Study: Fox News viewers know less than people who don’t watch the news
The best-informed people read daily newspapers, listen to NPR, and watch Sunday morning programs. However, one journalist has called the study ‘deeply flawed.’
That’s the gist of the PublicMind poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University, which found that Fox News viewers know less about certain current events than people who don’t watch the news at all.
According the study, Fox News viewers were 18 points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their government than those who don’t watch TV news. People who watch Fox News were also six points less likely to know Syrians have not yet overthrown their government.
Fairleigh Dickinson polled more than 600 adult residents of New Jersey and accounted for education and partisanship.
“Because of the controls for partisanship, we know these results are not just driven by Republicans or other groups being more likely to watch Fox News,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson and an analyst for the PublicMind Poll. “Rather, the results show us that there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at all.”
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