Majority of Australians think China is covering up COVID-19 infections while one in eight believe Bill Gates and 5G coronavirus conspiracy theories
- Essential Research poll reveals what Aussies think about coronavirus theories
- One in eight Australians believe coronavirus is linked to 5G technology
- Majority believe the outbreak in China is much worse than the official statistics
- 40 per cent believe virus was engineered and released from lab in Wuhan
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
One in eight Australians believe 'utterly baseless' conspiracy theories that coronavirus is linked to 5G technology, while almost 40 per cent believe the outbreak came from a Chinese lab, according to a new poll.
Essential Research has unveiled the results of a recent survey of 1,073 Australians, who were asked a series of questions about the health pandemic.
The majority of respondents (77 per cent) believe the outbreak in the virus epicentre of China is much worse than the official statistics from Beijing claim.
One in eight (13 per cent) believe Microsoft founder Bill Gates is somehow responsible for the coronavirus and 12 per cent think the 5G wireless network is being used to spread the virus.
One in eight Australians believe 'utterly baseless' conspiracy theories that coronavirus is linked to 5G technology. Pictured is a protester at mass rally in Melbourne on May 10
The same number of people believe the pandemic is being used to force people into getting vaccinations.
The results prompted the federal government to renew warnings about claims linking 5G to coronavirus are bogus.
'Any suggestions that there is a link between 5G and coronavirus are utterly baseless,' Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said on Tuesday.
'There is no evidence that the use of these radio waves in mobile networks is harmful to health or related to the current health pandemic.'
Two in five believe the virus was engineered and released from the P4 lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan, a theory for which Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said there is no evidence.
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One in eight Australians surveyed believed Microsoft founder Bill Gates (pictured with wife Melinda) is somehow responsible for coronavirus
The same proportion of people rejected the theory, while a quarter are unsure.
One in five believe the media and government are exaggerating the death toll to scare the population.
Eighty per cent remained either very or quite concerned about coronavirus while almost three quarters (73 per cent) are happy with the federal government's response to the pandemic.
The poll results follow protests across Australia led by 5G-conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers.
Conspiracy theorists bearing signs with anti-5G messages joined anti-vaxxers and other Victorians furious with the state's strict lockdown measures at a recent mass rally held in Melbourne, where 10 arrests were made.
Two in five believe the virus was engineered and released from P4 laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Pictured are workers inside the lab in 2017
There were also angry scenes at Mullumbimby near Byron Bay in northern NSW last month when Telstra installed 5G upgrades despite a local council unanimously agreed not to support any upgrades that will facilitate 5G technology.
Australian professor of medicine, and public health advocate John Dwyer recently described conspiracy claims that 5G causes the deadly virus as 'dangerous nonsense'.
'At this time in the fight against the epidemic, this is dangerous nonsense. Even to have a few people think differently that social distancing isn't for them is a silly idea and is putting all of us at risk,' he told Seven News last month.
'For some people, the idea of a conspiracy theory turns them on. Most of the time, it doesn't matter that much but in this particular case, it's dangerous.'
