‘It is not worse than a flu’ – COVID-19 Scepticism and the Role of Trust and Far-Right Attitudes in Germany

Abstract

Whereas previous social science scholarship on the COVID-19 pandemic has primarily focused on health behaviour, social distancing, or pandemic-related conspiracy beliefs, we investigate the drivers of COVID-19 scepticism. COVID-19 sceptics view the virus as harmless (i.e., not worse than a casual flu). Using data from a representative survey conducted in the East German region of Thuringia in autumn 2020, we show that far-right political attitudes and low trust in political institutions are crucial drivers of COVID-19 scepticism.