KFF is a non-partisan non-profit organization that has provided independent health policy analysis in the United States since 1948. New media and misinformation investigations are part of KFF’s ongoing COVID-19 vaccine monitoring project, which tracks the dynamic changes in public attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination.
The survey was conducted in October and included a representative sample of 1,519 adults across the United States. The proportions of Democrats, Republicans and independents in the sample are relatively even. About one-third of the samples were not vaccinated. They were asked whether they believed these statements were true, false, or whether they were unsure about the information.
As shown in the figure below, these statements cover some common COVID-19 misinformation. These include false statements such as “The COVID-19 vaccine causes infertility” and “The COVID-19 vaccine contains microchips.”
Slightly more than one-fifth of the adults surveyed determined that all eight claims were untrue. One-third of the interviewees said that at least four claims are true or they are not sure of their authenticity.
Although Republicans are generally more likely to believe in more false statements, Democrats are not immune to misinformation, with only 38% disagreeing with all eight statements. Those who were not vaccinated were most likely to believe multiple false statements, and 64% believed or were uncertain about four or more misinformation.
The survey also looked at the correlation between believing misinformation and personal news sources. Fox News viewers believe the highest percentage of misinformation, 88% believe or say they are not sure about one of the eight statements. However, CNN and MSNBC audiences are also victims of misinformation, and 60% of these groups believe, or question at least one of the eight false statements.
KFF issued a statement at the same time as the new report said: “These findings highlight the major challenge in accurately communicating the rapidly evolving scientific knowledge about the pandemic, because wrong and vague information can be polarized through social media. News sources and other channels spread quickly, whether accidentally or intentionally.”
In July, U.S. Secretary of Health Vivek Morsi issued a warning to the American public, reminding them of the threat of misleading health information. Since then, his office has produced a toolkit to help people from all walks of life “understand, identify and prevent the spread of misleading health information.”
Morsi said in July: “Health misinformation is an urgent threat to public health. It can cause confusion, lead to mistrust, and undermine public health efforts, including our ongoing efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Work. From technology and social media companies that must do more to solve the communication problems on their platforms, to all of us identifying and avoiding sharing misinformation, meeting this challenge will require the efforts of the whole society, but this is for our country Long-term health is essential.”