U.S. Media Polarization and the 2020 Election: A Nation Divided
As the U.S. enters a heated 2020 presidential election year, Republicans and Democrats place their trust in two nearly inverse news media environments.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
As the U.S. enters a heated 2020 presidential election year, Republicans and Democrats place their trust in two nearly inverse news media environments.
More than half of these social media news consumers say they have encountered made-up news about COVID-19.
In total, 20% of all Democrats get political news only from outlets with left-leaning audiences, while 18% of all Republicans do so only from outlets with right-leaning audiences.
The percentage who say journalists have exaggerated the risks of the outbreak has decreased notably in recent weeks.
More than two-thirds of adults ages 65 or older said they were following news of the pandemic very closely.
There are notable differences between white and black Democrats in news consumption habits and assessments of recent political events and figures in the news.
A new analysis of open-ended responses to a survey of U.S. adults looks at the specific storylines or claims about COVID-19 that Americans said they were exposed to.
Many Democrats and Republicans hold divergent views of President Donald Trump’s withholding of military aid to Ukraine. But in today’s fragmented news media environment, party identification may not be the only fault line.
After three months of news and information, 64% of U.S. adults say the CDC mostly gets the facts about the outbreak right; 30% say the same about President Trump and his administration.
About half say they have seen at least some made-up news about the virus; 29% think it was created in a lab.
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