Nearly one in four people in the US and UK believe that coronavirus was made in a lab in China, according to new research.
Scientists at the University of Cambridge asked thousands of people from the UK, US, Ireland, Mexico and Spain to rate the reliability of several statements, including six popular myths about COVID-19.
While most said the conspiracies weren't reliable, 22-23 percent of people in the UK and US believed that COVID-19 was engineered in a Wuhan laboratory. This compares to 26 percent in Ireland, 33 percent in Mexico and a whopping 37 percent in Spain.
Thirteen percent of people in the UK believe COVID-19 is "part of a plot to enforce global vaccination", along with 18 percent of people in Ireland, Spain and the US and 22 percent in Mexico.
A smaller but significant number of people also believe the notorious 5G conspiracy theory that telecommunication towers are worsening COVID-19 symptoms - 8 percent in the UK and US, 12 percent in Ireland and 16 percent in Mexico and Spain.
Co-author of the study Sander van der Linden said misinformation about COVID is believed by a significant proportion of people.
"Certain misinformation claims are consistently seen as reliable by substantial sections of the public."
Dr van der Linden said there is a strong correlation between believing conspiracy theories and not wanting to get vaccinated.
"We find a clear link between believing coronavirus conspiracies and hesitancy around any future vaccine."
There was also a strong link between looking at COVID-19 information on social media and believing conspiracy theories, Linden said.
"As well as flagging false claims, governments and technology companies should explore ways to increase digital media literacy in the population. Otherwise, developing a working vaccine might not be enough."
The research also found that people with high levels of trust in scientists were less likely to believe conspiracies. And despite the 'boomer' memes, older people everywhere except Mexico were less likely to believe conspiracies.
On the flipside, right-wing or politically conservative people are more likely to believe COVID-19 conspiracies in Ireland, Mexico and Spain - but less so in the UK or US.
Trusting politicians can effectively tackle the pandemic is also linked with a higher likelihood of believing conspiracies in Mexico, Spain and the US but not the UK and Ireland.
The results are similar to a survey released in Septemeber which showed one in five Kiwis believes the virus was created in a lab.
