Fox News, OAN, Newsmax Viewers More Likely to Believe Covid Misinformation, Survey Finds

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A new Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 78% of U.S. adults either believe or were unsure whether some Covid misinformation was true. The number of individuals believing Covid misinformation to be true also largely varied based on vaccination status and news consumption habits.

According to the poll, which was released on Monday, very few people who trust CNN, MSNBC, NPR and local news believed four or more false statements about Covid to be true (only 11-16%). Between 44-52% believed between one and three false statements.

Comparatively, many more Fox News, OAN, and Newsmax viewers believed false statements about the virus to be true. Forty-six percent of Newsmax viewers, 37% of OAN viewers, and 36% of Fox News viewers believed four or more false statements about the virus, compared to (respectively) 40%, 43%, and 52% who believe 1 to 3 false statements.

A September memo from Fox Corp said that 90% of all employees are vaccinated, and Neil Cavuto recently made an impassioned plea for viewers to get vaccinated. Some Fox News hosts, however, have continued to push dubious vaccine claims and a network contributor recently doubled down on refusing to get vaccinated.

Mediaite reported last Friday that Newsmax — whose hosts have railed against vaccine mandates — is implementing its own mandate.

Unvaccinated individuals were far more likely to believe false statements about the virus than those who are vaccinated.

Sixty-four percent of unvaccinated adults either believed or were unsure about at least half of the eight false statements KFF used — compared to just 19% of vaccinated adults.

The discrepancy could also be seen across party lines, with almost half (46%) of Republicans believing or not sure about at least half of the false statements, compared to Democrats’ 14%.

The most commonly believed misconception, according to the poll, was “that the government is exaggerating the number of COVID-19 deaths by counting deaths due to other factors.”

The next most common misconceptions that those surveyed either believed or were unsure about concerned the safety of the vaccine during pregnancy and fertility issues stemming from the vaccine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccine is not only safe for those pregnant or breastfeeding, but is encouraged.

“CDC encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible Delta variant and see severe outcomes from COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people.”

In terms of fertility, the CDC also says there is no known risk in either men or women from the vaccine. Experts, however, have suggested that contracting the virus itself could have an impact.