The KFF Well being Misinformation Monitoring Ballot Pilot examines U.S. adults’ use of and belief in numerous media sources and their publicity to and perception in a collection of health-related misinformation claims, together with false statements associated to COVID-19 and vaccines, reproductive well being, and firearm security. The Well being Misinformation Monitoring Ballot will work in tandem with KFF’s forthcoming Well being Misinformation Monitor, an in depth report of the panorama of well being misinformation messages circulating among the many public, probing the impression of misinformation documented within the monitor to assist inform and strengthen efforts aimed toward addressing misinformation in well being. Each the Misinformation Monitoring Ballot and the Monitor are a part of a brand new program on well being misinformation and belief being developed at KFF. This snapshot from our preliminary pilot ballot gives a have a look at the survey outcomes amongst Black adults and their implications for addressing health-related misinformation amongst this group. Different snapshot experiences present comparable insights into addressing misinformation amongst Hispanic adults and amongst rural residents. These snapshot experiences are aimed toward serving to organizations within the U.S. working to fight health-related misinformation and rebuild belief within the media, public well being, and scientific communities.
Key Takeaways for the Discipline
- On the subject of well being misinformation, few Black adults are satisfied that broadly circulated falsehoods are true, whereas a lot bigger shares are uncertain or unsure, offering a possibility for intervention. When offered with particular gadgets of well being misinformation, few Black adults (between 4% and 15%) say they imagine them to be “positively true.” Modest shares (between 14% and 36%) acknowledge every of those claims to be “positively false.” Much like adults general, in terms of their tendency to imagine false health-related statements, most Black adults fall someplace in the midst of the spectrum, with giant shares saying every declare is “most likely true” or “most likely false.” Whereas most Black adults don’t ardently imagine the well being misinformation examined within the survey, the publicity to those false and inaccurate claims could contribute to uncertainty and doubt in terms of particular person well being care behaviors and decisions. This extra unsure center group could provide a possibility for centered outreach and interventions.
- Amongst Black adults, some teams – together with youthful adults and people with out a school diploma – are extra inclined to imagine sure kinds of well being misinformation than others, suggesting it might be useful to focus on interventions to those teams. Black adults beneath age 50 are more likely to say gadgets of misinformation associated to COVID-19 and vaccines are positively or most likely true in comparison with their older counterparts. As with adults general, there are additionally giant variations amongst Black adults of their propensity to imagine well being misinformation claims throughout instructional attainment, with these with out a school diploma usually being extra more likely to say that the well being misinformation gadgets examined within the survey are positively or most likely true. This implies that interventions aimed toward stopping misinformation from taking maintain could must take an individual’s broader experiences, schooling, and data base into consideration.
- Private connections keep an outsized significance in terms of trusted data. Black adults say that their docs are their most trusted sources of well being data. Notably, a majority of Black adults additionally belief the CDC, FDA, their state and native public well being officers, and the Biden administration to make the precise suggestions in terms of well being points, displaying potential for these official authorities businesses to be efficient messengers to Black people and communities.
- Native TV information and nationwide community information are promising methods to succeed in Black audiences with correct data. Massive shares of Black adults throughout age teams say they watch these sources often and would belief well being data they report, rating comparatively excessive in comparison with different information sources. On-line digital information aggregators, CNN, and MSNBC are additionally common information sources for at the very least half of Black adults, although fewer say they’ve a variety of belief in well being data reported by these sources.
- Many Black adults report often utilizing social media platforms for information and present occasions, although fewer say they actively hunt down well being data on social media and few specific a variety of belief in well being data seen on social media. Amongst these platforms, Fb and YouTube are essentially the most broadly used and have the reported highest relative ranges of belief.
- Social media could also be one of the simplest ways to succeed in youthful Black adults, however don’t depend conventional media out. Black adults beneath age 35 are extra possible to make use of social media, with majorities saying they use YouTube, Instagram, Fb, and TikTok at the very least as soon as every week, and 4 in ten saying they use social media at the very least weekly to seek out well being data and recommendation, increased than for different age teams. Nevertheless, majorities on this age vary additionally say they often depend on native TV information and community information for data. Legacy in conventional information media stays, as youthful adults report being extra trusting of the data they see about well being points reported by some sources of reports media moderately than social media platforms.
Publicity to and Perception in Well being Misinformation
Whereas notable shares of Black adults are coming throughout health-related misinformation, comparatively few are shopping for into particular false claims about COVID-19, reproductive well being, and firearm violence and security examined within the KFF Misinformation Monitoring Ballot Pilot. Much like adults general, solely small shares of Black adults (15% or much less) are satisfied that particular gadgets of misinformation requested about within the ballot are “positively true.” Considerably bigger shares (between 14% and 36%) reject these misinformation gadgets as “positively false,” but most Black adults are in a center group that specific some uncertainty saying these false claims or “most likely true” or “most likely false.”
Between one in 5 and three in 5 Black adults have heard every of the items of well being misinformation included within the survey. Essentially the most generally heard gadgets are that “COVID-19 vaccines have induced hundreds of sudden deaths in in any other case wholesome individuals,” “Intercourse schooling that features details about contraception and contraception will increase the probability that teenagers can be sexually lively,” and “Most gun homicides within the U.S. are gang associated.” Publicity to particular claims of well being misinformation varies by age, gender, and schooling, with younger Black adults and school educated Black adults being extra more likely to have heard items of COVID-19 misinformation.
No matter whether or not they have heard or learn particular gadgets of misinformation, the survey additionally requested individuals whether or not they suppose every declare is certainly true, most likely true, most likely false, or positively false. For many of the misinformation gadgets included within the survey, between three in ten and half of Black adults say they’re “positively” or “most likely true.” Combining these measures, smaller shares of Black adults (between one in ten and one-third) each have heard every declare and imagine it’s most likely or positively true.
Measures of Well being Misinformation
This report examines three measures of well being misinformation among the many public. Adults had been requested whether or not they had heard or learn particular, false health-related statements. No matter whether or not they have heard or learn particular gadgets of misinformation, all had been requested whether or not they thought every declare was positively true, most likely true, most likely false, or positively false. We then mixed these two measures to look at the share who’ve heard the false claims and imagine it’s positively or most likely true.
Massive shares of Black adults specific uncertainty in regards to the truthfulness of the false claims examined within the survey, with majorities saying every is both “most likely true” or “most likely false.” Small shares – about one-third or fewer – acknowledge any of the claims as “positively false,” and fewer than one in 5 say that any of those claims are “positively true.” Black adults with out a school diploma are notably more likely to specific uncertainty about many of those claims.
The figures under present the shares of Black adults by age group and schooling stage who imagine every of the false claims is certainly or most likely true. Typically, youthful Black adults and people with out a school diploma are extra possible than their older and school educated counterparts to say every of the gadgets of misinformation examined within the survey are positively or most likely true.
Notably, about half of Black ladies of reproductive age (ages 18-49) say it’s most likely or positively true that utilizing hormonal contraception makes it tougher for most girls to get pregnant after ceasing contraception use. Older Black ladies lean extra in direction of saying the assertion is fake, although simply 15% of Black ladies ages 50 and older say the assertion is “positively false,” and practically half (46%) say it’s “most likely false.”
Most Black mother and father are uncertain about a number of the misinformation gadgets examined within the survey associated to youngsters, teenagers, and colleges, with majorities saying it’s “most likely true” or “most likely false” that armed faculty guards have been confirmed to stop faculty shootings, that the MMR vaccines trigger autism in youngsters, and that intercourse schooling that features details about contraception will increase the probability that teenagers can be sexually lively. One in 4 Black mother and father say the ultimate declare is “positively false.”
Media Consumption and Belief
Consumption of Information, Social Media, and Well being Data
Tv is essentially the most generally reported medium for information consumption amongst Black adults ages 35 and over, with giant majorities saying they often watch native information and nationwide community information, and greater than half saying they’re common viewers of CNN and MSNBC. Amongst youthful Black adults, seven in ten say they often use digital information aggregators that draw on a number of information sources, and greater than half report often watching varied TV information sources.
Social media use, not surprisingly, varies by age amongst Black adults as effectively. A majority of Black adults throughout age teams report utilizing Fb and YouTube at the very least as soon as per week, however bigger shares of Black adults beneath age 35 say they often use Instagram (79%), TikTok (62%), Snapchat (49%) and Twitter (41%) in comparison with their older counterparts.
No matter most popular social media platform, many (62%) Black adults say they use social media at the very least as soon as every week to maintain up-to-date on information and present occasions. This rises to seven in ten Black adults beneath age 35. One-third of Black adults additionally say they use social media at the very least weekly to seek out well being data and recommendation. Youthful Black adults and people with out a school diploma are extra possible than their counterparts to make use of social media for well being recommendation and knowledge.
Belief in Sources of Data
Medical doctors with private relationships are essentially the most trusted sources of well being data for Black adults, with the overwhelming majority saying they belief their physician a fantastic deal or a good quantity to make the precise suggestions in terms of well being points. Notably, a majority of Black adults have at the very least “a good quantity” of belief within the CDC, FDA, Biden administration, and state and native public well being officers to make the precise well being suggestions. Fewer Black adults (22%) have at the very least a good quantity of belief in former President Donald Trump to make the precise suggestions on well being points.
There are a selection of sources that Black adults discover at the very least considerably reliable in terms of well being data. Majorities say they’d belief well being data at the very least slightly if it was reported by most TV information sources requested about within the survey, together with native and community information, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox Information. A minimum of half additionally say they’d belief well being data reported of their native newspaper, the New York Instances, Wall Avenue Journal, or NPR. Whereas no supply garners “quite a bit” of belief from a majority of Black adults, at the very least one-third say they’d belief well being data “quite a bit” if it had been reported by their native TV information station, nationwide community information, or CNN.
Regardless of excessive use of social media platforms, fewer than one in 5 say that they’d have “a variety of belief” in data associated to well being in the event that they noticed it on these platforms. Notably, nevertheless, majorities say they’d belief well being data at the very least slightly in the event that they noticed it on Fb or YouTube, and about 4 in ten or extra say the identical about Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
belief in information and social media sources amongst Black adults throughout age teams, native TV information stations and community information rank among the many highest for belief in well being data. Nevertheless, throughout the board, few younger Black adults say they’d have “quite a bit” of belief within the well being data from any supply. Regardless of excessive use of social media amongst youthful adults, Black adults beneath age 35 usually tend to say they’d have “quite a bit” of belief within the well being data they could come throughout on varied conventional information sources than social media platforms reminiscent of YouTube (21%), TikTok (16%), Instagram (13%), and Twitter (13%).
Assist for this work was offered by the Robert Wooden Johnson Basis (RWJF). The views expressed don’t essentially mirror the views of RWJF. KFF maintains full editorial management over all of its coverage evaluation, polling, and journalism actions.