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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Do Fox News viewers believe more COVID-19 misinformation than viewers of other media outlets?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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YES

Fox News viewers tend to believe more COVID-19 misinformation than viewers of other media outlets.

A 2021 Kaiser Family Foundation examined the correlation between the news outlets people trust and the amount of COVID-19 misinformation they believe. It found that 36% of survey respondents who trust Fox News believe or are unsure of at least half of eight false statements related to COVID-19, compared to 11%, 12%, and 14% of respondents who trust CNN, MSNBC and NPR, respectively.

Fox's own research team accused regular contributors to the network of “spreading disinformation" in an internal memo from 2020 obtained by the Daily Beast.

Fox News was the most distrusted media outlet among 30 polled in a 2019 Pew survey. Forty-three percent of respondents reported trusting Fox, while 40% reported distrusting it.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
KFF COVID-19 misinformation is ubiquitous: 78% of the public believes or is unsure about at least one false statement, and nearly a third believe at least four of eight false statements tested
US News & World Report Study: Fox viewers more likely to believe COVID falsehoods
Daily Beast Fox News internal document bashes John Solomon, Joe diGenova and Rudy Giuliani for spreading ‘disinformation’
Pew Research 5 facts about Fox News
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.