More Americans now say government should take steps to restrict false information online than in 2018
48% of US adults say the government should restrict false information online, even if it means losing some freedom to access/publish content.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
48% of US adults say the government should restrict false information online, even if it means losing some freedom to access/publish content.
Roughly half of Americans say that they have been getting some (30%) or a lot (18%) of news and info about COVID-19 vaccines on social media.
In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms. Free speech ideals and heated political themes prevail on these sites, which draw praise from their users and skepticism from other Americans.
About half of U.S. adults say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes,” and this use is spread out across a number of different sites. Facebook stands out as a regular source of news for about a third of Americans.
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.
Partisans differ on whether social media companies’ decisions had a major impact on the election.
U.S. adults are mostly against government action that could limit people’s ability to access and publish information online. There is more support for steps by technology companies.
A global median of 75% want their news media to be unbiased when covering political issues, yet many say the news media do a poor job of reporting on political issues fairly.
Overall, 36% of Americans get science news at least a few times a week and three-in-ten actively seek it. Most get science news from general news outlets, but more see specialty sources as being accurate.
About two-in-three U.S. adults say fake news stories cause a great deal of confusion about the basic facts of current issues. And nearly a quarter say they have ever shared completely made-up news.
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