The Role of Information Sources, Trust in Information Sources, and COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory in the Compliance with COVID-19 Related Measures

The aim of this study was to check the role of information sources, trust in information sources and COVID-19 related conspiracy in the compliance with COVID-19 related measures at the beginning of the pandemics and at the moment in which study was conducted, on Serbian and German sample. Previous studies have found that information and conspiracy theories are important variables in predicting compliance with COVID-19 related measures, and that Serbian and German culture differ in these behaviors. Instruments used were questions regarding Information sources, questions regarding Trust in information sources (both separated into Formal and Informal), question measuring belief that COVID-19 was created in the laboratory, and two question measuring self-assessed compliance with COVID-19 related measures. Data was analyzed with moderated path analysis through structural equation modeling. The results of this study show that Trust in formal sources negatively predicted belief that COVID-19 was created in the laboratory and positively compliance with COVID-19 related measures, on both samples. On Serbian sample Informal sources also negatively predicted belief that COVID-19 was created in the laboratory, while this belief predicted (negatively) compliance with COVID-19 measures at the beginning of pandemics. We can conclude that there are some cultural differences, and that COVID-19 related conspiracy is more important on Serbian than on the German sample.