Australians who get most of their news from commercial media more likely to believe in climate conspiracy, study finds

A quarter of the people who get most of their information from social media believe climate change is a conspiracy, according to a survey commissioned by researchers at Melbourne’s Monash University. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

People who get most of their news from commercial TV and radio are more likely to believe the conspiracy theory that climate change is a natural phenomenon rather than caused by humans, a new study has found.

Respondents were asked questions such as “When you encounter information about politics that challenges your point of view, what do you tend to do?” and provided with multiple choice answers.