COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs increased in the early months of the pandemic among heavy users of conservative and social media, APPC research shows.

COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs increased in the early months of the pandemic among heavy users of conservative and social media, APPC research shows.
News coverage of expert scientific evidence about vaccine safety increases public acceptance of vaccines, but the effect is diminished when that message is juxtaposed with a narrative about real side effects.
TV gun violence in popular prime-time broadcast dramas has increased steadily over almost two decades, paralleling trends in U.S. homicide deaths attributable to firearms, APPC research found.
Concerns over infecting others play a greater role in people’s willingness to be vaccinated in sparsely populated areas, according research from APPC and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The holiday season usually has the lowest suicide rates, but news accounts persist in supporting the holiday-suicide myth. While the COVID-19 pandemic has increased risk factors associated with suicide, media should be careful not to make unfounded claims about suicide trends.