April 2020
Featured in this insight: Central government & non-department public bodies, Local & regional government, Medical & healthcare, International
People around the world are trusting government ahead of media when it comes to Covid-19 updates, reveals survey: A survey of citizens around the globe has found that the most trusted source of information when it comes to Covid-19 is 'government' overall, followed by 'health organisations'.
The poll by Global Web Index revealed that the majority of people in ten out of 17 countries/regions (South Africa, UK, Australia, Canada, China, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Philippines and Singapore) said that their faith lies primarily with their country's government when it comes to reliable coronavirus updates. The media was ranked as the most trusted source by five countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain), while health organisations were the most trusted source in two countries (Brazil and the US).
Almost half (47%) the UK survey respondents selected 'government updates' when asked to highlight all of the sources they found to be trustworthy sources for Covid-19 information or news. In second place was 'news channels on TV' with around two-fifths ticking it as a choice, followed by 'news bulletins on TV' (31%), 'news websites' (30%), 'updates from health organisations' (30%), 'radio' (13%) and 'newspapers' (11%). Even fewer said they get their news from 'social media' (7%), 'conversations with friends and family' (7%), 'updates from employers or schools' (7%), 'podcasts' (4%), 'updates from brands' (3%), and 'group chats on messaging services' (3%).
The survey also asked respondents about the sources they use the most for their COVID-19 updates, with TV news channels ranking top in the UK (51%), compared to 60% globally. In second place globally were 'news websites' (55% – compared to 49% in the UK), followed by government updates (50% – compared to 47% in the UK).
* The survey took place between between 31 March and 2 April 2020
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