The result “blows the lid off of this idea” that such beliefs are held by only a fringe population of individuals who are uninformed or ideologically driven, says David Bersoff, head of research at the Edelman Trust Institute. “This is not like a small problematic group.”
Yeah its basis is in social panics. The same reason marijuana was banned in the USA. Immigrants today also social panics. They use social panics as a weapon for the ignorant.