Jedinger, Alexander, Marcus Eisentraut, and Lena Masch. 2025 (online first). "The COVID-19 pandemic and the search for scapegoats: Examining the link between COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and ethnic prejudice." Psychological Reports.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941251372867
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled numerous conspiracy theories that have reinvigorated prejudices and stereotypes toward marginalized groups. While much current research focuses on the correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, the consequences of conspiracy narratives for outgroup attitudes are rarely examined.
Across two studies, the authors investigate the relationship between COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and attitudes toward ethnic minorities. Using the scapegoating hypothesis as a theoretical background, secondary analyses of cross-sectional (Study 1, N = 896) and longitudinal (Study 2, N = 2048) survey data from Germany revealed that COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs were related to antipathy towards immigrants, Muslims, Jews, and refugees.