Poll Finds Viewers of Conservative Media More Accurately Estimate COVID-19 Death Rate
A newly released Rasmussen Reports poll finds that viewers of conservative cable news channels better understand the risk of death from COVID-19 than those who watch liberal channels such as CNN and MSNBC.
The Johns Hopkins University of Medicine’s website states there is a 1.6 percent mortality rate for those diagnosed with the virus in the United States.
Rasmussen determined that 30 percent of American adults overall correctly estimated the death rate as being less than 2 percent, while 20 percent believed it to be between 2 and 5 percent.
Seventeen percent thought the rate ranged between 5 and 10 percent, and 19 percent believed it to be greater than 10 percent.
Those who reported watching conservative outlets tended to more accurately state the death rate.
“More viewers of Newsmax (40%) and Fox News (34%) correctly estimated the COVID-19 mortality rate than viewers of CNN (22%) or MSNBC (24%),” according to Rasmussen.
However, 21 percent of One America News (OAN) viewers estimated the coronavirus mortality rate correctly.
Meanwhile, 38 percent of those who do not watch cable news responded with the right rate.
Conservative media viewers are also more likely to think officials aren’t being honest about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. https://t.co/ejJd54fvly pic.twitter.com/DIVlYVN8O0
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) September 4, 2021
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A similar breakdown was present between Republicans and Democrats, with the latter being more likely to overestimate the risk of death from COVID-19.
Twenty-eight percent of Democrats think over 10 percent die after being diagnosed with the illness, while just 14 percent of Republicans believe the death rate is that high.
Rasmussen also determined a wide disparity in trust of pubic health officials regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, based on the media outlets the person watched.
Overall, 37 percent of American adults “believe public health officials are lying about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.”
“The highest levels of distrust are among those who say they most often watch conservative channels. Sixty-two percent (62%) of Newsmax viewers think public health officials are lying about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, as do 60% of OAN viewers and 49% of Fox News viewers,” Rasmussen reported.
“Only 26% of CNN viewers and 25% of MSNBC viewers believe officials are lying about vaccine safety.”
The trust in public health officials regarding the safety of the vaccine also differed widely based on party.
Fifty-three percent of Republicans believed officials were lying about safety, while just 26 percent of Democrats did.
The survey included 1,000 U.S. adults and was conducted Aug. 26 and 29.
The margin of sampling error is plus- or minus-3 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 percent.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
