March 20, 2020: While voters strongly support many actions taken in response to the coronavirus, they are more critical of the national media coverage.

Forty-eight percent (48%) believe the national news media created a panic by overhyping the danger to the public. At the other end of the spectrum, 14% believe the national news media did not do enough to warn people about the potential danger.^[1]

Thirty percent (30%) think media coverage provided a valuable service by warning people about the dangers without overstating them.^[1]

As is almost always the case, there are significant partisan divides concerning media coverage:

• Sixty-four percent (64%) of Republicans believe the media overhyped the matter and created panic. Just 30% of GOP voters believe the media either provided a valuable service or didn’t provide enough warning.
• Most Democrats believe either that the media provided a valuable service (40%) or didn’t provide enough warning. Just 37% of Democratic voters believe the media provided too much hype.
• Independents are evenly divided. Forty-five percent (45%) believe the national media overhyped the situation while 44% see it differently.^[1]

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Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

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