Thursday, April 16, 2020

Many Americans Report Fake COVID-19 News

About half of the American public (48%) reports encountering at least some completely made-up news about COVID-19.

But what kinds of made-up news are they seeing? 

In a survey conducted in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak as part of Pew Research Center's Election News Pathways project, researchers asked respondents an opened ended question about stories or claims they had seen about COVID-19 that seemed made up. 

Experts then coded and analyzed responses, finding four categories of perceived made-up news:

41% of those who provided an example described encountering made-up news about the magnitude of risks associated with the virus; 30% came across made-up news about the virus itself (including its origins and possible cures); 11% identified made-up news that fell into a broad category of COVID-19 events and actions; while 10% provided examples of made-up claims about politicians' responses. 

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