Online Search

A majority of Americans are turning to digital means to stay connected and track information about the coronavirus outbreak.

A big majority (81%) of Americans say they rely a lot on their own research – more than say they rely a lot on friends and family or experts.

The ability to keep personal information from being searchable online is at the crux of the debate around the "right to be forgotten."

Men are overrepresented in online image search results for popular jobs. Women appear lower on the page than men in many of these searches.

Read key findings from an analysis that looks into the public's interest in guns as potential consumer products, rather than as a subject of general interest.

Many U.S. adults say they would benefit a lot from having at least one of seven different kinds of help in accessing information to help with decision-making.

Experts are split on whether the coming years will see less misinformation online. Those who foresee improvement hope for technological and societal solutions. Others say bad actors using technology can exploit human vulnerabilities.

This project – using the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, as a case study model – examines the question of how media coverage of a current issue in the news relates to public interest in the issue and its relevance to their own lives.

Read an interview with Director of Journalism Research Amy Mitchell, who helped author the study.