What kind of media you watch and read might be part of the reason why you’re not wearing a face mask, practicing social distancing, or advising people to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.
People whose media diet is of the conservative bent are less likely to do so, compared to individuals who prefer media outlets thought to be more liberal, a new Gallup survey found.
Of the respondents questioned between May 25 and June 14, 92% of people who follow liberal media reported wearing or considering wearing face masks outside their homes in the last seven days, compared to 84% of those who prefer conservative media. Eighty-seven percent of the polled liberal media fans said they practiced social distancing always or very often over the past 24 hours; conservative media consumers were at 39%. And 84% of liberal media consumers said staying home as much as possible is good advice for people who don’t have COVID-19 symptoms versus 17% of those on the conservative-media side of the spectrum.
“The news media plays a critical role in informing the public about important issues facing the nation,” Gallup said. “Indeed, news media diet—or the top news sources people use—is strongly associated with coronavirus-related preventive practices.”
According to Gallup, examples of liberal media are HuffPost, CNN, Mother Jones, NPR, and the Los Angeles Times, and conservative media include The Federalist, Fox News Channel, Newsmax, the Washington Times, and TheBlaze. On the list of moderate media are Bloomberg, PBS, The Associated Press, The Hill, and the Chicago Tribune.
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