COVID-19 trusted information

The study finds that while trust in media and government officials varies, there is high and consistent trust across all 50 U.S. states in doctors, infectious disease experts, the CDC, and family and friends. Local TV and local/state government officials are the most trusted media and government sources, respectively, while President Trump is the only source trusted by fewer than half of Americans.

• There is high, consistent trust across all 50 U.S. states in medical professionals and public health authorities, with over 90% of Americans trusting their own doctors and over 87% trusting infectious disease experts and the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Additionally, over 80% of Americans in every state trust their family and friends.
• Trust in media and government sources varies significantly. Local TV is the most trusted media source at 82%, while national networks like CNN (57%), MSNBC (52%), and FOX News (52%) are trusted by fewer people. Local (74%) and state (72%) government officials are the most trusted government sources, whereas President Trump is the only source trusted by less than 50% of Americans (48%).
• Despite increasing political partisanship, there is minimal geographic variation in trusted information sources across the United States, with the range of variability across all 50 states being no more than 4 percentage points for any given source.

APA

Marlon, J., Maibach, E., Ballew, M., Bergquist, P., Goldberg, M., Gustafson, A., Kotcher, J., Rosenthal, S., Wang, X., & Leiserowitz, A. (2020). COVID-19 trusted information. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/covid19-trusted-information/

Chicago

Marlon, Jennifer, Edward Maibach, Matthew Ballew, Parrish Bergquist, Matthew Goldberg, Abel Gustafson, John Kotcher, et al. COVID-19 trusted information. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2020. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/covid19-trusted-information/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Marlon |first1=Jennifer |last2=Maibach |first2=Edward |last3=Ballew |first3=Matthew |last4=Bergquist |first4=Parrish |last5=Goldberg |first5=Matthew |last6=Gustafson |first6=Abel |last7=Kotcher |first7=John |last8=Rosenthal |first8=Seth |last9=Wang |first9=Xinran |display-authors=etal |title=COVID-19 trusted information |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=4 June 2020 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/covid19-trusted-information/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{marlon2020covid19, author = {Marlon, Jennifer and Maibach, Edward and Ballew, Matthew and Bergquist, Parrish and Goldberg, Matthew and Gustafson, Abel and Kotcher, John and Rosenthal, Seth and Wang, Xinran and Leiserowitz, Anthony}, title = {{COVID-19 trusted information}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/covid19-trusted-information/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }