Conspiratorial Ideation Is Associated with Lower Perceptions of Policy Effectiveness: Views from Local Governments during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Governments around the world struggled to formulate an effective response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, which was hampered by the widespread diffusion of various conspiracy theories about the virus. Local governments are often responsible for the implementing mitigation measures such as mask mandates and curfews but have received very limited attention in the scholarly literature. In this article, the authors use data from local policy actors in Colorado to evaluate the relationship between conspiratorial beliefs and perceptions of mitigation policy effectiveness. The authors find that many local policy actors hold conspiratorial beliefs, which combine with partisanship to contribute to lower perceptions of policy effectiveness. The authors conclude by discussing future research directions, noting that the broad adoption of conspiracy theories likely changes enforcement at the local scale.