A new poll showed that the number of viewers opposed to vaccination has recently fallen shortly after Fox News’s biggest host promoted the vaccine.
The proportion of Fox News viewers who are “unsure or unwilling” to receive the COVID-19 vaccine dropped from 30% last week to 27% this week. The findings come from an ongoing public opinion survey that tracks the hesitation of different types of media consumers on vaccines. The poll was conducted by the technology company Morning Consult.
Opinion polls found that the percentage of Fox News viewers who were hesitant to vaccinate reached an all-time high of 37% in mid-March. Since then, this number has risen every week and has also fallen by a few percentage points.
Interestingly, from mid-March to early August, Fox News viewers’ suspicion of vaccination was very consistent with those in major consumer media. Facebook and Reddit. Approximately 30% of Facebook and Reddit consumers are unsure or unwilling to get vaccinated.
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In late July, the two biggest hosts of Fox News, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, both promoted vaccines on their shows.
July 19, Carlson Say there may be The “huge benefits” of the COVID-19 vaccineHe added that these benefits include reducing the severity of virus-related symptoms and hospitalization.
On the same day, Hannity implored his audience to take COVID seriously and come out to support vaccination.
Hannity said: “Please take the new coronary pneumonia seriously. I can’t say too much. There have been enough deaths. We don’t need more deaths.” “You also have the right to medical privacy, and doctor-patient confidentiality is also very important. Many It definitely makes sense for Americans to be vaccinated.
“I believe in science, I believe in vaccination science,” he added.
The promotion of the organizers took place shortly after a study conducted on July 16 by the media monitoring organization Media Matters. The study found that in the last two weeks, 60% of Fox News vaccination clips promoted “anti-vaccine propaganda.”
Media Matters research investigated Fox News clips from June 28th to July 11th. Every time a speaker said that the vaccine was unnecessary or dangerous, it would record it. Whenever a speaker says that immunization represents a form of government over-expansion or infringement of personal freedom, it will also be recorded.
In response to this research, a Fox News spokesperson pointed to Newsweek’s recent examples of online celebrities promoting vaccines, the network’s vaccine-focused PSA, and the vaccine search tool on its website.
Before Media Matters came out, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois Call Carlson and his colleagues Laura Ingraham “An anti-vaxx quack.”
After Fox News hosted the broadcast of the vaccine, CNNof Jim Acosta Laughing at the network.He says Fox News audience Must have been “whipped” Mixed information about the COVID-19 vaccine through the Internet.
“Some anchors like Tucker Carlson Is spreading anti-vaccine hysteria, while others like Sean Hannity Finally facing the reality that vaccines save lives,” Acosta said. “That’s great, except Hannity replied to those comments a few days later, saying that he never told anyone to get vaccinated,” he added.
Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn Under the leadership of the former president Donald Trump Criticize Hannity for promoting vaccinesHe said Hannity was “trying to maintain political correctness” and added, “Don’t let political correctness hinder healthy choices.”
Weekly newspaper Contact Fox News to comment.
