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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Are people who watch Fox News still more hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine than most other news consumers?

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

By Lisa Freedland

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YES

Polls find that vaccine hesitancy among Fox viewers has dropped in recent months but remains higher than among other mainstream news audiences.

An August 2021 Morning Consult poll found that 27% of Fox viewers were “unsure...or unwilling to get a COVID-19 shot,” down from 37% in mid-March. In contrast, CNN, MSNBC and New York Times consumers all expressed vaccine hesitancy at rates below 20%. The same poll found that Facebook, Snapchat, and Reddit users had vaccine hesitancy rates between 30% and 35%.

Some Fox News coverage and commentary has conveyed skepticism about vaccines. Media Matters for America, a liberal nonprofit that tracks conservative news coverage, reported that between June 28 through July 11, “57% of segments about coronavirus vaccines on the network included claims that undermined vaccination efforts.”

Many factors aside from media consumption influence attitudes towards vaccines. Vaccine hesitancy is lower among Republicans who trust Fox News than among Republicans who don’t trust any TV news source, according to a July Public Religion Research Institute poll.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Morning Consult Fox News personalities started to promote COVID-19 vaccines. Viewers have taken notice

Media Matters for America Fox has undermined vaccination efforts in nearly 60% of all vaccination segments in a 2-week period

Vox Don’t be fooled by that viral Hannity clip. Fox News’s Covid-19 coverage is a mess.

Public Religion Research Institute Religious identities and the race against the virus

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.