Young man sitting in a dark room before a wall featuring various conspiracy theory-related items illuminated by a computer screen

America’s Crisis of Confidence: Rising Mistrust, Conspiracies, and Vaccine Hesitancy After COVID-19

Findings from the May 2023 American Perspectives Survey

America is experiencing a crosscutting crisis of expertise and scientific distrust accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic that poses significant challenges to democratic debate and public decision-making.

Read the survey report
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The unsubstantiated claim of voter fraud is widely held among Republicans with nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Republicans say the statement “there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election” is mostly or completely accurate, a view shared by only 22 percent of independents and 2 percent of Democrats.

Americans expressed greater agreement about the existence of fraud in the 2016 presidential election. Eighteen percent of Democrats, 20 percent of independents, and 27 percent of Republicans believe there was evidence of election fraud in 2016.

 

Survey Reports
Gender, Generation and Abortion: Shifting Politics and Perspectives After Roe

Gender, Generation and Abortion: Shifting Politics and Perspectives After Roe

October 4, 2022
Politics, Sex, and Sexuality: The Growing Gender Divide in American Life

Politics, Sex, and Sexuality: The Growing Gender Divide in American Life

April 27, 2022
The College Connection: The Education Divide in American Social and Community Life

The College Connection: The Education Divide in American Social and Community Life

December 13, 2021
Controversy and Consensus: Perspectives on Race, Religion, and COVID-19 in Public Schools

Controversy and Consensus: Perspectives on Race, Religion, and COVID-19 in Public Schools

September 22, 2021
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Partisan politics of the Trump era have become a part of daily life, often serving as a point of contention in basic social interactions — and new survey results show that it’s affecting our dating lives as well. AEI’s Jacqueline Clemence explains.