Addressing Misinformation in Rural Communities: Snapshot from the KFF Health Misinformation Tracking Poll Pilot

Why Rural Adults?

Understanding beliefs, attitudes, and data gaps that could be related to well being behaviors and selections can present essential insights for these working to advertise optimistic well being outcomes in several communities. Adults in rural communities usually tend to be older, White, and have decrease ranges of academic attainment than U.S. adults in suburban and concrete communities. Moreover, rural adults usually tend to establish with the Republican occasion than city adults. The KFF Well being Misinformation Monitoring Ballot Pilot has discovered that every of those indicators is correlated with being extra prone to say that gadgets of well being misinformation gadgets on this survey are “positively” or “most likely true.” Beforehand, the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor constantly discovered that U.S. adults in rural areas had been much less possible than these residing in city or suburban areas to say they had been vaccinated or meant to get vaccinated towards COVID-19. Different research discovered that, on the county degree, decrease charges of COVID-19 vaccinations had been related to capability issues at rural hospitals. Understanding and addressing info wants in rural communities is one part of selling public well being and hopefully bettering outcomes in future public well being emergencies.

Key Takeaways for the Area

• Massive shares of adults in rural communities within the U.S. have been uncovered to items of well being info, however most will not be utterly purchased in. A majority of rural adults say that every of the gadgets of misinformation surveyed are “most likely true” or “most likely false.” Few – about one in 5 or fewer – say that any merchandise is “positively true.” Then again, throughout all gadgets, about one-third or fewer appropriately say that every is “positively false.” With many rural adults touchdown within the “muddled center” – believing the gadgets had been both “most likely true” or “most likely false” – there is a chance to handle info gaps by channels that adults in rural communities usually search out or belief most.
• Addressing misinformation about gun violence amongst rural residents is of explicit significance given excessive charges of gun possession in rural communities. A majority of rural residents say they or somebody of their family is a gun proprietor in comparison with about three in ten city residents. Rural residents are additionally extra possible than their city counterparts to say the false declare that “armed college police guards have been confirmed to stop college shootings” (73% amongst rural adults v. 56% amongst city residents) and the declare that “individuals who have a firearm of their dwelling are much less prone to be killed by a gun than those that do not need a firearm” are positively or most likely true (50% vs. 40%). Rural gun homeowners and people who reside in households with gun homeowners stand out in comparison their counterparts in suburban and concrete areas as being more than likely to say that it’s true that “individuals who have a firearm of their dwelling are much less prone to be killed by a gun than those that do not need a firearm” are positively or most likely true.
• Native information sources could also be notably well-positioned to handle well being misinformation amongst rural residents. Among the many information sources included within the survey, rural adults are more than likely to report usually watching their native TV information station and nationwide information networks to maintain up-to-date. Half of adults residing in rural areas additionally say they learn their native newspapers usually, in comparison with a couple of third of suburban adults and 4 in ten city adults. Together with being among the many most often used sources, native TV information stations, native papers and nationwide community information are additionally essentially the most trusted conventional media sources of well being info for rural communities.
• Rural adults are about ten share factors much less possible than city adults to say they usually use social media to maintain up-to-date with the information or to entry well being recommendation or info. Nonetheless, although a big share of rural adults say they usually use Fb (72%) and YouTube (60%), solely about 4 in ten say they’d belief well being info they got here throughout on these platforms at the very least “slightly,” with one in ten or fewer saying they’d have “rather a lot” of belief.
• Much like adults total, medical doctors are key messengers of well being points with greater than 9 in ten adults in rural communities saying they belief their very own physician to present the proper suggestions. Rural adults are way more trusting of their very own physician in comparison with authorities sources on well being suggestions, although most rural residents say they’ve at the very least a good quantity of belief within the CDC, the FDA, and of their native public well being officers. Solely a couple of third categorical belief within the Biden Administration to make the proper advice on well being points. Because the beginnings of the 2024 Presidential election campaigns begin to take form, about half of rural residents have at the very least a good quantity of belief in former President Donald Trump to make the proper suggestions on well being points.

Publicity to and Perception in Well being Misinformation

Whereas notable shares of rural adults are uncovered to health-related misinformation, fewer are shopping for into particular false claims about COVID-19, reproductive well being, and firearm violence and security examined within the KFF Well being Misinformation Monitoring Ballot Pilot. The survey first asks respondents if they’ve heard or learn particular claims of well being misinformation. Then, no matter whether or not they have heard or learn particular gadgets of misinformation, the survey asks respondents whether or not they suppose every declare is unquestionably true, most likely true, most likely false, or positively false.

Between 4 in ten and 7 in ten rural adults have heard every of the gadgets of well being misinformation included within the survey. Probably the most generally heard gadgets amongst rural adults are that “COVID-19 vaccines have precipitated 1000’s of sudden deaths in in any other case wholesome individuals,” “the measles, mumps, rubella vaccines (MMR) have been confirmed to trigger autism in youngsters,” “armed college police guards have been confirmed to stop college shootings,” and “most gun homicides within the U.S. are gang-related.”

In relation to the verity of the statements, small shares of rural adults (fewer than 11%) say that false claims about COVID-19, vaccines, and reproductive well being are “positively true.” A barely bigger share, about two in ten, of rural adults say false claims associated to firearms and gun security are positively true. Nevertheless, between 5 p.c and 35% reject these misinformation gadgets as “positively false.” General, most rural adults are in a bigger center group that categorical some uncertainty, saying these false claims are “most likely true” or “most likely false.”

For a lot of the misinformation gadgets included within the survey, between one-quarter and half of rural adults say they’re “positively true” or “most likely true,” whereas one merchandise garners 73% of rural adults saying it’s true (“Armed college police guards have been confirmed to stop college shootings.”) Combining these measures, smaller shares of rural adults (between 18% and 44%) each have heard every declare and consider it’s most likely or positively true.

Most rural adults categorical uncertainty concerning the truthfulness of the false claims examined within the survey, with a majority 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 about one in 5 or fewer say that any of those claims are “positively true.”

Notably, practically three-fourths of rural adults say that the false declare that “armed college police guards have been confirmed to stop college shootings” is “positively” or “most likely true,” together with one in 5 who say that is “positively true.” Additional, half of rural adults say it’s most likely or positively true that “individuals who have firearms at dwelling are much less prone to be killed by a gun than individuals who do not need a firearm,” together with one in 5 who say that is “positively true.” Rural adults are extra possible than city adults to say each of those falsehoods are true, which can be associated to the bigger share of gun households in rural communities. The survey finds {that a} majority of rural adults say they or somebody of their family is a gunowner (55%), in comparison with fewer suburbanites and concrete residents (42% and 28% respectively).

Gun homeowners total are extra possible than those that don’t personal a gun to say every of the firearm-related items of misinformation are true, a discovering in keeping with research exhibiting that gun homeowners really feel safer with a gun of their family than they’d with out it. Nevertheless, even amongst gun homeowners and people who reside in households with gun homeowners, those that reside in rural areas stand out as being much more possible than these residing in suburban and concrete areas to consider that individuals who have firearms at dwelling are much less prone to be killed by a gun than individuals who do not need a firearm (two-thirds of rural adults in a gun-owning family say that is most likely or positively true, in comparison with fewer than half of city and suburban adults in gun-owning households).

Media Consumption and Belief

Consumption of Information, Social Media, and Well being Data

A majority of rural adults say they usually eat information from their native TV information station (59%) and nationwide information networks corresponding to ABC, CBS, or NBC (55%). Half say they learn their native newspapers usually, and 45% eat information from Fox Information and digital information aggregators. Fewer usually watch, hearken to, or learn MSNBC (35%), CNN (33%), NPR (26%), New York Instances (18%), the Wall Road Journal (14%), Newsmax (12%) and OANN (6%).

Probably the most used social media platforms amongst rural adults are Fb and YouTube, with seven in ten and 6 in ten saying they use these platforms at the very least as soon as per week respectively. Fewer use TikTok (33%), Instagram (28%), Snapchat (20%), Reddit (13%), Twitter (12%), or WhatsApp (6%) at the very least weekly. The distribution of social media platforms utilized in rural communities possible displays the truth that they’re older on common than city or suburban communities.

In relation to how rural adults interact with social media, half say they use social media at the very least as soon as per week to maintain updated on information and present occasions. About one-fourth say they use social media for information and present occasions as soon as a month or often, and one in 5 say they by no means use social media for this goal. A majority of rural adults say they use social media for well being info and recommendation at the very least often, although few (20%) use it this manner at the very least as soon as per week. Forty-five p.c of rural adults say they “by no means” use social media for well being recommendation.

Belief in Sources of Data

In relation to sources of well being suggestions, rural adults are at the very least twice as prone to belief their very own medical doctors a fantastic deal than the recommendation of presidency sources. Greater than half (56%) of rural adults say they belief their very own physician to make the proper suggestions about well being “a fantastic deal” in comparison with about one in 5 or fewer who belief the suggestions from the CDC (21%), the FDA (17%) and their state and native public well being officers (8%) “a fantastic deal.” Nevertheless, majorities belief every of those authorities sources at the very least “a good quantity.”

Reflecting the partisanship of adults in rural communities, rural adults are least trusting of the well being suggestions from the Biden administration, with one-third (35%) of rural adults saying they belief the Biden administration, together with simply 8% who say they belief the Administration “a fantastic deal.” An extra third (36%) say they don’t belief the well being suggestions from the Biden administration “in any respect.” Rural adults are break up of their belief of former President Donald Trump’s suggestions, as one-fourth say they belief Trump to make the proper suggestions with regards to well being points “a fantastic deal,” and an analogous share (28%) say they don’t belief him “in any respect.”

There are a number of reports sources and platforms that rural adults discover at the very least considerably reliable with regards to well being info. A big majority say they’d belief well being info at the very least slightly if it was reported by their native TV information, native newspaper, and community information. A smaller majority say they’d belief info reported by digital or on-line information aggregators, Fox Information, CNN, and MSNBC. Though fewer than three in ten say they’d belief every of those sources “rather a lot,” this foundation of belief can be utilized to handle misinformation amongst rural communities.

One in ten or fewer say that they’d have “quite a lot of belief” in info associated to well being reported on social media platforms.