Roughly 3 in 10 Americans believe COVID-19 was created in a lab, survey says

Scientists say COVID-19 is a result of natural evolution, but according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, nearly a third of Americans don’t believe them.

The survey, conducted between March 10 and March 16, found 29% of Americans believe the disease was created in a lab — either intentionally or accidentally.

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Though not a majority, a plurality of respondents (43%) said it came about naturally while a quarter of them weren’t sure.

Education seems to be the biggest variable in determining this train of thought. Sixty-one percent of college-educated respondents believed COVID-19 came from nature. Only 31% of those with a high school diploma or less held the same belief.

When gender was analyzed, 30% of men thought COVID-19 was made in a lab, slightly higher than the 29% of women with the same belief. Men (46%) were more likely to believe it came from nature than women (41%).

Minorities were more likely than whites to say the disease came from a lab, with 39% of Hispanics and 34% of blacks holding this belief.

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At 50%, whites were most likely to call the disease is a natural occurrence. Blacks, at 41%, were most likely to be unsure.

The young were most likely to believe COVID-19 was a lab creation while the elderly were the least likely. Thirty-five percent of people between 18 and 29 years old said it came from a lab while people 65 and older believed the disease is natural.

This story was reported from Atlanta.