The five most prevalent conspiracy theories in 2018, in reverse order by the size of the adherents’ group:
• Seven percent of Russians believe that the earth is flat or not round.
• Fully 45% are convinced that aliens exist. Of these 27% think they’re in hiding on earth and 18% suspect authorities are keeping these facts secret.
• As might be expected 57% of Russians believe the Americans faked the moon landing in 1969. Only 24% think it actually happened. The largest section of this group (38%) supporting the fake landing hoax, are those who put their trust in science. The wide acceptance of this conspiracy is due to the decades of confrontations and rivalries between the two countries.
• Fifty-nine percent thought that scientists were hiding the truth from the public. Of those who hadn’t finished school, 77% didn’t believe scientists. Prior to 2018, 79% found scientists credible.
