Americans who relied most on Trump for COVID-19 news among least likely to be vaccinated

[Kid Berwyn]

Info worth sharing…



Americans who relied most on Trump for COVID-19 news among least likely to be vaccinated

BY MARK JURKOWITZ AND AMY MITCHELL
Pew Research, September 23, 2021

Americans who relied most on former President Donald Trump and the White House coronavirus task force for COVID-19 news in the early days of the pandemic are now among those least likely to have been vaccinated against the virus, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

In late April 2020, as part of the Center’s American News Pathways Project, respondents were asked to name the source they relied on most for pandemic news. At that point, it had been more than a month since the World Health Organization had declared the coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic, businesses and schools in the United States were closing their doors, and the nation was approaching the 1 million mark in number of confirmed cases as the sweeping impact of the pandemic was becoming clearer.

Over a year later, at the end of August 2021, the Center asked U.S. adults about their vaccination status. Of the 10,348 respondents who took the August survey, 6,686 had also taken the April 2020 survey. Looking at the group who took both surveys reveals distinct differences in vaccination rates based on where people turned most for COVID-19 news.

Those who cited Trump and his task force and those who cited personal and community networks as their favored COVID-19 news sources are far less likely than those who relied on other source types to have received at least one shot of the vaccine. Roughly six-in-ten (59%) of those who relied most on Trump say they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 38% say they have not received a vaccine.

Continues…

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/23/americans-who-relied-most-on-trump-for-covid-19-news-among-least-likely-to-be-vaccinated/

[tanyev]

1. They can save that for posterity.

[Kid Berwyn]

2. "Infodemic" Study Results Replicated

Trump Is ‘Single Largest Driver’ Of Covid-19 Misinformation, Cornell Study Finds

by Tommy Beer
Forbes, October 1, 2020

Misinformation about the coronavirus is a pressing threat to public health, and according to researchers at Cornell University who analyzed over 38 million articles about the pandemic published in English-language media around the world, “the president of the United States was the single largest driver of misinformation around Covid,” as mentions of Donald Trump “comprised 37.9% of the overall misinformation conversation.”

KEY FACTS

* The study states that when individuals are misled by false assertions about the nature and treatment of Covid-19, they are less likely to follow the advice of medical experts and health officials and, consequently, contribute to the spread of the virus.

* The findings of the study, which was published Thursday, identified 11 widespread misinformation/conspiracy-theory subtopics but that media mentions of President Trump made up by far the largest share of what the World Health Organization has termed an “infodemic.”

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/10/01/trump-is-single-largest-driver-of-covid-19-misinformation-cornell-study-finds/?sh=56a1d5166d70

PS: Trump did all he could to turn America into Boot Hill. So many innocent tombstones, too. Thousands of nurses, doctors, cops, teachers…thanks to Putin and his puppet.

[Ocelot II]

3. Well, duh.

[Kid Berwyn]

4. Does seem obvious, but it's seldom mentioned on TV.

New research explores how conservative media misinformation may have intensified the severity of the pandemic

The three studies paint a picture of a media ecosystem that entertains conspiracy theories and discourages audiences from taking steps to protect themselves and others

By Christopher Ingraham
Washington Post, June 25, 2020

Coronavirus infections have surged in a number of states, setting the United States on a markedly different pandemic trajectory than other wealthy nations.

There are many reasons our response to the pandemic tied to more than 120,000 U.S. deaths has faltered, experts say, including the lack of a cohesive federal policy, missteps on testing and tracing, and a national culture emphasizing individualism.

In recent weeks, three studies have focused on conservative media’s role in fostering confusion about the seriousness of the coronavirus. Taken together, they paint a picture of a media ecosystem that amplifies misinformation, entertains conspiracy theories and discourages audiences from taking concrete steps to protect themselves and others.

The end result, according to one of the studies, is that infection and mortality rates are higher in places where one pundit who initially downplayed the severity of the pandemic — Fox News’s Sean Hannity — reaches the largest audiences.

“We e are receiving an incredible number of studies and solid data showing that consuming far-right media and social media content was strongly associated with low concern about the virus at the onset of the pandemic,” said Irene Pasquetto, chief editor of the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review, which published one of the studies.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/25/fox-news-hannity-coronavirus-misinformation/

That was over a year ago. Half a million Americans who were alive then are dead today from COVID-19.