Correct, Incorrect, or Uncertain? Factual Science Knowledge, Conspiratorial Anti-Science Beliefs, and “Don’t Know” Responses in Post-Pandemic Romania

One respondent says antibiotics kill viruses. A second says they do not know. A third says cancer cures are hidden for profit. A standard literacy score counts all three as one deficit. This exploratory study asks whether they behave alike. In a July 2025 Romanian telephone survey (analytic N = 1007), six factual, two worldview-linked and two conspiratorial anti-science (CAS) items were analyzed separately, treating “don’t know” (DK) as a third response. The response patterns did not converge. Factor analysis of substantive answers retained two factors, not one, and the six-item core’s weighted internal consistency among answerers was 0.379. DK responding formed a coherent cross-item pattern, but less uniform than the full-sample alpha of 0.926 implies: it falls to 0.803 once the 135 all-DK respondents are set aside. CAS endorsement converged with generic conspiracist belief and tracked institutional distrust, where factual accuracy did not. Education and internet frequency mainly differentiated DK responding; economic security and democratic satisfaction were associated with lower CAS endorsement. Against Eurobarometer 95.2 (2021), Romanian factual accuracy sits about two items lower than the EU27 average excluding Romania, and CAS endorsement is roughly 1.7 times as high, in both Romanian waves. Uncertainty, error and conspiratorial belief remain conceptually distinct.