MisinformationTrust in COVID Info Sources Varies by Demographics, Beliefs
People seek COVID-19 information from different sources based on sex, age, education level, political bent, and beliefs about the pandemic, according to a study published last week in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. Led by researchers at New York University (NYU), the study involved recruiting US adults on Facebook to complete an online survey in two rounds in March and April on their use of 11 different coronavirus information sources and their most trusted source of information.
People seek COVID-19 information from different sources based on sex, age, education level, political bent, and beliefs about the pandemic, according to a study published last week in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance.
Led by researchers at New York University (NYU), the study involved recruiting US adults on Facebook to complete an online survey in two rounds in March and April on their use of 11 different coronavirus information sources and their most trusted source of information.
The vast majority of the 11,242 participants who completed the survey (91.2%) said they turned to traditional news sources such as television, radio, podcasts, and newspapers. But the largest single source of COVID-19 information was government websites (87.6%), which were also the most trusted source (43.3%). Another large source was social media (73.6%), although participants said they trusted government information far more.
Men and those aged 40 and older reported lower levels of trust in government websites than younger participants. Those surveyed in April, as opposed to March, were significantly less likely to use and trust government websites, while trust in other websites, radio news or podcasts, and spouses or other partners more than doubled during that time. April participants also used, on average, 0.58 fewer sources than March respondents.
Non-white participants were more likely than whites to consult doctors and religious leaders for sources of information.
Type and Number of Sources, Knowledge Levels
The 7,811 of 11,242 respondents (69.5%) who reported consulting mainstream media sources said they most often used television network news outlets such as CNN (24.0%), Fox News (19.3%), and other local or national stations (35.2%).
Republicans were significantly more likely to rely on Fox News and less likely to consult all other mainstream media outlets. In contrast, participants with a bachelor’s degree or higher said they relied more on CNN and other international news networks. Respondents 60 years and older said they relied more on Fox News and MSNBC than on international news sources.
On average, respondents used 6.1 sources of coronavirus information. Men and participants who were aged 40 and older, unemployed or retired, and Republican used fewer sources than those with children at home and a higher education level. Respondents with a bachelor’s degree or higher were more likely than others to use all sources of information except for traditional media.
