Research: Americans concerned about misinformation in news
October 30, 2024
Around eight in ten Americans are concerned about misinformation in the news, according to research commissioned by the BBC with Yonder Consulting, which looks at attitudes around misinformation, and trust in news media. It also looked at the prevalence of news avoidance and how political leaning affected concerns around misinformation, trust and news avoidance.
Deborah Turness, CEO at BBC News, comented: “The findings that the majority of Americans are concerned about misinformation should alarm all of us. News organisations have a responsibility to provide people with trusted information, and the BBC is fully engaged in the fight against mis- and disinformation. We know that people value what we do, in the US, UK and around the world, as millions of people come to the BBC for impartial, trusted news. Since launching BBC Verify – our industry-leading verification and forensic analysis team – we have seen huge numbers of people coming to us to verify stories and information, and for the forensic detail and transparency in the way we report – showing our workings, so that the audience can trust what they are being told.”
The findings found that no matter the political leaning – Democrat or Republican – the majority of people in the US do have concerns around misinformation, with around a quarter of people saying they don’t feel confident in being able to spot it.
The research points to a correlation between concerns around misinformation with levels of mistrust – as just half of the people surveyed said they trusted public figures like economists and scientist to tell the truth. This figure falls to around one-in-five for influencers and politicians, with the majority believing that all these groups are selective about the facts they use.
The research also looks at the broader circumstances influencing people’s interactions with news, as well as the immediate political environment. It showed that around four-in-ten Americans reported they actively avoid the news at least some of time, with similar numbers of Trump supporters and Harris supporters practising avoidance.
Among those who said they were avoiding news about specific topics, overall entertainment news, political news, news about social justice and the conflict in Israel/Gaza were among the most avoided topics, but the picture is different between Trump and Harris supporters.
More than twice as many Trump supporters say they are avoiding news about social justice and climate change compared to Harris supporters, whereas Harris supporters are more likely to say they are avoiding news about crime and personal security. Harris supporters are also more likely to be avoiding news about US politics and Israel / Gaza.
People expressed a desire for news and fact-checking services to clearly establish what is real and what is fake, with around half the people saying they wanted to see the workings of how stories are checked and verified. They also want news services to challenge politicians on the facts and determine what is actually true.
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