Injecting Disinfectants to Kill the Virus: Media Literacy, Information Gathering Sources, and the Moderating Role of Political Ideology on Misperceptions about COVID-19

Abstract

Fake information about COVID-19 continues to circulate widely, including false causes and cures. The current study examined the (a) relationship between information gathering sources and misperceptions; (b) association between literacy variables and misperceptions; and (c) the moderating role of political ideology on these relationships. Conservative ideology, younger age, conservative media use, information gathering from social media, and information gathering from Donald Trump were positively associated with COVID-19 misperceptions. Meanwhile, information gathering from local media, CDC, and scientists was negatively related to COVID-19 misperceptions. Interaction models showed critical conditional patterns with political ideology. For example, liberals with higher media literacy for content held lower COVID-19 misperceptions, but this did not hold true for conservatives. The results revealed a need to facilitate more exposure to alternative viewpoints to counteract the echo chamber of misinformation that conservatives appear to trust regardless of self-reported media literacy.