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• Published: 28 September 2021

News media coverage of COVID-19 public health and policy information

• Katharine J. Mach 1 , 2 ,
• Raúl Salas Reyes   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1683-8516 3 ,
• Brian Pentz   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2713-6699 3 ,
• Jennifer Taylor   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8301-3434 4 ,
• Clarissa A. Costa 3 ,
• Sandip G. Cruz 3 ,
• Kerronia E. Thomas 3 ,
• James C. Arnott   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3989-6724 5 ,
• Rosalind Donald 1 ,
• Kripa Jagannathan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4584-8358 6 , 7 ,
• Christine J. Kirchhoff   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2686-6764 8 ,
• Laura C. Rosella   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4867-869X 9 &
• Nicole Klenk   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8224-6992 3  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  8 , Article number:  220 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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• Cultural and media studies
• Science, technology and society

During a pandemic, news media play a crucial role in communicating public health and policy information. Traditional newspaper coverage is important amidst increasing disinformation, yet uncertainties make covering health risks and efforts to limit transmission difficult. This study assesses print and online newspaper coverage of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 for March 2020, when the global pandemic was declared, through August 2020 in three countries: Canada (with the lowest per-capita case and death rates during the study timeframe), the United Kingdom (with a pronounced early spike), and the United States (with persistently high rates). Tools previously validated for pandemic-related news records allow measurement of multiple indicators of scientific quality (i.e., reporting that reflects the state of scientific knowledge) and of sensationalism (i.e., strategies rendering news as more extraordinary than it really is). COVID-19 reporting had moderate scientific quality and low sensationalism across 1331 sampled articles in twelve newspapers spanning the political spectrums of the three countries. Newspapers oriented towards the populist-right had the lowest scientific quality in reporting, combined with very low sensationalism in some cases. Against a backdrop of world-leading disease rates, U.S. newspapers on the political left had more exposing coverage, e.g., focused on policy failures or misinformation, and more warning coverage, e.g., focused on the risks of the disease, compared to U.S. newspapers on the political right. Despite the generally assumed benefits of low sensationalism, pandemic-related coverage with low scientific quality that also failed to alert readers to public-health risks, misinformation, or policy failures may have exacerbated the public-health effects of the disease. Such complexities will likely remain central for both pandemic news media reporting and public-health strategies reliant upon it.

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Introduction.

News media reporting is understood to play a central role during national security and health emergencies (Laing, 2011 ; Klemm et al., 2016 ; Pieri, 2019 ). News coverage communicates risks to readers and shapes public perceptions through the amount, content, and tone of reporting. It simultaneously frames ongoing public debates about policy responses, including conflicting priorities relevant to the timing or stringency of implemented policies (Laing, 2011 ; Pieri, 2019 ). Pandemic policy-making requires rapid, iterative responses under conditions of knowledge deficit, as well as the coordination of multi-level public-health agencies and sectors (e.g., hospitals, schools, and workplaces) (Laing, 2011 ; Rosella et al., 2013 ). In these complex circumstances, news media serve as a primary source of health information and uncertainties and connect health professionals, policymakers, and the public in critical ways (Laing, 2011 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ). The quality and balance of scientific coverage, such as through reporting that reflects the state of scientific knowledge and is not overstated, affect trust in science and accountability for decision-making (Laing, 2011 ; Klemm et al., 2016 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ).

Inadequate scientific quality in news coverage of past pandemics has posed risks and limited capacities to disseminate public-health guidance and coordinate responses (Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ). Reporting on the state of scientific knowledge during a novel, evolving pandemic is challenging. Low-quality scientific reporting of pandemics may overstate or understate disease risks or the efficacy of protective measures for different individuals or fail to communicate the nature of the evidence. Such reporting may constrain the feasibility or effectiveness of options for policymakers directing government action, miss opportunities to inform individuals making health decisions, and increase the exposure of health professionals to disease. It can both exacerbate disease outcomes and generate unnecessary fear, in combination with other factors shaping perceptions among the public (Laing, 2011 ; Klemm et al., 2016 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ). For example, news media reporting may have overly emphasized the threat of the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza (H1N1) pandemic with insufficient indication of available protective measures, and in pairing trustworthy information from credible scientists with uninformed opinions, it may have promoted a “false balance” (Laing, 2011 ; Klemm et al., 2016 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ). Further, news coverage rapidly waned after the initial pandemic declaration even though public-health risks persisted (Klemm et al., 2016 ; Reintjes et al., 2016 ). Similar issues with media reporting occurred during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak and the 2014 Ebola outbreak (Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ; Pieri, 2019 ).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, media representations of complex, rapidly evolving epidemiological science shape public understandings of the risks, measures to limit disease spread, and associated political and policy discourses. Traditional newspaper media coverage may have particular importance given simultaneous misinformation and disinformation, social fragmentation, political polarization, and failures of policy coordination, and national newspapers influence how other outlets cover the same subject across media platforms (Ball and Maxmen, 2020 ; Holtz et al., 2020 ; Thorp, 2020 ; Grossman et al., 2020 ). The COVID-19 pandemic creates an opportunity to assess the strengths and limitations of the media’s pandemic coverage and provide insights for future news media coverage. Such assessment also informs the communication strategies of public-health institutions and policymakers towards clear public-health guidance and coordinated responses across health systems (Laing, 2011 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ; Pieri, 2019 ).

Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, our countries of focus, differ in how they govern public health, including pandemic responses. In its constitutionally determined role, the Canadian federal government sets healthcare standards and administers funding to support the healthcare system spanning provinces and territories (Government of Canada, 2016 ). Pandemic health-related policies are set and implemented predominantly by provinces with federal guidance from Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (Adeel et al., 2020 ). The U.K. central government funds healthcare throughout the United Kingdom yet only sets policies for England. Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales each govern their own National Health Service systems. By contrast, the healthcare system in the United States is a complex mixture of public and private health insurance programs. The U.S. federal government generally adopts a leading role during national crises, although during the COVID-19 pandemic states and municipalities have led adoption and implementation of most policy measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 (Adeel et al., 2020 ). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019 Global Health Security Index ranked the United States first, United Kingdom second, and Canada fifth among 195 countries for preparedness to manage a serious disease outbreak (Cameron et al., 2019 ).

In this paper, we systematically quantify the amount, scientific quality, and sensationalism of newspaper media coverage of COVID-19 in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Newspapers studied span the political spectrum of each case-study country (Table 1 ) (Gentzkow and Shapiro, 2010 ; Puglisi and Snyder, 2015 ; Anderson and Coletto, 2017 ; Mitchell et al., 2018 ; Hönnige et al., 2020 ; Jurkowitz et al., 2020 ; Austen, 2020 ). Our analysis begins two weeks prior to COVID-19’s official recognition as a pandemic and follows its development over the subsequent five months (i.e., from 1 March 2020 to 15 August 2020). Given the volume of COVID-19 news media articles published over the timeframe of this study, we created a manageable corpus for analysis by randomly sampling one day of media coverage per week for six consecutive 4-week periods; we then randomly selected five eligible articles from each news outlet on each sampled day for the evaluation of scientific quality and sensationalism. In our evaluation, scientific quality refers to the alignment between reporting and the state of scientific evidence and its uncertainties, and sensationalism is a discursive strategy rendering news as more extraordinary, interesting, or relevant than it really is (Oxman et al., 1993 ; Molek-Kozakowska, 2013 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ). We apply previously validated survey tools developed to measure scientific quality and sensationalism of pandemic-related health news records in combination with broader methods from policy analyses of pandemic responses (SI Coding Tool) (Oxman et al., 1993 ; Rosella et al., 2013 ; Molek-Kozakowska, 2013 ; Reintjes et al., 2016 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ). We analyze (1) the COVID-19 public-health outcomes and policies in each country and (2) the amount, scientific quality, sensationalism, and topics of COVID-19 news media coverage across the political spectrum of each country.

Public health contextualization of news media analyses

To contextualize our news media analyses, we analyzed and visualized existing data sets on the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and tests in each country (e.g., Roser et al., 2020 ; CBC News, 2020 ; Public Health England and NHSX, 2020 ; CDC, 2020 ). We also recorded the key public-health declarations, policies, and guidance during the study time period (e.g., drawing from WHO, 2020a , 2020b ; see also SI Table S1 ). We tracked these decisions at international scales through to subnational scales in each country studied. Media analyses outlined below thereby were considered with respect to the reported number of cases and confirmed deaths and policy actions taken (Reintjes et al., 2016 ).

News media search strategy and inclusion criteria

Print and online news media records were retrieved from the Factiva database for news outlets across the political spectrum of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States (see Table 1 ) (Gentzkow and Shapiro, 2010 ; Puglisi and Snyder, 2015 ; Anderson and Coletto, 2017 ; Mitchell et al., 2018 ; Hönnige et al., 2020 ; Jurkowitz et al., 2020 ; Austen, 2020 ). Selected news media outlets have primary news products in print and online media, rather than television broadcasting or social media, and full article entries available in Factiva. Search terms included “coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” “epidemic,” “outbreak,” “pandemic,” or “SARS-CoV-2.” Individual English-language news articles were retrieved for sampled dates between 1 March 2020 and 15 August 2020. This period captures news media coverage prior to the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic and over the subsequent five months.

Individual news records were screened to identify original news reporting (i.e., news reporting and news analysis articles) relevant to our study objectives. First, eligible articles must have a direct focus on the public-health implications of COVID-19 or on attempts to control its spread—in some or all of an article’s text. By excluding articles without this focus, we ensured all articles included in the study could contain scientific information on the public health effects or spread of COVID-19 and associated policies. Second, eligible articles must be focused on the newspaper’s country of publication (e.g., an article reporting on COVID-19 transmission or mitigation efforts in only New Zealand or China, without discussion of implications for the newspaper’s country of publication, would be excluded). We included this eligibility criterion to analyze science–policy interfaces and science–society interactions most proximate to the news outlets, although we acknowledge that articles about other countries may influence perceptions of readers even without direct discussion of implications for them. Third, eligible articles must be original news reporting or analysis, meaning we excluded opinion pieces, editorials, interview transcripts, microblogs, front-page snippets, news roundups, obituaries, advertisements, corrections memos, and letters to the editor; these excluded article types would have required distinct question framings beyond the scope of our codebook. This third criterion, therefore, ensured that coded responses could be compared coherently across articles for the different measures of scientific quality and sensationalism.

Sampling of news media articles

As the evaluation of scientific quality and sensationalism through manual coding is time intensive, and a very large number of COVID-19 news media articles were published during the timeframe of our study, we used a random sample of news media articles for analysis, prioritizing sampling during each week over the course of the study timeframe. The sample design enabled a manageable analysis of newspaper media coverage and potential changes over the timeframe of the study. First, the sample of news media articles was constructed by sampling one day of media coverage per week in consecutive four-week periods. These four days of the week were randomly sampled without replacement (Monday through Saturday only, not including Sunday in the sampling), given cyclic variation in news media coverage (Lacy et al., 2001 ; Riffe et al., 2016 ). The study timeframe was divided into six four-week periods of equal duration from 1 March to 15 August 2020.

Second, for each randomly sampled day, all available news records were retrieved from Factiva for the 12 news outlets (Table 1 ). Randomly selected articles were screened for eligibility, with the goal of identifying 5 eligible articles for each news outlet on each sampled day. In some cases, fewer than 5 eligible articles were published by a given outlet on a sampled day. In these cases, the full set of eligible articles was included in the study.

Analysis of scientific quality and sensationalism of news articles

The coding tool for measuring scientific quality and sensationalism of news article records was adapted from the final tool of Hoffman and Justicz, designed for evaluating pandemic-related health news records (Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ). Scientific quality, as defined in that study, is “a measure of an article’s reliability and credibility on a given topic” (Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ). Importantly, scientific quality is linked to the state of scientific understanding and its uncertainties at specific moments in time rather than being an absolute or objective characteristic. The codebook we applied for measuring scientific quality is therefore designed to be flexible and responsive to the inevitable shifts in scientific understanding that occur through time, most especially during a novel disease outbreak and evolving pandemic. Sensationalism, as defined in that study, is “a way of presenting articles to make them seem more interesting or extraordinary than they actually are” (Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ).

Our coding tool (SI Coding Tool) included six questions for scientific quality (each evaluated on a scale from 1 to 5—5 corresponding to highest quality) and six questions for sensationalism (each evaluated on a scale from 1 to 5—5 corresponding to highest sensationalism). The question categories (SI Coding Tool) for assessing scientific quality were as follows: applicability, opinion versus facts, validity, precision, context, and global assessment (i.e., an overall assessment of the article’s scientific quality based on the five preceding specific measures). For sensationalism, the question categories (SI Coding Tool) included exposing, speculating, generalizing, warning, extolling, and global assessment (i.e., an overall assessment of the degree of sensationalism in the article based on the five preceding specific measures) (Oxman et al., 1993 ; Molek-Kozakowska, 2013 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ).

In addition, metadata collected for each article included the coder’s identity, the article title, the article’s sample date, the news outlet (including if the article was originally written by another outlet such as the Associated Press), the societal sector (up to 2 selected per article), and public-health measures discussed (SI Coding Tool).

Coder assignments, training, reliability assessment, and analysis

For each sampled day, two independent coders assessed all relevant news media records based on the scientific quality and sensationalism questions and article-attribute metadata. Coders recorded scores for each article through a Google-form version of the codebook (SI Coding Tool).

To ensure consistent application of the coding tool, substantial training and calibration occurred over a six-week period. First, the three coders in coordination with the project leadership team read national and international public-health agency descriptions of the coronavirus disease and associated public-health policies and measures. Second, the coders completed multiple rounds of individual coding of example news articles, followed by group discussions of application of the codebook. The group discussions considered difficult judgments and common versus unusual examples. The goal was to ensure consistent application of the coding tool across question categories and the range of article examples that arose. During the training and calibration phases of coding, we updated the codebook to include examples specific to news records on COVID-19 (SI Coding Tool), and we tracked illustrative examples (news articles and specific quotes) across the scale (1–3–5) for the scientific quality and sensationalism question categories. This process led to development of example answers particularly representative of low versus high scientific quality and low versus high sensationalism under each category of response. Additionally, we developed “decision rules” for the more unusual or challenging categories of examples to ensure consistency across coders, especially where disagreements arose in individually assigned responses.

Interrater reliability was assessed during the training and calibration stage and throughout the duration of the study. Where coders assigned scores for a given question that were 3 or 4 units apart on the 1–5 scale, a reconciliation discussion occurred; the small fraction of question responses in this category following the training stage enabled the coders and project team to continue developing and ensuring shared understanding of coding approaches for unusual or challenging applications. Weighted Cohen’s Kappa, with quadratic weighting, was applied given the high-inference codebook and ordinal data collected via a Likert scale, as previously done for related measures (Cohen, 1960 ; Fleiss and Cohen, 1973 ; Oxman et al., 1993 ; Antoine et al., 2014 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ; Tran et al., 2020 ). Coded data were analyzed with Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc multi-comparison pairwise tests (kruskal.test and kruskalmc in pgirmess package in R) (Giraudoux et al., 2018 ; R Core Team, 2020 ).

Public health and policy contexts

From March through August 2020, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States differed substantially in their public-health responses to COVID-19 and in health outcomes from the novel coronavirus disease (Fig. 1 ). Beginning in early March, all three countries implemented a combination of policy measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, including emergency laws, stay-at-home orders, mask mandates, school and business closures, border and travel restrictions, social distancing measures, and quarantines upon entry (SI Table S1 ). These restrictions were followed by gradual phases of reopening measures allowing restricted social and economic activities to occur. Across the three countries, the role of national versus subnational governments differed with respect to authority and actions on public-health guidance and care, resulting in differing timing and levels of coordination for both restrictions and reopening measures (SI Fig. S1 ). From March to August 2020, the United Kingdom experienced the highest death rate from COVID-19 (maximum 7-day average of 13.9 deaths per million people; Fig. 1 ), whereas the United States had the highest case rate of the three countries (maximum 7-day average of 203.5 cases per million), as well as the greatest cumulative number of cases and deaths globally (SI Figs. S2 - S3 ). Of the three countries, Canada had the most effective public-health outcomes as measured by per capita COVID-19 case or death rates (Fig. 1 ).

COVID-19 cases, deaths, and national-level policies are indicated for ( A ) Canada, ( B ) the United Kingdom, and ( C ) the United States. 7-day rolling averages of cases (left vertical axis, solid black line) and deaths (right vertical axis, dotted black line) per one million people are shown for the timeframe of this media study, 1 March through 15 August 2020 (Roser et al., 2020 ). The timeline for each country specifies national-level public-health policies and guidance, especially emergency declarations, school and non-essential business closures, travel and border restrictions, quarantines and social distancing, mask usage, and reopening phases. Implementation of enforceable policies (solid) and non-enforced guidance (dotted) is specified with vertical red lines, and corresponding reopening and relaxation of policies and guidance are specified with vertical blue lines. Detailed descriptions of national-level policies within each panel are provided in SI Table S1 .

The amount of pandemic media coverage

The studied news outlets differed in the amount of news media coverage related to COVID-19 from 1 March through 15 August 2020 (Fig. 2 ). The amount of coverage increased notably in March as case rates climbed in each country, subsequently decreasing gradually in May and June while case rates also declined. Across the 24 randomly sampled days, the 12 studied news outlets published 18,430 articles related to COVID-19. Of these, an estimated 4321 articles (23.4%) were eligible for inclusion in this study—that is, as news reporting or analysis relevant to the country of publication and containing a direct focus on COVID-19 public health or policy information (SI Figs. S4 - S5 ). Articles with a direct focus on COVID-19 public health or policy information (to a small or large extent) could be coded for the scientific quality of the reporting of this information and its sensationalism.

For each randomly sampled day ( A ) and each news outlet ( B ), the total number of individual news records is shown, based on Factiva database searches for articles related to COVID-19 public health and policy information (Methods). News articles are partitioned across the following categories: articles eligible for inclusion in our study (eligible), articles not focusing on the newspaper’s country of publication (location out of scope), articles that are not original news reporting or analysis (opinion/editorial/letters), and articles that include COVID-19-relevant search terms, but do not include any direct focus on COVID-19 public health or policy information (no direct focus). Estimated totals for these categories are calculated using (i) the total number of Factiva returns and (ii) the rates at which articles were assigned to these categories during the eligibility screening process for each outlet and randomly sampled day (SI Fig. S4 ). On the stacked bars, percentages of articles falling into each category are specified for each day ( A ) and news outlet ( B ).

Content analysis of pandemic media coverage

We collected a manageable, well-defined random sample of 1331 news media articles satisfying our eligibility criteria (SI Fig. S4 ) for coding of scientific quality and sensationalism (SI Coding Tool and Dataset S1 ). Six questions each for scientific quality and for sensationalism were evaluated on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 corresponding to highest scientific quality or sensationalism, 1 corresponding to lowest scientific quality or sensationalism). Question categories included for scientific quality: applicability, opinion versus facts, validity, precision, context, and global assessment (i.e., an overall assessment of the article’s scientific quality); and for sensationalism: exposing, speculating, generalizing, warning, extolling, and global assessment (i.e., an overall assessment of the degree of sensationalism in the article) (SI Coding Tool). For this content analysis, interrater reliability was moderate to substantial for the summative “global” assessment of scientific quality and sensationalism (SI Table S2 ). Reliability was similarly high for specific scientific quality and sensationalism measures, with the exception of questions for which coded scores displayed restriction of range or unbalanced distributions (e.g., “generalizing” scores of mostly 1 and 2, rather than ranging from 1 through 5 with balance around 3; SI Coding Tool and Dataset S1 ) (Hallgren, 2012 ; Tran et al., 2020 ).

The scientific quality of pandemic media coverage

The scientific quality of news media articles differed among news outlets across the political spectrums of the respective countries (Fig. 3 ). Within each country, the overall scientific quality of news reporting and analysis was lowest on the populist-right of the political spectrum (mean summative “global” scientific quality of 2.58, n = 106 articles, for Toronto Sun ; 2.67, n = 115, for Daily Mail ; and 2.28, n = 118, for New York Post ; p  ≤ 0.001 for Kruskal–Wallis, p  ≤ 0.05 for within-country pairwise comparisons except Daily Mail versus Times of London and Telegraph , SI Table S3 ). For these outlets, lower scientific quality was especially evident for validity, precision, and context as measures of scientific quality (e.g., articles reporting claims without fact checking, specificity, or background details) (Fig. 3 ).

Scores for six scientific quality questions (SI Coding Tool) are shown (mean, 95% confidence interval) for articles ( n  = 1331) communicating COVID-19 public health or policy information (Fig. 2 ): ( A ) applicability, ( B ) opinion versus facts, ( C ) validity, ( D ) precision, ( E ) context, and ( F ) global assessment (i.e., an overall assessment of the article’s scientific quality). Each question was evaluated on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 corresponding to highest scientific quality). Sampled articles were published between 1 March and 15 August 2020 (Methods). Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc multi-comparison test statistics are in SI Table S3 .

The sensationalism of pandemic media coverage

The sensationalism of news media articles was low overall for all news outlets, although somewhat greater for outlets on the left and middle of the political spectrum in Canada and the United States (Fig. 4F ). In both countries, news outlets at the populist-right combined low scientific quality with low sensationalism (Figs. 3 F and 4F ). In Canada, the overall sensationalism of news reporting and analysis was lowest for the Toronto Sun (mean summative “global” sensationalism of 1.77, n  = 106 articles; p  ≤ 0.001 for Kruskal–Wallis, p  ≤ 0.05 for pairwise comparisons with Globe and Mail and National Post , SI Table S3 ). In the United States, overall sensationalism was lower in the Wall Street Journal (mean global sensationalism of 2.03, n  = 118 articles) and New York Post (mean of 2.13, n  = 118), as compared to the New York Times (mean of 2.40, n  = 120) and Washington Post (mean of 2.38, n  = 119; p  ≤ 0.001 for Kruskal–Wallis, p  ≤ 0.05 for pairwise comparisons, SI Table S3 ). For these outlets, lower sensationalism was especially observed for exposing, speculating, and warning as measures of sensationalism (Fig. 4 ). In the United Kingdom, overall sensationalism did not vary across news outlets ( p  = 0.283 for Kruskal–Wallis, SI Table S3 ).

Scores for six sensationalism questions (SI Coding Tool) are shown (mean, 95% confidence interval) for articles ( n  = 1331) communicating COVID-19 public health or policy information (Fig. 2 ): ( A ) exposing, ( B ) speculating, ( C ) generalizing, ( D ) warning, ( E ) extolling, and ( F ) global assessment (i.e., an overall assessment of the degree of sensationalism in the article). Each question was evaluated on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 corresponding to highest sensationalism). Sampled articles were published between 1 March and 15 August 2020 (Methods). Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc multi-comparison test statistics are in SI Table S3 .

Syndicated versus original reporting

Across all outlets, the scientific quality of original reporting (mean global scientific quality of 2.93, n  = 1278 articles) was significantly higher than the scientific quality of syndicated articles (mean of 2.71, n  = 54; p  = 0.020, Kruskal–Wallis; SI Fig. S6 and Table S4 ). Additionally, the sensationalism of syndicated articles (mean global sensationalism of 1.82, n  = 54 articles) was significantly lower than the sensationalism of original reporting (mean of 2.14, n  = 1278; p  ≤ 0.001, Kruskal–Wallis; SI Fig. S6 and Table S4 ). The Toronto Sun published the highest proportion of syndicated news articles by far, with 34% of the paper’s 106 coded articles originating from syndicated sources. Other news outlets with more than 1% of coded articles drawing from syndicated sources included the Toronto Star (6% of articles) and the National Post (11%).

Neither scientific quality nor sensationalism varied substantially through time, with the exception of lower scientific quality on 3 July 2020 resulting from limited coverage of the healthcare sector that day (Fig. 5 , SI Fig. S7 ).

The topics of news media articles analyzed ( A ) over the timeframe of this study and ( B ) by news outlet are specified. Sampled articles were published on randomly sampled days between 1 March and 15 August 2020 (Methods). The topic of each article ( n  = 1331) was categorized by societal sectors (up to 2 selected per article) related to healthcare, leisure and entertainment, economics and commerce, government and politics, and other social services.

The topics of pandemic media coverage

News media articles were categorized based on the societal sectors (up to 2 per article) that were the primary focus of each article (Fig. 5 ). The sectors, related to healthcare, leisure and entertainment, economics and commerce, government and politics, and other social services, are listed in full in Figs. 5 and 6 . Although all analyzed articles contained information on the public-health effects of COVID-19 or measures to limit its spread (SI Fig. S4 ), topics of focus differed widely, for example including recreation, the arts, transportation, or daycare, not just medical facilities or vaccine research.

Scientific quality ( A ) and sensationalism ( B ) of news media articles are indicated by the topics of articles. Overall global assessment scores for scientific quality and sensationalism (SI Coding Tool) are shown (mean, 95% confidence interval) for articles communicating COVID-19 public health or policy information (Fig. 2 ). For each article, scientific quality and sensationalism were each evaluated on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 corresponding to highest scientific quality or to highest sensationalism). Sampled articles ( n  = 1331) were published between 1 March and 15 August 2020 (Methods). The topic of each article was categorized across the following societal sectors (up to two selected per article): healthcare and institutions; health-related medical and technology research; family, lifestyle, and social groups; professional or high-level sports; public parks and recreation; culture and the arts; private sector impacts and measures; employment impacts and benefits; macroeconomics and economy-wide fiscal or stimulus measures; politics and elections; law enforcement and court systems; foreign affairs and international aid; transportation, shipping, and border closures; education and daycare; public services; and energy and the environment.

The topics of news media articles corresponded to scientific quality and sensationalism of news reporting and analysis to some degree (Fig. 6 ). News media articles related to healthcare, health institutions, and health-related research were most common (Fig. 5 ), and they had significantly greater scientific quality compared to articles on other topics (mean global scientific quality of 3.23 for healthcare and institutions and 3.72 for health-related research; p  ≤ 0.001 for Kruskal–Wallis, p  ≤ 0.05 for pairwise comparisons except with energy and the environment; Fig. 6A ). News media articles during the first four-week period studied, starting 1 March 2020, included the greatest focus (50.2% of coverage) on healthcare and related institutions and research (Fig. 5A ).

Sensationalism of articles related to politics and foreign affairs was greatest (mean global sensationalism of 2.53 for politics; and of 2.49 for foreign affairs; p  < 0.001 for Kruskal–Wallis, p  < 0.05 for pairwise comparisons of politics versus all sectors except foreign affairs, employment, and energy and the environment; Fig. 6B ). For example, sensational statements related to politics and foreign affairs could include exposing disinformation from political leaders or extolling political leaders for border closures as a pandemic or broader policy response. News outlets in the United States published the most articles related to politics and elections (63.8% of coverage across all outlets; Fig. 5B ).

Public-health policies consistently covered through time included measures related to social distancing, testing and tracing, and protective equipment and disinfection practices, while coverage of mask guidance and reopening policies increased over the course of the study (Fig. 7 ).

Sampled articles ( n  = 1331) were published on randomly sampled days between 1 March and 15 August 2020 (Methods). Public-health policies and measures in each article were coded under specific categories related to social distancing, testing and tracing, protective equipment and disinfection practices, reopening policies, vaccines and treatments, and more (all relevant categories selected for each article).

Managing the public health and societal risks of a pandemic requires iterative, informed decision-making by governments, individuals, and the private sector. News media play a central role in communicating public health and policy information, establishing accountability for decision-making, and shaping public perceptions through the number of news reports, their content, and their tone (Klemm et al., 2016 ; Reintjes et al., 2016 ). For news outlets spanning the political spectrum of three countries with contrasting public-health outcomes and policy responses (Fig. 1 ), based on a random sample of days, coverage related to COVID-19 increased substantially in March 2020 and declined gradually thereafter in May and June (Fig. 2 ), not rebounding even during the dramatic increase in U.S. COVID-19 cases in June and July (SI Figure S5 ). Understanding this news media reporting in the early stages of COVID-19 response provides important lessons for ensuring the accessibility of information in support of public health and gauging its degree of effectiveness in creating accountability for policy decisions.

News media reporting grappled with complications of scientific understanding and its uncertainties during the timeframe of our study, as assessed through our measures of validity, precision, and overall scientific quality. For example, the mechanisms of disease transmission, especially airborne transmission, were slow to be recognized, leading to dynamic adjustments of public-health guidance (e.g., for mask usage by the general public) (Zhang et al., 2020 ). Despite such uncertainties and frequent knowledge updates over time, the scientific quality of reporting was highest for the healthcare sector, also the most commonly occurring article topic (Fig. 6 ). The scientific quality of reporting overall did not improve as the pandemic proceeded and knowledge of COVID-19 increased, which may be attributed to shifts from healthcare to other topics of news media reporting (Fig. 5 and SI Fig. S7 ).

We did, however, identify major differences in the degree to which newspaper reporting of COVID-19 presented high-quality scientific information about the public-health effects of the coronavirus disease and measures to limit its spread. News media articles generally had moderate scientific quality overall (Fig. 3F ). Outlets on the populist-right of the political spectrum of each country, though, had significantly lower scientific quality in reporting related to COVID-19 (Fig. 3F ). Scientific quality was low especially for validity, precision, and context as measures of scientific quality, as well as for the distinction between opinion versus facts in some cases (e.g., articles reporting claims without fact checking, specificity, background details, or sourcing) (Fig. 3 ). These findings pertain to news reporting and analysis, rather than opinion pieces, editorials, or letters, which were excluded from the scope of news media articles we evaluated. The differences across outlets suggest that, in reading news reporting and analysis in different newspapers, readers access reporting of varying scientific quality related to the health risks and effectiveness of available measures to limit disease transmission.

Further, patterns of U.S. media reporting were correlated with failures of national leadership under the Trump Administration, and they may have both reflected and contributed to politicization of COVID-19 in the United States. During this study’s timeframe, the United States led the world in cases and deaths despite its pre-pandemic ranking as the country best equipped to manage a pandemic such as COVID-19 (Cameron et al., 2019 ). These public-health outcomes occurred against a backdrop of disinformation and failures of national leadership (Evanega et al., 2020 ; Ball and Maxmen, 2020 ; Holtz et al., 2020 ; Lincoln, 2020 ; Thorp, 2020 ). Lack of national leadership was observed in the relative dearth of national-level public-health policies and guidance (Fig. 1 ) and the divergence of subnational policy responses, correlated with partisan politics (SI Fig. S1 and Table S1 ). Elites and incumbent governments have outsize influence on public opinion and media coverage, which likely contributed to polarization and politicization of pandemic media coverage (Green et al., 2020 ; Hart et al., 2020 ). Linked to these trends, we observed higher sensationalism related to politics and elections topics and greater coverage of these sectors among U.S. newspapers (Figs. 5 – 6 ). Additionally, news outlets on the political left in the United States (i.e., New York Times , Washington Post ) published articles with more exposing and warning coverage, for example discussing disinformation on the part of government leaders and the risks of disease (Fig. 4 ). Although most Americans believe the media are fulfilling key roles during the pandemic, the majority of these individuals identify as Democrats, and Democrats trust many more new sources than individuals identifying as Republican (Jurkowitz et al., 2020 ; Gottfried et al., 2020 ).

In both Canada and the United States, low scientific quality was paired with lower-than-average sensationalism in news outlets on the populist-right (Figs. 3 F and 4F ). Sensationalism was low overall for all news outlets, but within Canada and the United States, it was lowest for the Toronto Sun and New York Post , as well as the Wall Street Journal . Although low sensationalism is generally considered beneficial, very low sensationalism combined with low scientific quality may have failed to alert readers to public-health risks and policy failures in some cases (e.g., per the measures of exposing and warning coverage in Fig. 4 ). Such trends also resulted, in part, from higher reliance on syndicated articles, especially in Canada, potentially related to structural and economic changes in news media (SI Fig. S6 ). Across the political spectrum, our results demonstrate that existing ideological perspectives may influence how information is used in reporting (Rosella et al., 2013 ). For example, news outlets at the populist-right in the United Kingdom and the United States may tend towards support of populist-right governments, demonstrating preference for those governments’ interpretation of the science, implemented policies, and use of science to justify choices made (Bennett et al., 2008 ; Grundmann and Stehr, 2012 ).

The studied news media outlets—traditional, national-level print media—have disproportionate influence on the content of other media platforms and on how that content is covered (Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2010 ; Denham, 2014 ). A better understanding of the effects of news media—or lack thereof—on public-health decision-making and public sentiment in the early stages of this pandemic can, for future pandemics or other public-health crises, increase public-health officials’ capacity to adapt communication strategies in disseminating guidance and coordinating responses of health system stakeholders (Laing, 2011 ; Rosella et al., 2013 ; Klemm et al., 2016 ; Hoffman and Justicz, 2016 ; Pieri, 2019 ). Such understanding is crucial as the impacts of the policy actions themselves accumulate. The findings of this study point to complex interactions among scientific evidence on public-health risks and response measures, societal politicization of the science, and the scientific quality and sensationalism of media reporting. An inherent tension may exist: tendencies towards low sensationalism, especially combined with low scientific quality, may in some cases lead to characterization of public-health threats and policy failures as less extraordinary and relevant than they actually are.

Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its Supplementary Information .

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Acknowledgements

S. Damouras provided advising on methods of statistical analysis, and J. Niemann formatted references. Funding for this work was provided by the University of Toronto Scarborough Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences and the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

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All authors conceived the analysis. KJM, RSR, BP, JT, CAC, SGC, KET, and NK designed the methods of analysis with review by all authors. RSR, BP, JT, CAC, SGC, and KET collected data. KJM, RSR, BP, and JT performed analysis of data and developed visualizations of data. KJM, RSR, BP, JT, and NK drafted the manuscript with review and edits from all authors.

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Mach, K.J., Salas Reyes, R., Pentz, B. et al. News media coverage of COVID-19 public health and policy information. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 8 , 220 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00900-z

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2.3 Methods of Researching Media Effects

Learning objectives.

• Identify the prominent media research methods.
• Explain the uses of media research methods in a research project.

Media theories provide the framework for approaching questions about media effects ranging from as simple as how 10-year-old boys react to cereal advertisements to as broad as how Internet use affects literacy. Once researchers visualize a project and determine a theoretical framework, they must choose actual research methods. Contemporary research methods are greatly varied and can range from analyzing old newspapers to performing controlled experiments.

Content Analysis

Content analysis is a research technique that involves analyzing the content of various forms of media. Through content analysis, researchers hope to understand both the people who created the content and the people who consumed it. A typical content analysis project does not require elaborate experiments. Instead, it simply requires access to the appropriate media to analyze, making this type of research an easier and inexpensive alternative to other forms of research involving complex surveys or human subjects.

Content analysis studies require researchers to define what types of media to study. For example, researchers studying violence in the media would need to decide which types of media to analyze, such as television, and the types of formats to examine, such as children’s cartoons. The researchers would then need to define the terms used in the study; media violence can be classified according to the characters involved in the violence (strangers, family members, or racial groups), the type of violence (self-inflicted, slapstick, or against others), or the context of the violence (revenge, random, or duty-related). These are just a few of the ways that media violence could be studied with content-analysis techniques (Berger, 1998).

Archival Research

Any study that analyzes older media must employ archival research, which is a type of research that focuses on reviewing historical documents such as old newspapers and past publications. Old local newspapers are often available on microfilm at local libraries or at the newspaper offices. University libraries generally provide access to archives of national publications such as The New York Times or Time ; publications can also increasingly be found in online databases or on websites.

Older radio programs are available for free or by paid download through a number of online sources. Many television programs and films have also been made available for free download, or for rent or sale through online distributors. Performing an online search for a particular title will reveal the options available.

Resources such as the Internet Archive ( www.archive.org ) work to archive a number of media sources. One important role of the Internet Archive is website archiving. Internet archives are invaluable for a study of online media because they store websites that have been deleted or changed. These archives have made it possible for Internet content analyses that would have otherwise been impossible.

Surveys are ubiquitous in modern life. Questionaires record data on anything from political preferences to personal hygiene habits. Media surveys generally take one of the following two forms.

A descriptive survey aims to find the current state of things, such as public opinion or consumer preferences. In media, descriptive surveys establish television and radio ratings by finding the number of people who watch or listen to particular programs. An analytical survey, however, does more than simply document a current situation. Instead, it attempts to find out why a particular situation exists. Researchers pose questions or hypotheses about media, and then conduct analytical surveys to answer these questions. Analytical surveys can determine the relationship between different forms of media consumption and the lifestyles and habits of media consumers.

Surveys can employ either open-ended or closed-ended questions. Open-ended questions require the participant to generate answers in their own words, while closed-ended questions force the participant to select an answer from a list. Although open-ended questions allow for a greater variety of answers, the results of closed-ended questions are easier to tabulate. Although surveys are useful in media studies, effective use requires keeping their limitations in mind.

Social Role Analysis

As part of child rearing, parents teach their children about social roles. When parents prepare children to attend school for example, they explain the basics of school rules and what is expected of a student to help the youngsters understand the role of students. Like the role of a character in a play, this role carries specific expectations that differentiate school from home. Adults often play a number of different roles as they navigate between their responsibilities as parents, employees, friends, and citizens. Any individual may play a number of roles depending on his or her specific life choices.

Social role analysis of the media involves examining various individuals in the media and analyzing the type of role that each plays. Role analysis research can consider the roles of men, women, children, members of a racial minority, or members of any other social group in specific types of media. For example, if the role children play in cartoons is consistently different from the role they play in sitcoms, then certain conclusions might be drawn about both of these formats. Analyzing roles used in media allows researchers to gain a better understanding of the messages that the mass media sends (Berger, 1998).

Depth Interviews

The depth interview is an anthropological research tool that is also useful in media studies. Depth interviews take surveys one step further by allowing researchers to directly ask a study participant specific questions to gain a fuller understanding of the participant’s perceptions and experiences. Depth interviews have been used in research projects that follow newspaper reporters to find out their reasons for reporting certain stories and in projects that attempt to understand the motivations for reading romance novels. Depth interviews can provide a deeper understanding of the media consumption habits of particular groups of people (Priest, 2010).

Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical analysis involves examining the styles used in media and attempting to understand the kinds of messages those styles convey. Media styles include form, presentation, composition, use of metaphors, and reasoning structure. Rhetorical analysis reveals the messages not apparent in a strict reading of content. Studies involving rhetorical analysis have focused on media such as advertising to better understand the roles of style and rhetorical devices in media messages (Gunter, 2000).

Focus Groups

Like depth interviews, focus groups allow researchers to better understand public responses to media. Unlike a depth interview, however, a focus group allows the participants to establish a group dynamic that more closely resembles that of normal media consumption. In media studies, researchers can employ focus groups to judge the reactions of a group to specific media styles and to content. This can be a valuable means of understanding the reasons for consuming specific types of media.

Focus groups are effective ways to obtain a group opinion on media.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 3.0.

Experiments

Media research studies also sometimes use controlled experiments that expose a test group to an experience involving media and measure the effects of that experience. Researchers then compare these measurements to those of a control group that had key elements of the experience removed. For example, researchers may show one group of children a program with three incidents of cartoon violence and another control group of similar children the same program without the violent incidents. Researchers then ask the children from both groups the same sets of questions, and the results are compared.

Participant Observation

In participant observation , researchers try to become part of the group they are studying. Although this technique is typically associated with anthropological studies in which a researcher lives with members of a particular culture to gain a deeper understanding of their values and lives, it is also used in media research.

Media consumption often takes place in groups. Families or friends gather to watch favorite programs, children may watch Saturday morning cartoons with a group of their peers, and adults may host viewing parties for televised sporting events or awards shows. These groups reveal insights into the role of media in the lives of the public. A researcher might join a group that watches football together and stay with the group for an entire season. By becoming a part of the group, the researcher becomes part of the experiment and can reveal important influences of media on culture (Priest).

Researchers have studied online role-playing games, such as World of Warcraft , in this manner. These games reveal an interesting aspect of group dynamics: Although participants are not in physical proximity, they function as a group within the game. Researchers are able to study these games by playing them. In the book Digital Culture, Play, and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader , a group of researchers discussed the results of their participant observation studies. The studies reveal the surprising depth of culture and unwritten rules that exist in the World of Warcraft universe and give important interpretations of why players pursue the game with such dedication (Corneliussen & Rettberg, 2008).

Key Takeaways

• Media research methods are the practical procedures for carrying out a research project. These methods include content analysis, surveys, focus groups, experiments, and participant observation.
• Research methods generally involve either test subjects or analysis of media. Methods involving test subjects include surveys, depth interviews, focus groups, and experiments. Analysis of media can include content, style, format, social roles, and archival analysis.

Media research methods offer a variety of procedures for performing a media study. Each of these methods varies in cost; thus, a project with a lower budget would be prohibited from using some of the more costly methods. Consider a project on teen violence and video game use. Then answer the following short-response questions. Each response should be a minimum of one paragraph.

• Which methods would a research organization with a low budget favor for this project? Why?
• How might the results of the project differ from those of one with a higher budget?

Berger, Arthur Asa. Media Research Techniques (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998), 23–24.

Corneliussen, Hilde and Jill Walker Rettberg, “Introduction: ‘Orc ProfessorLFG,’ or Researching in Azeroth,” in Digital Culture, Play, and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader , ed. Hilde Corneliussen and Jill Walker Rettberg (Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008), 6–7.

Gunter, Barrie. Media Research Methods: Measuring Audiences, Reactions and Impact (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000), 89.

Priest, Susanna Hornig Doing Media Research: An Introduction (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2010), 16–22.

Priest, Susanna Hornig Doing Media Research , 96–98.

Understanding Media and Culture Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Articles on News media

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Mr. Associated Press: How 20th-century journalism titan Kent Cooper transformed the news industry

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Guillaume Dandurand , Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) ; Fenwick McKelvey , Concordia University , and Jonathan Roberge , Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)

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Arie Kruglanski , University of Maryland

The Online News Act could give Google and Meta too much influence over Canadian news organizations

Sara Bannerman , McMaster University

Montreal Gazette : A case for the local ownership of community news media

Magda Konieczna , Concordia University

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Why social media has changed the world — and how to fix it

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Are you on social media a lot? When is the last time you checked Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram? Last night? Before breakfast? Five minutes ago?

If so, you are not alone — which is the point, of course. Humans are highly social creatures. Our brains have become wired to process social information, and we usually feel better when we are connected. Social media taps into this tendency.

“Human brains have essentially evolved because of sociality more than any other thing,” says Sinan Aral, an MIT professor and expert in information technology and marketing. “When you develop a population-scale technology that delivers social signals to the tune of trillions per day in real-time, the rise of social media isn’t unexpected. It’s like tossing a lit match into a pool of gasoline.”

The numbers make this clear. In 2005, about 7 percent of American adults used social media. But by 2017, 80 percent of American adults used Facebook alone. About 3.5 billion people on the planet, out of 7.7 billion, are active social media participants. Globally, during a typical day, people post 500 million tweets, share over 10 billion pieces of Facebook content, and watch over a billion hours of YouTube video.

As social media platforms have grown, though, the once-prevalent, gauzy utopian vision of online community has disappeared. Along with the benefits of easy connectivity and increased information, social media has also become a vehicle for disinformation and political attacks from beyond sovereign borders.

“Social media disrupts our elections, our economy, and our health,” says Aral, who is the David Austin Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Now Aral has written a book about it. In “The Hype Machine,” published this month by Currency, a Random House imprint, Aral details why social media platforms have become so successful yet so problematic, and suggests ways to improve them.

As Aral notes, the book covers some of the same territory as “The Social Dilemma,” a documentary that is one of the most popular films on Netflix at the moment. But Aral’s book, as he puts it, "starts where ‘The Social Dilemma’ leaves off and goes one step further to ask: What can we do about it?”

“This machine exists in every facet of our lives,” Aral says. “And the question in the book is, what do we do? How do we achieve the promise of this machine and avoid the peril? We’re at a crossroads. What we do next is essential, so I want to equip people, policymakers, and platforms to help us achieve the good outcomes and avoid the bad outcomes.”

When “engagement” equals anger

“The Hype Machine” draws on Aral’s own research about social networks, as well as other findings, from the cognitive sciences, computer science, business, politics, and more. Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles, for instance, have found that people obtain bigger hits of dopamine — the chemical in our brains highly bound up with motivation and reward — when their social media posts receive more likes.

At the same time, consider a 2018 MIT study by Soroush Vosoughi, an MIT PhD student and now an assistant professor of computer science at Dartmouth College; Deb Roy, MIT professor of media arts and sciences and executive director of the MIT Media Lab; and Aral, who has been studying social networking for 20 years. The three researchers found that on Twitter, from 2006 to 2017, false news stories were 70 percent more likely to be retweeted than true ones. Why? Most likely because false news has greater novelty value compared to the truth, and provokes stronger reactions — especially disgust and surprise.

In this light, the essential tension surrounding social media companies is that their platforms gain audiences and revenue when posts provoke strong emotional responses, often based on dubious content.

“This is a well-designed, well-thought-out machine that has objectives it maximizes,” Aral says. “The business models that run the social-media industrial complex have a lot to do with the outcomes we’re seeing — it’s an attention economy, and businesses want you engaged. How do they get engagement? Well, they give you little dopamine hits, and … get you riled up. That’s why I call it the hype machine. We know strong emotions get us engaged, so [that favors] anger and salacious content.”

From Russia to marketing

“The Hype Machine” explores both the political implications and business dimensions of social media in depth. Certainly social media is fertile terrain for misinformation campaigns. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Russia spread  false information to at least 126 million people on Facebook and another 20 million people on Insta­gram (which Facebook owns), and was responsible for 10 million tweets. About 44 percent of adult Americans visited a false news source in the final weeks of the campaign.

“I think we need to be a lot more vigilant than we are,” says Aral.

We do not know if Russia’s efforts altered the outcome of the 2016 election, Aral says, though they may have been fairly effective. Curiously, it is not clear if the same is true of most U.S. corporate engagement efforts.

As Aral examines, digital advertising on most big U.S. online platforms is often wildly ineffective, with academic studies showing that the “lift” generated by ad campaigns — the extent to which they affect consumer action — has been overstated by a factor of hundreds, in some cases. Simply counting clicks on ads is not enough. Instead, online engagement tends to be more effective among new consumers, and when it is targeted well; in that sense, there is a parallel between good marketing and guerilla social media campaigns.

“The two questions I get asked the most these days,” Aral says, “are, one, did Russia succeed in intervening in our democracy? And two, how do I measure the ROI [return on investment] from marketing investments? As I was writing this book, I realized the answer to those two questions is the same.”

Ideas for improvement

“The Hype Machine” has received praise from many commentators. Foster Provost, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, says it is a “masterful integration of science, business, law, and policy.” Duncan Watts, a university professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says the book is “essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we got here and how we can get somewhere better.”

In that vein, “The Hype Machine” has several detailed suggestions for improving social media. Aral favors automated and user-generated labeling of false news, and limiting revenue-collection that is based on false content. He also calls for firms to help scholars better research the issue of election interference.

Aral believes federal privacy measures could be useful, if we learn from the benefits and missteps of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and a new California law that lets consumers stop some data-sharing and allows people to find out what information companies have stored about them. He does not endorse breaking up Facebook, and suggests instead that the social media economy needs structural reform. He calls for data portability and interoperability, so “consumers would own their identities and could freely switch from one network to another.” Aral believes that without such fundamental changes, new platforms will simply replace the old ones, propelled by the network effects that drive the social-media economy.

“I do not advocate any one silver bullet,” says Aral, who emphasizes that changes in four areas together — money, code, norms, and laws — can alter the trajectory of the social media industry.

But if things continue without change, Aral adds, Facebook and the other social media giants risk substantial civic backlash and user burnout.

“If you get me angry and riled up, I might click more in the short term, but I might also grow really tired and annoyed by how this is making my life miserable, and I might turn you off entirely,” Aral observes. “I mean, that’s why we have a Delete Facebook movement, that’s why we have a Stop Hate for Profit movement. People are pushing back against the short-term vision, and I think we need to embrace this longer-term vision of a healthier communications ecosystem.”

Changing the social media giants can seem like a tall order. Still, Aral says, these firms are not necessarily destined for domination.

“I don’t think this technology or any other technology has some deterministic endpoint,” Aral says. “I want to bring us back to a more practical reality, which is that technology is what we make it, and we are abdicating our responsibility to steer technology toward good and away from bad. That is the path I try to illuminate in this book.”

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Prof. Sinan Aral’s new book, “The Hype Machine,” has been selected as one of the best books of the year about AI by Wired . Gilad Edelman notes that Aral’s book is “an engagingly written shortcut to expertise on what the likes of Facebook and Twitter are doing to our brains and our society.”

Prof. Sinan Aral speaks with Danny Crichton of TechCrunch about his new book, “The Hype Machine,” which explores the future of social media. Aral notes that he believes a starting point “for solving the social media crisis is creating competition in the social media economy.” 

New York Times

Prof. Sinan Aral speaks with New York Times editorial board member Greg Bensinger about how social media platforms can reduce the spread of misinformation. “Human-in-the-loop moderation is the right solution,” says Aral. “It’s not a simple silver bullet, but it would give accountability where these companies have in the past blamed software.”

Prof. Sinan Aral speaks with Kara Miller of GBH’s Innovation Hub about his research examining the impact of social media on everything from business re-openings during the Covid-19 pandemic to politics.

Prof. Sinan Aral speaks with NPR’s Michael Martin about his new book, “The Hype Machine,” which explores the benefits and downfalls posed by social media. “I've been researching social media for 20 years. I've seen its evolution and also the techno utopianism and dystopianism,” says Aral. “I thought it was appropriate to have a book that asks, 'what can we do to really fix the social media morass we find ourselves in?'”

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Americans’ Social Media Use

Youtube and facebook are by far the most used online platforms among u.s. adults; tiktok’s user base has grown since 2021, table of contents.

• Which social media sites do Americans use most?
• TikTok sees growth since 2021
• Stark age differences in who uses each app or site
• Other demographic differences in use of online platforms
• Acknowledgments
• 2023 National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) Methodology

To better understand Americans’ social media use, Pew Research Center surveyed 5,733 U.S. adults from May 19 to Sept. 5, 2023. Ipsos conducted this National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) for the Center using address-based sampling and a multimode protocol that included both web and mail. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race and ethnicity, education and other categories.

Polls from 2000 to 2021 were conducted via phone. For more on this mode shift, read our Q&A .

Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and  its methodology ­­­.

A note on terminology: Our May-September 2023 survey was already in the field when Twitter changed its name to “X.” The terms  Twitter  and  X  are both used in this report to refer to the same platform.

Social media platforms faced a range of controversies in recent years, including concerns over misinformation and data privacy . Even so, U.S. adults use a wide range of sites and apps, especially YouTube and Facebook. And TikTok – which some Congress members previously called to ban – saw growth in its user base.

These findings come from a Pew Research Center survey of 5,733 U.S. adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023.

YouTube by and large is the most widely used online platform measured in our survey. Roughly eight-in-ten U.S. adults (83%) report ever using the video-based platform.

While a somewhat lower share reports using it, Facebook is also a dominant player in the online landscape. Most Americans (68%) report using the social media platform.

Additionally, roughly half of U.S. adults (47%) say they use Instagram .

The other sites and apps asked about are not as widely used , but a fair portion of Americans still use them:

• 27% to 35% of U.S. adults use Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Snapchat.
• About one-in-five say they use Twitter (recently renamed “X”) and Reddit.  

This year is the first time we asked about BeReal, a photo-based platform launched in 2020. Just 3% of U.S. adults report using it.

Recent Center findings show that YouTube also dominates the social media landscape among U.S. teens .

One platform – TikTok – stands out for growth of its user base. A third of U.S. adults (33%) say they use the video-based platform, up 12 percentage points from 2021 (21%).

The other sites asked about had more modest or no growth over the past couple of years. For instance, while YouTube and Facebook dominate the social media landscape, the shares of adults who use these platforms has remained stable since 2021.

The Center has been tracking use of online platforms for many years. Recently, we shifted from gathering responses via telephone to the web and mail. Mode changes can affect study results in a number of ways, therefore we have to take a cautious approach when examining how things have – or have not – changed since our last study on these topics in 2021. For more details on this shift, please read our Q&A .

Adults under 30 are far more likely than their older counterparts to use many of the online platforms. These findings are consistent with previous Center data .

Age gaps are especially large for Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok – platforms that are used by majorities of adults under 30. For example:

• 78% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use Instagram, far higher than the share among those 65 and older (15%).
• 65% of U.S. adults under 30 report using Snapchat, compared with just 4% of the oldest age cohort.
• 62% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use TikTok, much higher than the share among adults ages 65 years and older (10%).
• Americans ages 30 to 49 and 50 to 64 fall somewhere in between for all three platforms.

YouTube and Facebook are the only two platforms that majorities of all age groups use. That said, there is still a large age gap between the youngest and oldest adults when it comes to use of YouTube. The age gap for Facebook, though, is much smaller.

Americans ages 30 to 49 stand out for using three of the platforms – LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Facebook – at higher rates. For instance, 40% of this age group uses LinkedIn, higher than the roughly three-in-ten among those ages 18 to 29 and 50 to 64. And just 12% of those 65 and older say the same. 

Overall, a large majority of the youngest adults use multiple sites and apps. About three-quarters of adults under 30 (74%) use at least five of the platforms asked about. This is far higher than the shares of those ages 30 to 49 (53%), 50 to 64 (30%), and ages 65 and older (8%) who say the same.  

Refer to our social media fact sheet for more detailed data by age for each site and app.

A number of demographic differences emerge in who uses each platform. Some of these include the following:

• Race and ethnicity: Roughly six-in-ten Hispanic (58%) and Asian (57%) adults report using Instagram, somewhat higher than the shares among Black (46%) and White (43%) adults. 1
• Gender: Women are more likely than their male counterparts to say they use the platform.
• Education: Those with some college education and those with a college degree report using it at somewhat higher rates than those who have a high school degree or less education.
• Race and ethnicity: Hispanic adults are particularly likely to use TikTok, with 49% saying they use it, higher than Black adults (39%). Even smaller shares of Asian (29%) and White (28%) adults say the same.
• Gender: Women use the platform at higher rates than men (40% vs. 25%).
• Education: Americans with higher levels of formal education are especially likely to use LinkedIn. For instance, 53% of Americans with at least a bachelor’s degree report using the platform, far higher than among those who have some college education (28%) and those who have a high school degree or less education (10%). This is the largest educational difference measured across any of the platforms asked about.

Twitter (renamed “X”)

• Household income: Adults with higher household incomes use Twitter at somewhat higher rates. For instance, 29% of U.S. adults who have an annual household income of at least $100,000 say they use the platform. This compares with one-in-five among those with annual household incomes of $70,000 to $99,999, and around one-in-five among those with annual incomes of less than $30,000 and those between $30,000 and $69,999.
• Gender: Women are far more likely to use Pinterest than men (50% vs. 19%).
• Race and ethnicity: 54% of Hispanic adults and 51% of Asian adults report using WhatsApp. This compares with 31% of Black adults and even smaller shares of those who are White (20%).

• Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only. ↩

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Study shows tale of two social media platforms for Donald Trump

research news

By BERT GAMBINI

Published May 6, 2024

Truth Social was more effective at driving news attention toward Donald Trump during the 2022 midterm election cycle than Twitter (now known as X) was during the 2016 primary election season, a pattern driven mostly by partisan media on the left and the right, according to a new paper by a UB communication researcher.

But that success had limits.

Journalists covered Trump’s social media use differently during those times and across those platforms, directly embedding his Truth Social posts into their stories far less frequently than was the case with his tweets in 2016.

The findings, published in the Journal of Information Technology & Politics , advance knowledge about social media’s influence as a political instrument, changing journalism practices and the role of alt-tech social media platforms, popular with those at the political extremes, in the rapidly evolving digital media environment.

“Our study reveals that Trump’s ability to attract news attention through social media is not predicated on a specific platform, but on his ability to engage social media users,” says Yini Zhang, assistant professor of communication, College of Arts and Sciences, and the paper’s lead author.

Zhang says she used the comparable periods of 2016 (when Trump was a candidate) and 2022 (when he was out of office, but still politically active), rather than introducing any 2020 election data, to avoid the heavy news coverage generally afforded to a sitting president.

“There are really two sides to this story: Truth Social’s effectiveness as a news driver for Trump and the areas where it’s not as effective as Twitter,” she says.

Zhang says Trump’s removal from Twitter in 2021 (his account has been reinstated but remains idle) and his subsequent launch of Truth Social in 2022 raised questions about harvesting attention through an alt-tech platform.

But why the differences in efficacy?

For one, Zhang says Truth Social has only a small fraction of the activity seen on X. It remains a niche platform today, but in 2022, only about a fourth of Americans knew of its existence.

“Despite its small size, news outlets across the spectrum still track it,” says Zhang. “The fact that the positive relationship between Trump’s engagement on social media and the entire media system’s attention to that activity holds for both Truth Social and X speaks to the center of gravity that Trump retains in American politics.

“This paper suggests that the ‘alt-tech’ label was outweighed by what journalists saw as the ‘newsworthiness’ of Trump’s statements,” she says.

This could, however, be a ceiling for Trump rather than a finding that’s generalizable to others, according to Zhang.

“Trump has capitalized on his political and economic power to adapt to the evolving media landscape,” she says. “It’s unrealistic to expect others to have the same results, but Trump’s actions might provide a playbook for other candidates.”

The limited effectiveness for the potential of alt-tech might also be tied to shifting editorial priorities.

The number of embedded posts for Trump dropped from 4.93 per day in 2016 to .43 in 2022.

“This change may indicate that journalists and publishers are more aware of the consequences of indiscriminately amplifying social media posts and thus more reluctant to embed posts directly,” says Zhang.

Steve Bannon on Speaker Johnson: “If your congressman votes to keep this worm in office, they're just as guilty as he is”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published 05/06/24 11:13 AM EDT

Citation From the May 6, 2024, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room

STEVE BANNON (HOST): They play for keeps and we got wimps and nerds like Mike Johnson. Let me talk about the second Axios article. Johnson down there greasing up President Trump all weekend running around, and, by the way, the guy who was his escort walking him around, Charlie Spies, is gone now because President Trump woke up to the fact that he didn't want a RINO in there who is doing nothing on the election integrity front as the chief counsel he ordered him to be fired. He wasn't fired so he humiliated him and perp walked him out of this conference this weekend. You're fired, get out of here. That's action. 

So, what does Johnson do? After down there in Mar-a-Lago all weekend with the big fat cat Republican donors and we're going to do this and we're going to do this. He goes to DC and he has a meeting with the fat cat Republican donors. And Axios reports it in all its glory. And what does it say? It says that his plan, his plan, is to reverse all of the changes that we had in with – when we forced McCarthy to accept them. Including the all important rules committee. Of which you have three conservatives on. Chip Roy, Norman, and Tom Massie. We control the rules committee, so we control what comes to the floor. 

Also, all the transparency, all the accountability, all of it, Mike Johnson the conservative – and don't take it from Stephen K. Bannon, I'm just repeating what Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei say. I'm just giving you the inside baseball. He's doubled down and daring you. 

Hakeem Jeffries goes on 60 Minutes and says I run the House of Representatives. And then Johnson comes up and says hey, to keep our majority, here's what we're going to do, I'm going to go and give the DC cartel everything, so if your congressman votes to keep this worm in office, they're just as guilty as he is. 

You ask him flat out, hey, Johnson is saying he's going to undo all the reforms we've gotten so far, to at least force accountability, remember, in all the bad stuff they rolled over for, and all the bad stuff McCarthy agreed with, at least you understand who did it and why they did it. This is all part of the process of breaking the cartel. And now, Johnson, that little worm, wants to reverse all of it. Ain't going to happen, bro. This guy hides behind the Bible, hides behind his phony Christianity.  

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• Florida Realtors News

A Playbook for Working With First-Time Buyers

Buying a single-family home for the first time is challenging, but even more so in a time of inventory shortages and affordability issues; help ease anxiety by sharing these useful steps.

WASHINGTON – A house is typically the largest investment people make. It keeps some up at night, worrying if they’ve budgeted properly to afford the downpayment and the maintenance of the home on top of their regular expenses like food and transportation. The process is an emotional one.

Help potential buyers by walking them through the process and dispelling common myths. One is that many first homes are temporary places to live before buyers trade up. In an era of housing shortages, it may become their long-term, even forever home, says salesperson Stephanie Mallios with Compass’ Stephanie Mallios Team in Short Hills, N.J.

Here are some of the most important factors to help first-time buyers understand:

Consider the financial pieces

First challenge: a down payment, for first-time buyers who can manage the cash, at least 20% of the sales price, if in a multiple offer situation, is still the gold standard, says Angie Golembiewski, broker at Baird & Warner in Chicago. Putting down more makes an offer stronger at a time when many of the buyers in the market are paying cash—around 32%, according to National Association of Realtors® (NAR) data, the highest rate of cash buyers in a decade.

That said, many first-time buyers don’t have the cash or the familial support to come up with a 20% down payment, which is why real estate agents need to be well-versed in alternative options. There are programs at the federal and state levels, and often county and city, too. Housing-specific nonprofit organizations offer programs to alleviate the steep costs of buying a home. One such nonprofit is the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), which offers what it refers to as “character-based” lending, mentorship and counseling to “close the racial wealth disparity” through homeownership.

Sometimes, it’s as simple as having a relationship with an experienced loan officer who can provide a variety of product options. Betsy Phillips, SRES, CSHIP, broker with Compass on Chicago’s North Shore, connects clients with savvy loan officers in her network. “There’s no magic option, but this helps, as does explaining certain rules and guidance related to credit counseling, so they have the best score possible,” she says.

Mallios refers clients to three different lenders to help educate them about different programs, as well as a local real estate attorney who can recommend a lender, too. “This gives them a second tier of support and experts who can show them a range of good options,” she says. 

Another way new homeowners can compete is to get pre-approved for a loan, which means a lender is ready to underwrite a mortgage for them once they have a home in mind. This helps them figure out exactly what they can afford and shows the sellers that they’re prepared to make the purchase.

Interest rates make a big impact on payment and interest paid over time. First-time buyers will want to make sure that their financial situation is as healthy as possible so they can get approved for the best rate. “Lenders typically look at a borrower’s credit score, the stability of their employment and income, their savings and the downpayment they offer,” says Diane Mastay, Mortgage Director at Tropical Financial Credit Union. Mastay also recommends that borrowers visit at least two lenders to compare the dollar amount they will lend and the interest rate.

It's also important that buyers understand the other short-term and long-term costs of homeownership: closing costs, real estate taxes, homeowners’ and liability insurance, yard work, heating, air conditioning and so on, plus an emergency fund for unexpected costs they didn’t incur in a rental situation. Phillips advises buyers to factor in these costs and figure out what they can afford comfortably when it comes to a mortgage payment, rather than take the maximum mortgage some lenders may offer.

Understand the timeline

From start to finish, finding a home to reaching the closing table is six to eight weeks, says Re Associate Broker Kimberly Cantine from Halter Associates Realty. “This is a point that is usually open to negotiation by both sides,” she says. “Also, it’s an ‘on’ or ‘about’ closing date so there’s usually flexibility,” she says.

Timelines, however, can sometimes be specific to the area. As a real estate professional, you’ll want to be able to tell your buyers what the average timeframe is for your community.

Prioritize location

Homeowners should understand they can change much about their home once they purchase it—exterior materials and windows as well as interior features such as a kitchen, but the location is a permanent feature that can’t be changed. They should figure out what matters most to them in a community and decide on a location first.

First-time buyers who are millennials often favor walkability to downtown areas and local trails, and they will sacrifice house size or other features to achieve that, says Golembiewski.

Also help them understand how communities have different vibes, says Phillips. That way they can choose one that compliments their living style.

Weigh curb appeal

Most real estate experts stress how important the exterior of a home and its yard are when selling to entice buyers, but at a time of low inventory, buyers might want to consider upgrading their yards once they’re homeowners.

One exterior feature that many expect to remain popular is a small yard, which lets them avoid expensive, time-consuming upkeep. “The amount of yard most want is just enough to toss a ball occasionally with a child or dog,” Phillips says.

Factor in condition

In a sellers’ market, fewer sellers may be willing to take on the expense of certain repairs or split the cost with the buyer. Yet, fewer millennials want to tackle big projects and prefer move-in-ready conditions, says Golembiewski. Data shows that many young buyers do not have the extra funds to make substantial renovations.

If a home needs work, have a frank discussion with buyers about the amount of effort and cost they can undertake or pay out to professionals. The reality is that finding a turn-key home at a favorable price point is the exception rather than the norm right now. Here’s where a detailed home inspection report is essential as a roadmap—and sometimes also a structural engineer’s input, depending on the age and location of the home.

Consider new construction

While existing home inventory is in short supply, many builders are trying to meet demand with new products. New construction is an appealing option for many first-time buyers. Helping spur the appetite for new construction are the lower costs of maintaining new housing, due to the lower insurance costs—40% to 50% less versus older homes, says Whitney Dutton, Residential Sales Director of Native Realty in Fort Lauderdale.

Montgomery, Ala.-based Lowder New Homes’ Bradshaw Tyson, Vice President of Marketing says, One distinct advantage of buying a new-build home over a re-sale is that oftentimes builders are able to offer buyer incentives, or ways to help offset the cost of the new home. “At Lowder New Homes, we run promotions throughout the year that offer buyers an allowance, anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000, to use towards lowering their interest rate, help cover closing costs, or on home upgrades. We also have a group of preferred mortgage lenders who partner with us on our buyer incentives and can provide guidance to the buyer on how to utilize the promotion to best suit their needs.”

In Dutton’s South Florida market, insurance costs have skyrocketed due to climate-related activity. “The insurance companies have increased their regulations on roof age, plumbing and elevation,” he says. “Some companies won’t even insure properties with a 10-year-old roof for example. New homes are also built to new stricter building codes. “While some newer homes may be more to purchase initially than comparable older homes, they are cheaper to own, maintain and overall, a much safer product—with things like high impact windows and doors. This has brought a lot of investors to the table tearing down older homes, building new and selling them to eager first-time buyers,” he says.

The buying process is a complicated one, especially for first-timers. By providing all these tips, you’re helping first-time homeowners do their due diligence and communicating your value through your knowledge. This can help your buyers get into the best choice possible, which they may enjoy for years.

© 2024 National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

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Newsweek: Ancient Maya ballcourt may have been blessed

Uc researchers collect clues about ceremonial practices using environmental dna.

Newsweek highlighted the University of Cincinnati's discovery of a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals beneath a ballcourt in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. 

Using environmental DNA analysis, researchers identified plants known for their religious associations and medicinal properties beneath a plaza floor upon which a ballcourt was built.

UC Professor David Lentz. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand

Researchers said the ancient Maya likely made a ceremonial offering during the ballcourt’s construction.

UC's team partnered with Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History in collaboration with researchers from the University of Calgary, the Autonomous University of Campeche and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Their findings could provide clues about the ritual life of the ancient Maya.

UC Professor Emeritus Nicholas Dunning collected a sample of sediment at the base of a sidewall. Here, in a place known as the Helena complex, researchers believe stood a civic ceremonial platform consisting of 1-meter-high stone and earth.

An environmental DNA analysis identified plants associated with ancient Maya medicine used in divination rituals such as a morning glory called xtabentun and chile peppers.

“I think the fact that these four plants which have a known cultural importance to the Maya were found in a concentrated sample tells us it was an intentional and purposeful collection under this platform,” UC botanist and study co-author Eric Tepe said.

Read the Newsweek story.

Featured image at top: UC Professor David Lentz poses in front of a temple in the ancient Maya city of Tikal. Photo/Liwy Grazioso Sierra

UC's ancient Maya research in the news

A decorative ring made from carved stone is embedded in the wall of a ballcourt in the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza. Photo/LanaCanada

• Gizmodo:   Ritual offerings, hallucinogenic plant found under ancient Maya ballcourt
• Popular Science: Plants detected in ancient Maya ballcourts point to a sacred spot
• Live Science: Traces of hallucinogenic plants and peppers found at Maya ballcourt suggest rituals took place there
• Ancient Origins: Hallucinogens found in ancient Yucatan ballcourts betray Maya offerings
• Science Daily: Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts
• Cosmos Magazine: Mayan ballgames were played on blessed grounds
• In The News
• College of Arts and Sciences
• Department of Biological Sciences

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