Nearly half of young Europeans are skeptical of their government’s motives surrounding pandemic-related restrictions such as lockdowns and vaccine mandates, reveals a new European Council on Foreign Relations poll.

The September 1st report notes that “one of the clearest consequences [of the COVID-19 pandemic] so far is a surge in cynicism among young people about governments’ intentions.”

“The poll shows that younger people are less likely to believe that the main motivation of governments in introducing pandemic-related restrictions is to limit the spread of the virus,” the think tank summarizes in comparison to older generations.

23 percent of respondents aged 30 and under felt that “their government mainly wishes to create the appearance of control” through the implementation of pandemic-related restrictions while an additional 20 percent felt that “governments are using the pandemic as an excuse to increase their control of the public.”