Mark Jurkowitz

A new analysis of open-ended responses to a survey of U.S. adults looks at the specific storylines or claims about COVID-19 that Americans said they were exposed to.

Responses to cable news coverage and the pandemic vary notably among Americans who identify Fox News, MSNBC or CNN as their main source of political news.

More than half of these social media news consumers say they have encountered made-up news about COVID-19.

There are notable differences between white and black Democrats in news consumption habits and assessments of recent political events and figures in the news.

In total, 20% of all Democrats get political news only from outlets with left-leaning audiences, while 18% of all Republicans do so only from outlets with right-leaning audiences.

Nearly three out of four U.S. adults say that, in general, it’s important for journalists to function as watchdogs over elected officials.

Concern is highest among people who follow political news most closely, older adults and those who display more knowledge about politics in general.

Americans who closely follow political news are more likely to have confidence that the public will accept election results. And that's true across party boundaries.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to have stopped discussing political and election news with someone: 50% vs. 41%, respectively.

Both Democrats and Republicans express far more distrust than trust of social media sites as sources for political and election news.