Pew: Attention To Coronavirus News Declined Prior To Trump Diagnosis

Six months into a coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 200,000 lives in the United States, and before President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, a new Pew Research Center analysis finds that the share of U.S. adults following news about the outbreak very closely has dropped from 51% in early March to 35% in early September and that this decline is sharper among Republicans (from 48% to 26%) than Democrats (from 53% to 44%).

The survey of 9,220 adults conducted Aug. 31-Sept. 7, 2020, as part of the Center’s American News Pathways project, finds that about six-in-ten Americans (61%) say the country has not controlled the coronavirus outbreak as much as it could have. At the same time, about four-in-ten Americans (39%) believe that the outbreak has been made into a bigger deal than it really is. The study finds deep disagreement between Democrats and Republicans on these issues, and particularly within the GOP, public opinion varies by media diet.

Respondents were asked whether each of eight news providers is a major source of political and election news for them. Researchers then grouped these responses based on the political composition of the outlets’ audiences. For example, Republicans were analyzed based on the degree to which they get political news from the outlets with conservative-leaning audiences and Democrats were categorized based on the degree to which they get news from the outlets with liberal-leaning audiences. See here for more details about how respondents were grouped by their major news sources.

Among the report’s other key findings:

• About two-thirds of Republicans and independents who lean toward the GOP (68%) say the U.S. has done about as much as it could in controlling the outbreak. This view is held by only about one-in-ten Democrats, including independents who lean Democratic (11%). Republicans and leaners are also more likely than Democrats and leaners to say that the outbreak has been made into a bigger deal than it really is (66% vs. 15%).

• Fully 90% of Republicans who rely only on Fox News and/or talk radio (among eight providers asked about) say that the U.S. has controlled the outbreak as much as it could have, as do 62% of Republicans who use Fox News, talk radio and other sources. In contrast, among Republicans who do not rely on Fox News or talk radio but do rely on at least one of the other major news providers asked about, 46% say the U.S. controlled the outbreak as well as it could have.

• There are far smaller differences on this question among Democrats with varying media diets. But unlike other groups, Democrats whose major sources of political and election news are only those with liberal-leaning audiences – MSNBC, CNN, NPR, The New York Times and The Washington Post – are almost unanimous in saying that the U.S. has not controlled the outbreak as much as it could have (97%).

• Similar patterns by media diet emerge among the GOP on the question of whether the pandemic has been made a bigger deal than it really is. Among Republicans who only use Fox News and/or talk radio as major news sources, 78% say the coronavirus has been made a bigger deal than it really is. That falls to 54% among Republicans who use a mix of major sources, and 47% for those who name some major sources, but not Fox News or talk radio.

• About three-in-ten U.S. adults (31%) say they try to tune out news about the coronavirus, with Republicans (43%) about twice as likely as Democrats (20%) to say this. But on the whole, most Americans (68%) say they are trying to stay tuned into news about the pandemic.

• Americans are about evenly split over whether it has become harder or easier to identify what is true and what is false about the coronavirus outbreak since the early days of the pandemic; and there are major partisan differences. While 38% of U.S. adults say they are now finding it harder to identify what is true and what is false, an almost identical share (36%) say they are finding it easier. The remainder (26%) say it hasn’t changed much in either direction. Nearly half of Republicans (49%) say it is now harder to determine what is true, while Democrats are more likely to say it has become easier (42%).

• Partisan disagreement also arises when it comes to how susceptible young people (under the age of 18) are to becoming infected with the virus. A plurality of Republicans (44%) say young people are far less susceptible than adults, and a majority of Democrats (61%) say those under 18 are about as susceptible as adults. (There is no strong evidence that younger people are less likely than adults to be infected with the virus, though there are differences by age in likelihood of death and severity of symptoms.)