News Habits & Media

About eight-in-ten Americans (79%) say news organizations tend to favor one side when presenting the news on political and social issues.

We have studied Americans’ attitudes toward tech companies for years. Here are takeaways from our recent research.

Biden supporters are more likely than Trump supporters to be confident their news sources will make the right call in announcing a winner. And partisans remain worlds apart on how well the U.S. has controlled the coronavirus outbreak.

Just one-in-ten Americans say social media sites have a mostly positive effect on the way things are going in the U.S. today.

The share of social media users who say they have changed their views on an issue has increased since we last asked this question in 2018.

Entering the peak of the the 2020 election season, social media platforms are firmly entrenched as a venue for Americans to process campaign news and engage in various types of social activism. But not all Americans use these platforms in similar ways.

Among Republicans, opinions about the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. differ considerably by source of news.

A majority (82%) say there are times when it is acceptable for journalists to use anonymous sources, with 67% saying it is acceptable only in special cases.

About two-thirds of Republicans say the U.S. has controlled the outbreak as much as it could have; 88% of Democrats disagree.

Videos from independent news producers are more likely to cover subjects negatively and discuss conspiracy theories.