About one-third of people in six countries, including the United States, said in a new survey they have come across "false or misleading information" regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study results were published Wednesday by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. People in the U.S., Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Argentina, and South Korea participated.
Among the findings:
- Roughly a third of people said they have seen "a lot or a great deal" of information about the coronavirus that's either false or misleading.
- A third said they found false or misleading information on social media and messaging applications.
- Roughly a quarter of those surveyed said they are worried about seeing false or misleading information about the virus from news organizations and governments.
- The far majority in each of the countries said they got their news over the last week from online sources. In the U.S., the numbers break down to: 72% online, 58% TV, 47% social media, 20% radio, and 13% newspapers.
- When asked where people got their news regarding the coronavirus in the last week, the data among Americans shows: 54% news organizations, 49% scientists, doctors, and health experts, 35% national government, 32% global health organizations, 29% national health organizations, 25% ordinary people they know, 14% politicians, and 11% ordinary people they do not know.
"The incentives that generate a lot of the misinformation are still there," Reuters institute director and study co-author Rasmus Kleis Nielsen told Politico. "Nothing will solve this problem on its own. It's going to take greater collaboration."
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.