COVID-19 was man-made to control the world’s population has been ranked the top conspiracy theories the British public believe to be true, according to a survey.

Further results from the survey of more than 3,000 members of the public revealed that a third (34%) of Brits think that Donald Trump is being blackmailed by Russia, and more than a quarter (29%) think that UFOs have been seen in Area 51.

Online marketplace OnBuy.com surveyed more than 3,000 members of the public to discover the most commonly believed conspiracy theories, with almost two fifths (38%) of Brits stating they believe that COVID-19 was created as a form of population control.

The results also revealed that a third (34%) of Brits think that Donald Trump is being blackmailed by Russia and over a quarter (29%) think that UFOs have been seen in Area 51.

Google Trends search data also shows that Bob Lazar, the famous whistleblower of Area 51, experienced a surge in searches at the end of July, following the release of the Netflix documentary on the topic.

The top 10 conspiracy theories Brits believe and the percentage of people that believe them are:

1. COVID-19 was made in a lab to lower the Earth’s population – 38%

2. Trump is being blackmailed by Russia – 34%

3. UFO and alien sightings have been seen in Area 51 – 29%

4. There is a link between 5G and COVID-19 – 28%

5. Jeffrey Epstein was murdered – 23%

6. COVID-19 is a cover so Bill Gates can implant trackable microchips in people - 19%

7. The moon landings were faked - 17%

8. The Loch Ness monster is real – 16%

9. Vaccines cause autism - 14%

10. Climate change is a hoax - 14%

The full survey results, along with the top 20 conspiracy theories Brits believe in can be found here.

Additional conspiracy theories stated by participants which did not make the top 20 list include the moon is not real, the Queen is a cannibal and that dinosaurs never existed.

When asked, eight in 10 (81%) participants confirmed that they believe in a conspiracy theory of some kind and a further fifth (20%) admit to being embarrassed in doing so.