We investigate the relationship between media consumption, misinformation, and important attitudes and behaviours during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We find that comparatively more misinformation circulates on Twitter, while news media tends to reinforce public health recommendations like social distancing. We find that exposure to social media is associated with misperceptions regarding basic facts about COVID-19 while the inverse is true for news media. These misperceptions are in turn associated with lower compliance with social distancing measures.

The first version of the now-ubiquitous “flatten the curve” chart appeared in a 2007 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The image, titled “Goals of Community Mitigation,” accompanied a list of radical recommendations to swiftly change American life in the event of a pandemic: close schools, cancel public gatherings, recommend voluntary isolation. The authors used a now-familiar term for the strategy: “social distancing.”

“They voted for Trump, so obviously we can’t talk about anything.”

“Why can’t they see that THEY are the problem?”

This type of extreme political polarization feels ordinary in today’s America. Confident ignorance and self-righteous anger seem normal. Apparently bent on division, we dismiss the other side instead of valuing alternative viewpoints.

These problems are easy to see. The challenge is fixing them.