Perspective: Conspiracy theoryRepublican Voters Are More Likely to Believe in Bigfoot and the Illuminati, While Democratic Voters Are More Likely to Believe in Aliens
A new Business Insider poll found that Republican voters were statistically more likely to believe in the Illuminati and creatures like Bigfoot, compared to Democratic voters. Democratic voters, meanwhile, were more likely than Republican voters to believe that extraterrestrials have visited earth. Those who self-report believing in chemtrails tend to identify as liberal. Flat-earthers are evenly distributed across the political aisle.
Conspiracy-minded Americans are known to point fingers at whoever is on the other side of the political spectrum — but when it comes to common unproven theories, like Bigfoot, and the existence of alien lifeforms, are there differences across party lines?
A new INSIDER poll found that respondents who said they’d vote in a Republican primary were more likely to believe in the Illuminati and unclassified creatures such as Nessie and Bigfoot, while those who said they were Democratic voters were more likely to believe that extraterrestrials have visited earth.
Angela Wang writes in Business Insider that the poll asked over a thousand respondents, “If any, which of the following unproven ideas, paranormal phenomena or general beliefs do you believe to be credible?,” allowing survey-takers to select from a list of 15 choices, including options like “The existence of chemtrails” and “The efficacy of crystal healing,” as well as “None of these.”
“People tend to adopt conspiracy theories that match with their existing worldview,” Joseph Uscinski, a political scientist at the University of Miami, told Business Insider. Conspiracy theories involving Democrats, for instance, are much more popular with Republicans, and vice versa.
