Social Media Most Likely To Report Made-Up News

According to new survey data from Pew Research Center's Election News Pathways project, Americans who most commonly get political and election news on social media (18% of U.S. adults) are less likely to follow news about the coronavirus than those whose most common pathway is through print, radio, local television, national TV, cable TV and news websites. 

Only about four-in-ten (37%) say they are following it very closely, the lowest percentage for the types of news consumers studied. 

And some of the information social media news consumers have seen has been problematic. 

More than half (57%) of those who rely on social media for news say they have encountered some or a lot of information about the outbreak that seems completely made up. 

In fact, when asked when a vaccine for COVID-19 might be available, only about four-in-ten people in the social media group (37%) said it would take a year or more, the answer most in line with statements by public health experts. The new analysis stems from a survey of 8,914 U.S. adults who are members of the Center's American Trends Panel, conducted March 10-16, 2020.

Read More Now.