American News Pathways

How the public navigates news in 2020

Pew Research Center’s ongoing initiative focusing on how Americans’ news habits and attitudes relate to what they hear, perceive and know about the 2020 U.S. presidential election and COVID-19. MORE >

Two-thirds of U.S. adults say they’ve seen their own news sources report facts meant to favor one side

59% of Americans say made-up information that is intended to mislead causes a “great deal” of confusion about the 2020 presidential election.

Americans blame unfair news coverage on media outlets, not the journalists who work for them

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

Writing about the election?

Explore the data

Use an interactive tool to create tables exploring our survey questions about how Americans’ news habits and attitudes relate to what they hear, perceive and know about the 2020 U.S. presidential election and COVID-19.

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5 facts about the QAnon conspiracy theories

Here are five facts about how much Americans have heard about the QAnon conspiracy theories and their views about them.

Americans Plan To Follow Election Returns Closely; Biden Supporters More Confident Their News Sources Will Make Right Call

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.

Republicans who rely most on Trump for COVID-19 news see the outbreak differently from those who don’t

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

Before Trump Tested Positive for Coronavirus, Republicans’ Attention to Pandemic Had Sharply Declined

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

Political Divides, Conspiracy Theories and Divergent News Sources Heading Into 2020 Election

Republicans are about four times as likely as Democrats to say voter fraud has been a major issue with mail-in ballots.

Americans have heard more about clashes between police and protesters than other recent news stories

The public is more likely to have heard “a lot” about ongoing confrontations between police and protesters than several other stories.

Majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s COVID-19 messaging, though large partisan gaps persist

Americans are following the president's statements on the COVID-19 pandemic less closely than a few months ago.

A growing share of voters say it’s important to them to hear from the Trump and Biden campaigns

A majority of voters said it is very or somewhat important to them to get messages from the presidential campaigns about important issues.

Americans Who Mainly Get Their News on Social Media Are Less Engaged, Less Knowledgeable

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.

A look at the Americans who believe there is some truth to the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was planned

Most Americans (71%) have heard of a conspiracy theory that alleges that powerful people intentionally planned the coronavirus outbreak.

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