Local news is playing an important role for Americans during COVID-19 outbreak
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.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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.
U.S. adults’ views of what makes a news story trustworthy vary by party affiliation, demographic characteristics and news consumption habits.
We thought it would be valuable to combine our study of news coverage itself with data on people’s views about, and exposure to, that coverage.
Americans’ confidence in checking COVID-19 information aligns closely with their confidence in checking the accuracy of news stories broadly.
Most Americans (71%) have heard of a conspiracy theory that alleges that powerful people intentionally planned the coronavirus outbreak.
Black adults were much more likely than whites and somewhat more likely than Hispanic adults to frequently discuss the pandemic with others.
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 public’s sense about the pandemic’s impact on the financial well-being of most news organizations is far from clear.
With Election Day six months away, 52% of Americans are paying fairly close or very close attention to news about the presidential candidates.
Those most likely to say COVID-19 threatens day-to-day life live in urban areas in states that have seen relatively high numbers of cases.
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