warming is a
hoax: 58% of Republicans agree that it is a conspiracy, while 77% of Democrats
disagree. 20% of Republicans believe that President Obama is the Anti-Christ,
compared to 13% of independents and 6% of Democrats who agree. 51% of Americans
believe there was a larger conspiracy at work in the JFK assassination, while
25% think Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. 29% believe aliens exist and 21%
believe a UFO crashed at Roswell in 1947.

“Even crazy conspiracy theories are subject to partisan polarization,
especially when there are political overtones involved,” said Dean Debnam,
President of Public Policy Polling. “But most Americans reject the wackier
ideas out there about fake moon landings and shape-shifting lizards.”

5% of respondents believe that Paul McCartney died and was secretly replaced
in the Beatles in 1966, and just 4% believe shape-shifting reptilian people
control our world by taking on human form and gaining power. 7% of voters think
the moon landing was fake.

PPP surveyed 1,247 registered American voters from March
27th to 30th. The margin of error for the overall sample is
+/-2.8%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any
campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated
telephone interviews.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you believe global warming is a hoax, or
not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 37%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 51%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q2 Do you believe Osama bin Laden is still alive,
or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 6%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 83%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%

Q3 Do you believe a UFO crashed at Roswell,
New Mexico, in 1947, and the US government
covered it up, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 21%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 32%

Q4 Do you believe that a secretive power elite with
a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually
rule the world through an authoritarian world
government, or New World Order, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 28%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 46%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q5 Do you believe Saddam Hussein was involved
in the September 11th, 2001, attacks on
America, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 28%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 51%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q6 Do you believe there is a link between
childhood vaccines and autism, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 20%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 46%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 34%

Q7 Do you believe the moon landing was faked, or
not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 7%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 84%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%

Q8 Do you believe President Barack Obama is the
anti-Christ, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 13%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 73%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%

Q9 Do you believe the Bush administration
intentionally misled the public about the
possibility of weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq to promote the Iraq War, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 44%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q10 Do you believe aliens exist, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 29%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 24%

Q11 Do you believe the CIA was instrumental in
distributing crack cocaine into America’s inner
cities in the 1980s, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 14%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 55%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 30%

Q12 Do you believe the government adds fluoride to
our water supply, not for dental health reasons,
but for other, more sinister reasons, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 9%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 74%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q13 Do you believe that shape-shifting reptilian
people control our world by taking on human
form and gaining political power to manipulate
our societies, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 4%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 88%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 7%

Q14 Do you believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted
alone in killing President Kennedy, or was
there some larger conspiracy at work?
Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone ………………… 25%
There was some larger conspiracy at work….. 51%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 24%

Q15 Do you believe in Bigfoot or Sasquatch, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 14%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 72%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q16 Do you believe media or the government adds
secret mind-controlling technology to television
broadcast signals, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 15%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 70%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%

Q17 Do you believe that the exhaust seen in the sky
behind airplanes is actually chemicals sprayed
by the government for sinister reasons, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 5%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 87%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q18 Do you believe that the pharmaceutical
industry is in league with the medical industry
to “invent” new diseases in order to make
money, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 15%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 69%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%

Q19 Do you believe Paul McCartney actually died in
a car crash in 1966 and was secretly replaced
by a lookalike so The Beatles could continue,
or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 5%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 80%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q20 Do you believe the United States government
knowingly allowed the attacks on September
11th, 2001, to happen, or not?
Do …………………………………………………………. 11%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 78%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%

Q21 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 50%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 44%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 6%

Q22 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 16%
Moderate………………………………………………… 31%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 23%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 19%

Q23 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 50%
Man……………………………………………………….. 50%

Q24 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 38%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 28%

Q25 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 11%
White …………………………………………………….. 72%
African-American …………………………………….. 12%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%

Q26 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 15%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 20%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 45%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

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