FACT BRIEF

Did a recent study find that regular users of Fox News, Twitter and Facebook were less well-informed about COVID-19?

Monday, December 14, 2020

By Emanuela Podda Ankrom

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YES

According to a March 2020 study published in Frontiers in Psychology, people who regularly use Fox News, Twitter and Facebook tend to ”endorse more misinformation” and have less knowledge about COVID-19 treatment and symptoms than those who don't often engage with these sources. These users also tend to have more prejudicial attitudes toward Asian-Americans. The study surveyed 1,141 adults in March 2020.

Another March study published by a Harvard affiliate found that use of conservative media (Fox News, Rush Limbaugh) correlated with “beliefs in the malign underlying motives of some at the Centers for Disease Control and in the Chinese origin of the virus.” Exposure to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube correlated with beliefs that the CDC was exaggerating the threat to harm President Trump politically, that the virus was created by the U.S. government and that Vitamin C prevented infection.

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

Sources

Frontiers in Psychology: The role of news consumption and trust in public health leadership in shaping COVID-19 knowledge and prejudice

PsyPost: Study links regular use of Fox News, Twitter and Facebook to reduced knowledge about COVID-19

Harvard: Misinformation Review—The relation between media consumption and misinformation at the outset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the US

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