64% of respondents turn to major outlets

People rely on major news outlets for information twice as much as they do on global or national health organisations, a recent survey noted.

It found that 64 per cent of those polled globally said they were turning to major news organisations for updates about the coronavirus, while 40 per cent said they were seeking information from government sources.

The reliance on news from social media, family and friends was much lower, according to the poll by global public relations and marketing consultancy Edelman. About 10,000 people from Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States were polled early last month.

Most young people were found to rely evenly on social media and mainstream media, but people aged 55 and above regarded mainstream media almost three times more reliable than social media.

Around 70 per cent of those polled searched for coronavirus news at least once or several times a day, and there was definite concern about fake news and false information being spread about the virus, the Edelman report said. Another finding noted that 74 per cent said there was a lot of fake news and false information about the virus while 45 per cent said it has been difficult to find trustworthy information.

There was also much concern about the crisis being politicised, with 58 per cent agreeing that certain people were making the situation seem worse than it was for political gain.

The demand for information was high with around 80 per cent of those polled wanting the health authorities to regularly provide information on prevention of the spread of the virus while 70 per cent sought information on where tests are available.

---

Greater news consumption among findings

• News use is up across all countries surveyed.

• A majority of respondents rated news organisations as relatively trustworthy. Three-quarters of respondents trust national or international public health organisations.

• In the United States, people on the left of the political spectrum trust news organisations much more than they trust the government, and people on the right trust the government much more than they trust news organisations.

• Very high numbers of people across age groups, levels of education and political views rate scientists, doctors and other health experts as trustworthy sources of information about the coronavirus.

• Most respondents rate platforms less trustworthy than experts, health authorities and news organisations. Results vary significantly across different types of platforms.

• The "trust gap" between information from news organisations and information from social media is 33 percentage points; between news and video sites 30 percentage points; and between news and messaging applications it is 35 percentage points.

• People with low levels of formal education are much less likely to say that they rely on news organisations for news and information about the coronavirus, and more likely to rely on social media and messaging applications.

• In every country covered, a minority say they have come across a lot or a great deal of false or misleading information around the coronavirus outbreak.

• A majority of respondents in every country say that the news media has helped them understand the crisis and explain what they can do. However, about one in three also say they feel the news media has exaggerated the pandemic.