How Americans Navigated the News in 2020: A Tumultuous Year in Review
Americans inhabited different information environments, with wide gaps in how they viewed the election and COVID-19.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Americans inhabited different information environments, with wide gaps in how they viewed the election and COVID-19.
A third of U.S. adults say they changed their Thanksgiving plans “a great deal,” while roughly a quarter changed their plans “some.”
U.S. adults in this group are less likely to get the facts right about COVID-19 and politics and more likely to hear some unproven claims.
Some 61% of U.S. adults say they follow COVID-19 news at both the national and local level equally, and 23% say they pay more attention to local news.
Most Americans (71%) have heard of a conspiracy theory that alleges that powerful people intentionally planned the coronavirus outbreak.
Those ages 18 to 29 differ from older Americans in their news consumption habits and in their responses to major news events and coverage.
The percentage who say journalists have exaggerated the risks of the outbreak has decreased notably in recent weeks.
Black adults were much more likely than whites and somewhat more likely than Hispanic adults to frequently discuss the pandemic with others.
The public’s sense about the pandemic’s impact on the financial well-being of most news organizations is far from clear.
More than half of these social media news consumers say they have encountered made-up news about COVID-19.
1615 L St. NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
USA
(+1) 202-419-4300 | Main
(+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax
(+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries
ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
© 2024 Pew Research Center