Around a third of people think their governments are ‘hiding the truth’ about immigration — here’s why people believe conspiracy theories

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• About a third of people in countries like the US, UK, and France believe conspiracy theories about immigration.
• They think the government is lying to them about immigration figures.
• According to a new study, there’s an association between voting for Trump or Brexit and believing these theories.
• Voting this way is also linked to believing conspiracies about climate change and vaccination.
• Some people believe conspiracy theories because it makes them feel unique.
• Others hold on to them because they are comforting and it gives them an explanation for their hardships.

One of the most divisive and influential talking points of elections around the world over the past few years has arguably been immigration. So much so, many people now believe conspiracy theories about how the government is lying to them about immigration figures.

In 2016, Donald Trump promised to “build a wall” between the US and Mexico, and to bring back jobs to the American people. In the UK, Nigel Farage ran a campaign saying the country had reached a “breaking point” with immigrants, and Britain had to leave the EU to fix it.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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