Sometimes you don t know whether to laugh or cry. From thinking aliens landed at Roswell to believing President Obama is the anti-Christ, Americans believe in some pretty weird conspiracy theories, a new poll from Public Policy Polling has found.
When it comes to public health, 15 percent of Americans think pharmaceutical companies and the medical industry invents new diseases to make money; 20 percent believe vaccines cause autism; 9 percent thinks the government adds fluoride to water for sinister reasons; and 37 percent think global warming is a hoax. When it comes to Roswell, N.M., 21 percent think a UFO landed there in 1947, while 13 percent of Americans believe in the Obama/anti-Christ theory.
Public Policy Polling, which surveyed 1,247 U.S. voters for the survey, also found evidence of a red/blue divide when it comes to conspiracy theories, with Romney voters more likely to believe most of them.
Even crazy conspiracy theories are subject to partisan polarization, especially when there are political overtones involved, says PPP President Dean Debnam. But most Americans reject the wackier ideas out there about fake moon landings and shape-shifting lizards.
Only 4 percent of Americans said yes to the following question: 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? (We re with the 7 percent of people who aren t sure).