Half of Brits have come across false or misleading information about Covid-19, Ofcom says

The NHS is still the most trusted source
PA
Ellena Cruse5 May 2020

Half of those reading about coronavirus in the UK have come across false or misleading information, a watchdog has warned.

Communications regulator Ofcom has commissioned a weekly survey about Covid-19 news to understand "access, consumption and critical engagement" during the pandemic.

In week five of lockdown, some 2,000 respondent said they had come across misleading information in the previous week, which marked a six per cent increase on week four.

The NHS remains the most trusted source of information, with nine out of ten participants saying they feel its information is correct.

The multiple-choice survey showed the most common piece of misinformation respondents came across was "theories linking the origins or causes of Covid-19 to 5G technology".

Some 47 per cent of respondents said they had seen reference to this in week five of lockdown although this had decreased from 51 per cent in week four.

In week five, nine per cent of participants also said they had seen other pieces of misinformation and highlighted articles about "injecting disinfectant" and "exposure to UV light".

Ofcom is conducting a weekly survey about coronavirus news
PA

Ofcom said that while most of the public trusts the NHS as a source of information, trust in the Government has dipped by 11 per cent.

It said: "The NHS remains the most trusted source for information on Covid-19. Nine in ten adults who use it for information say they trust it (91 per cent in week five, 95 per cent in week one).

"A clear majority of respondents using official sources continue to trust the information provided by official scientists (87 per cent in week five vs. 90 per cent in week one), local health services (84 per cent vs. 91 per cent), the WHO (81 per cent vs. 94 per cent) and the government (78 per cent vs. 89 per cent)."

In the survey, more than a third of respondents (36 per cent) said they "find it hard to know what is true and what is false about Coronavirus" and one fifth (20 per cent) said they think the "mainstream media is exaggerating the seriousness of Coronavirus".

The research also uncovered that the majority of respondents think that the pandemic is highlighting positive news stories in the community.

"Most respondents (84 per cent) continue to think that this crisis is showing some positive sides of society - e.g. more local/community spirit, support for the NHS (vs. 83% in week four)," Ofcom said.

"Those aged over 65 are most likely to agree the crisis is showing positive sides to society (92 per cent).

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in