Trust in medical scientists has grown in U.S., but mainly among Democrats

Americans’ confidence in medical scientists has grown since the coronavirus outbreak began, as have perceptions that medical doctors hold very high ethical standards. But this increase in confidence has come primarily among Democrats, not Republicans. And there are growing partisan divisions over the risk the novel coronavirus poses to public health.

• Most Americans expect a COVID-19 vaccine within a year; 72% say they would get it
• Most in U.S. believe social distancing measures are helping
• See all of our coronavirus coverage

Americans give higher ratings to South Korea and Germany than U.S. for dealing with coronavirus

When asked how well different countries have responded to the coronavirus outbreak, Americans give high marks to South Korea and Germany and low marks to China and Italy. Opinions of how well the U.S. is dealing with the outbreak are divided along party lines, with Republicans much more positive than Democrats. Americans largely agree the U.S. should look beyond its borders for ideas to combat the virus.

• Views on U.S. global engagement
• Trust in information about outbreak from EU, WHO and Chinese government

Americans who rely most on the White House for COVID-19 news are more likely to downplay the pandemic

Those who rely most on President Donald Trump and the White House coronavirus task force for news about COVID-19 are more likely than other groups to hold negative views of media coverage of the pandemic. They are also more focused than others on its economic impact. Around half in this group say the outbreak has been made a bigger deal than it really is.

• Explore COVID-19 data in our interactive tool
• Americans are following news about presidential candidates much less closely than COVID-19 news

For global legislators on Twitter, an engaged minority creates outsize share of content

A majority of members of the national legislative bodies in five predominantly English-speaking countries have a Twitter account. But as is true among other types of Twitter users, a modest number of active tweeters produce an outsize share of legislative tweets.

• A small share of U.S. adults produce a majority of tweets about national politics

SXSW 2020 Online Session: Misinformation and the 2020 U.S. Election

Amy Mitchell, director of journalism research, appeared on a panel as part of SXSW 2020’s virtual sessions to discuss misinformation during the coronavirus outbreak and ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Amid coronavirus crisis, Americans and Germans see changing world in different ways

Americans favor medical care but not economic aid for undocumented immigrants affected by COVID-19

With U.S.-Mexico border closed, migrant apprehensions fell by nearly half in April

From our research