Public perceptions of conflicting information surrounding COVID-19: Results from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults

Conflicting information surrounding COVID-19 abounds, from disagreement over the effectiveness of face masks in preventing viral transmission to competing claims about the promise of certain treatments. Despite the potential for conflicting information about COVID-19 to produce adverse public health...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2020-10, Vol.15 (10), p.e0240776-e0240776
Main Authors: Nagler, Rebekah H, Vogel, Rachel I, Gollust, Sarah E, Rothman, Alexander J, Fowler, Erika Franklin, Yzer, Marco C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adults
Asymptomatic
Betacoronavirus
Biology and Life Sciences
Cognitive ability
Control
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections - psychology
Coronavirus Infections - virology
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disease transmission
Epidemics
False information
Female
Health Behavior
Health risks
Humans
Information Dissemination
Information sources
Journalism schools
Male
Media coverage
Medicine and Health Sciences
Middle Aged
Pandemics
People and Places
Perception
Perceptions
Personal health
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Pneumonia, Viral - psychology
Pneumonia, Viral - virology
Political factors
Political identity
Politics
Polls & surveys
Public health
Public Opinion
SARS-CoV-2
Self Report
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Social Sciences
Sociodemographics
Socioeconomic Factors
Subgroups
Surveys
United States
Young Adult
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Description
Summary:Conflicting information surrounding COVID-19 abounds, from disagreement over the effectiveness of face masks in preventing viral transmission to competing claims about the promise of certain treatments. Despite the potential for conflicting information about COVID-19 to produce adverse public health effects, little is known about whether the U.S. public notices this information, and whether certain population subgroups are particularly likely to do so. To address these questions, we fielded a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults in late April 2020 (N = 1,007). Results showed substantial self-reported exposure to conflicting information about COVID-19, with nearly 75% of participants reporting having recently heard such information from health experts, politicians, and/or others. Participants perceived disagreement across a range of COVID-19-related issues, though from politicians more than health experts. Factors including political affiliation, information source use, and personal experience with COVID-19 were associated with perceptions of disagreement. Future research should consider potential cognitive and behavioral consequences of such perceptions.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0240776