Many people don't know basic facts about monkeypox, making them susceptible to public health messaging but also to conspiracy theories

PHILADELPHIA — Did evil scientists intentionally release monkeypox? Fourteen percent of respondents to a survey by University of Pennsylvania researchers think so. Another 10% think the virus was intentionally spread to "deflect attention from the failures of the Biden administration," and 5% said getting a COVID-19 vaccine increases their chance of contracting monkeypox. Many more survey respondents said they weren't sure if these conspiracy theories were true — but they also couldn't flatly dismiss them. The findings by scientists at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pe...