One year on from the UK’s first national lockdown, a survey reveals that when it comes to reporting on the coronavirus pandemic, the UK’s frontline workers in the NHS and teaching turn to the Guardian for coverage they can trust.
60% of NHS workers and teachers polled by the independent research agency QuMind, said they trust the Guardian’s reporting of the pandemic “very much” or “quite a lot” - more than any other UK print or online media outlet asked about, surpassing the Times at 55% and the Independent at 52%.
Of the 14 publications and social media platforms about which questions were asked, the Guardian was most likely to be described as “trusted”, ”clear”, “informative” and “up to date” by its readers.
UK general public
The research also asked members of the UK general public about reporting of the coronavirus pandemic. Almost two thirds (64%) of those asked said they trusted the Guardian’s reporting of the pandemic “very much” or “quite a lot” - more than any other UK print or online media outlet asked about, followed by the Times at 63% and the Financial Times at 61%.
When asked how they would describe different media outlets’ and social media platforms’ coverage of the pandemic, the Guardian had the highest share of respondents saying they found it informative (46%), followed by the Times (40%) and the Independent (39%). Almost 4 in 10 (37%) of its readers said they came to the Guardian for key facts and figures around the pandemic (Financial Times 31%; the Times 30%).
Over one third (35%) said they turn to the Guardian to understand an issue related to the pandemic, such as R number or vaccine efficacy, surpassing the Telegraph (30%), and the Times and Financial Times (both 27%), while 34% of its readers said they visit the Guardian to understand the global picture of of how other countries are impacted and coping (the Times and the Telegraph both 30%).
Social media platforms and coronavirus news
Although 38% of the general public said they visited Facebook daily, only 10% of its users said they trusted Facebook’s coverage of the pandemic “very much”, with 29% saying it was misleading and 14% calling it uninformative.
Social media platforms also scored lowest on trust among NHS workers and teachers, with almost half (46%) of its users saying they don’t trust coverage of the pandemic on Facebook “very much” or “at all” with Twitter polling 29% for the same question.
Despite 45% of teachers and NHS workers saying they use Facebook on a daily basis, only 25% of its users said they trusted its coverage of the pandemic “very much” or “quite a lot”.
Frontline workers turn to the Guardian for informative, clear, relevant reporting
Almost a third of NHS workers and teachers surveyed (30%) said they turn to the Guardian to help them understand issues related to the pandemic, such as the R number or vaccine efficacy. This was the highest percentage amongst competitors asked about, with the Independent polling at 25% and The Times at 24%.
Almost a third (32%) of its readers also said they come to the Guardian for key facts and figures about the crisis, with over a quarter (26%) visiting the publication for first-hand accounts from those working in the NHS, schools and other frontline services, a higher proportion than any other UK online or print media outlet.
Amongst NHS workers and teachers polled, the Guardian scored higher amongst its readers than any UK competitor for informative (43%), relevant (31%), responsible (28%), clear (27%) and accurate (25%) reporting of the crisis.
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media said:
“The coronavirus pandemic is one of the biggest and most complex stories of our time, touching on all parts of life. That those working on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic trust and value the Guardian’s reporting on the crisis is hugely important.
We will continue to publish our evidence-based and expert journalism, holding those in power to account for their actions, helping our readers to navigate new information and bringing empathy and humanity to the stories of victims.”
The Guardian has led the way on reporting on the pandemic, helping readers to navigate an overwhelming amount of information. From holding those in power to account through investigations into the supply of crucial PPE and the secrecy of SAGE to a focus on its effect on young people from missed education to the toll on their mental health.
The Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast, anchored by its experienced science and health editorial team, scaled up to two or three episodes a week in March 2020 - doubling its monthly global audience over the first lockdown. Listener numbers have remained higher than pre lockdown levels - a reflection on the Guardian’s trusted reporting on the pandemic.
Total digital recurring support for the Guardian now stands at over 900,000, up from 632,000 in November 2019. In 2020 the Guardian had 2.1 billion unique browsers to our digital platforms, +67% on the year before.
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Notes for editors
The research was commissioned by The Guardian and conducted by the independent research agency, QuMind, part of a MindMover Group. The online survey polled 1,007 nationally representative members of the UK general population as well as 1,004 teachers and 1,001 NHS workers between 23rd February 2021 and 1st March 2021. The full results can be viewed here. Publications and social media platforms that respondents were asked about were: The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, The Independent, The Daily Mirror, The Financial Times, The Daily Mail, Express, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.
About Guardian News & Media
Guardian News & Media (GNM) publishes theguardian.com, one of the world’s leading English-language newspaper websites. Traffic from outside of the UK now represents around two-thirds of the Guardian’s total digital audience. In the UK, GNM publishes the Guardian newspaper six days a week, first published in 1821, and the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer.