Replication data for: Where does the Coronavirus come from? On the mechanisms underlying the endorsement of conspiracy theories on the origin of SARS-CoV-2

While official science has given its answer to the question on the origin of the Coronavirus (animal to human transmission), alternative theories on human creation of the virus – purposely or inadvertently – have flourished. Those alternative theories can be easily located among the family of conspiracy theories, as they always assume some secretive activity of some groups acting on their self-interest and against the good of the many. The article assesses the prevalence of these beliefs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, studies its development during the pandemic, and investigates its potential determinants. In particular, it analyses the relationship between beliefs in alternative theories on the origin of the virus and political orientation, by arguing that the association cannot be attributed to (politically) motivated reasoning, as the issue has not been highly politicized in the Italian context. Alternatively, the article suggests that the main factor driving beliefs in alternative accounts on the origins of the virus is institutional trust. Political orientation moderates its effects, depending on specific conditions (e.g. cue taking, position of the supported party either in government or opposition), and eventually reinforcing scepticism towards epistemic authorities for those with low trust in institutions. Data come from the ResPOnsE COVID-19 survey, carried out with daily samples from April to July 2020 (N > 15.000) to monitor the development of the Italian public opinion during the Coronavirus pandemic.尽管官方科学界已就冠状病毒（Coronavirus）的起源问题给出明确结论，即病毒经由动物传人路径传播，但有关人类刻意或无意制造该病毒的另类理论仍层出不穷。这类另类理论极易被归入阴谋论范畴，因其核心假设为：某些群体出于自身利益、违背大众福祉，开展了秘密活动。本研究评估了意大利在COVID-19（新型冠状病毒肺炎）疫情期间，民众对这类阴谋论的信奉程度，分析了其随疫情进程的演变轨迹，并探究了其潜在影响因素。具体而言，本研究分析了民众对病毒起源另类理论的信奉程度与政治倾向之间的关联，并指出该关联不能归因于受政治动机驱使的推理过程，因为在意大利的语境下，该议题并未被高度政治化。此外，本研究提出，驱动民众信奉病毒起源另类说法的核心因素为制度信任。政治倾向会根据特定条件（如线索采纳行为、支持政党处于执政党或反对党地位）对该效应起到调节作用，并最终强化制度信任度较低人群对认知权威的怀疑态度。本研究数据来自ResPOnsE COVID-19调查，该调查于2020年4月至7月期间开展每日抽样，有效样本量超过15000，用于监测意大利民众在新冠疫情期间的舆论演变。