May 4, 2020

Ofcom has published its latest weekly research on how people are receiving and acting on news and information during the current coronavirus pandemic.

The report summarises the findings from week four of the lockdown, including how people’s experiences and behaviour has changed since the previous weeks. Ofcom has also provided a breakdown of the findings by Nation. The research shows, among other things, that:

• people are not accessing news and information about Covid-19 as frequently: 12% of people now access news about the virus at least 20 times a day, compared with a quarter (24%) in week one;
• more people (30%) are actively seeking to avoid news about the pandemic, up from 22% in week one;
• 44% of people have come across false or misleading information about Covid-19, in line with week one. False claims linking 5G to the outbreak remain the most commonly seen pieces of misinformation (51%); and
• virtually all respondents continue to say they are closely following the official advice about practising social distancing (98%), only going outside for essential things (97%) and washing hands regularly (92%).

To access the research, click here.