HIV Conspiracy Beliefs Among Black LGBQ+ People: The Roles of Public Health Sources, Social Media, Algorithmic Assistants, and Religious Leaders

As Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) disproportionately affects racial and gender minorities in the U.S., this study investigates the role of intersecting identities - specifically being Black and LGBQ+ - along with the sociocultural and communicative factors intertwined with these identities in shaping beliefs in HIV conspiracy theories. An online survey (<i>N</i> = 1,505) shows that Black LGBQ+ people display higher levels of HIV conspiracy beliefs than their non-Black heterosexual peers. Low trust in public health sources and high reliance on social media, algorithmic assistants (e.g. Alexa and ChatGPT), and religious leaders predicted greater conspiracy beliefs. The positive relationship between reliance on social media and HIV conspiracy beliefs was weakened for those who identify as Black LGBQ+. Our findings highlight the importance of targeted health communication in the HIV context and offer actionable solutions to address health disparities.