Conspiracy theories offer unvalidated explanations for important societal events. Research has shown that believing in conspiracy theories is connected with negative societal consequences, such as decreased social engagement and less trust in authorities. This research has mostly used cross-sectional designs and rarely identified the underlying mechanisms. The current research set out to address both of these limitations. In one experimental and one longitudinal study, we examined the effect of a belief in a Political Covid-19 Conspiracy on attitudes and behavior in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Believing in a Political Covid-19 Conspiracy had detrimental effects for institutional trust and support for governmental regulations. Unexpectedly, trust did not mediate the impact of conspiracy beliefs on the detrimental societal effects. In a second set of studies we provide evidence for the role of a focus on differences as mechanism in the context of conspiracy theories