PJ 2024.10.10 2024-Election-News Report

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FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 10, 2024

BY Elisa Shearer, Michael Lipka, Sarah Naseer, Emily Tomasik and Mark Jurkowitz

FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES:

Elisa Shearer, Senior Researcher


Michael Lipka, Associate Director, News and
Information Research
Sogand Afkari, Communications Manager
202.419.4372
www.pewresearch.org

RECOMMENDED CITATION
Pew Research Center, October 2024,
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
1
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

About Pew Research Center


Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about the
issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center
conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, computational social science research and
other data-driven research. It studies politics and policy; news habits and media; the internet and
technology; religion; race and ethnicity; international affairs; social, demographic and economic
trends; science; research methodology and data science; and immigration and migration. Pew
Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.

© Pew Research Center 2024

www.pewresearch.org
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PEW RESEARCH CENTER

How we did this


Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand how U.S. adults get news and
information about the 2024 presidential election.

The survey of 9,680 U.S. adults was conducted from Sept. 16 to 22, 2024. Everyone who
completed the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people
recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take
surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection.
Surveys were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is
weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan
affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.

Here are the questions used for this report, the topline and the survey methodology.

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This is the
latest report in Pew Research Center’s ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and
journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with
generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

www.pewresearch.org
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PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Table of contents
About Pew Research Center 1
How we did this 2
Table of contents 3
1. How closely are Americans following election news, and what are they seeing? 12
The 2024 campaign events that Americans have heard or read about most 15
What Americans want in campaign coverage – and what they actually see 17
2. Where Americans turn for election news 19
Which news organizations Americans turn to for election news 21
3. How Americans feel about election coverage 25
Broad assessments of election coverage 27
Election news fatigue 32
4. Accuracy of election news 34
Determining what is true and what’s not 37
Acknowledgments 39
Methodology 40
The American Trends Panel survey methodology 40

www.pewresearch.org
4
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

As Americans navigate the abundance of


Most say they see inaccurate news
information about the 2024 U.S. presidential
about the 2024 presidential election at
election, many of them are seeing news they least somewhat often …
think is inaccurate – and having a hard time
% of U.S. adults who say they have seen inaccurate news
distinguishing fact from fiction. about the 2024 presidential election …

Extremely/ Somewhat Not too often/


A new Pew Research Center survey finds that Very often often Not at all
about three-quarters of U.S. adults (73%) say 37% 36 25
they have seen inaccurate news coverage about
the election at least somewhat often, including At least somewhat often
73%
37% who have seen this kind of information
extremely or very often. … and roughly half say it’s difficult to
determine what’s true and what’s not
About half of Americans (52%) say they % of U.S. adults who say they generally find it ___ when
getting news and information about the presidential
generally find it difficult to determine what is campaign and candidates
true and what is not when getting news about
Difficult to Easy to determine
the election. And 28% separately say that it’s determine what is what is true and
been difficult for them to find reliable true and what is not what is not
information about the presidential election. 52% 47

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.


Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

www.pewresearch.org
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PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Supporters of the two major political parties are


having vastly different experiences with election Republicans are more likely than
news in these ways. Democrats to say they often see
inaccurate election coverage …
% who say they have seen inaccurate news about the
▪ Republicans (including independents who
2024 presidential election …
lean toward the GOP) are much more likely
Not too
than Democrats and Democratic leaners to Extremely/ Somewhat often/
say they have seen inaccurate coverage and Very often often Not at all

that they are having a hard time sorting out Rep/Lean Rep 51% 34% 14%
the truth.
▪ And Republicans are less likely than Dem/Lean Dem 24 38 36
Democrats to say it is easy for them to find
reliable information about the election (29% … and most Republicans say they find it
vs. 52%, respectively). difficult to determine what’s true
% who say they generally find it ___ when getting news
Overall, Americans are much less likely to be and information about the presidential campaign and
candidates
wary of the information from their most
frequent sources of election news. Much Difficult to Easy to determine
smaller shares say they at least sometimes see determine what is what is true and
true and what is not what is not
inaccurate information from the sources they
Rep/Lean Rep 61% 38%
turn to most often for news and information
about the election than say the same about
Dem/Lean Dem 42 58
election news in general.
Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
At the same time, people also say inaccurate Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
information is coming from sources other than
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
news outlets: 58% of Americans say they have
heard people they know share information
about the election that they think is inaccurate at least somewhat often. There is little difference
between the parties on this question – Republicans and Democrats say they hear inaccurate
information from their personal circles at roughly the same rates.

Jump to more information about Americans’ views on the accuracy of election news.

www.pewresearch.org
6
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

How Americans’ attention toward election news has changed throughout the campaign
Overall, about seven-in-ten
Americans say they are About 7 in 10 Americans are closely following news
following news about the about 2024 presidential candidates
candidates for the 2024 % of U.S. adults who say they have been very/fairly closely following
presidential election very news about candidates for the presidential election

(28%) or fairly (40%) closely.


This is up from 58% in April
and 65% in July, mirroring a
pattern also seen in 2020 in
which attention increases
closer to Election Day.

Between April and September


of this year, the increase was
driven particularly by
Democrats, who were slightly Note: Directly comparable figures from September in election years are in bold.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
less likely than Republicans to “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
be following election news PEW RESEARCH CENTER
closely in the two earlier
surveys. Now, there is no
difference between the two parties in their levels of attention.

About six-in-ten Americans say they are worn out by so much coverage of the campaign, while
nearly four-in-ten say they like seeing a lot of coverage. These shares are similar to those measured
in April, as well as in surveys conducted in 2020 and 2016.

Jump to more about how much attention Americans are paying to election news.

www.pewresearch.org
7
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

What kinds of news about the election are Americans seeing – and what do they want to
see?
The survey asked Americans
how much they have heard Majorities of Americans have heard a lot about Harris
about several specific election- replacing Biden, Trump’s July assassination attempt,
related topics that have been in and the presidential debate in September
the news in recent months. % of U.S. adults who have heard or read ___ about …

A lot A little
We found that most people say Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden
as the Democratic candidate 70% 25%
they have heard or read a lot
about Vice President The attempted assassination
66 29
of Donald Trump in July
Kamala Harris replacing
President Joe Biden as the The debate between Kamala Harris
64 30
and Donald Trump
Democratic nominee (70%),
JD Vance, Trump’s vice
the first assassination presidential candidate 36 47
attempt on former
Tim Walz, Harris’ vice
President Donald Trump in presidential candidate
32 47
July (66%), and the debate
The Democratic National
between Harris and Trump 29 45
Convention in August
on Sept. 10 (64%). (The survey The Republican National
24 49
questions were finalized before Convention in July
the second assassination Former independent candidate
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 22 55
attempt on Trump in endorsing Donald Trump
September.) Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Smaller shares say they have
heard a lot about the vice
presidential candidates, the two parties’ national conventions, and third-party candidate
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsing Trump when he dropped out of the race. Still, large majorities
of Americans say they have heard at least a little about each of these topics.

www.pewresearch.org
8
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

More generally, news about the


Americans most interested in presidential candidates’
candidates’ comments and
stances on issues, but they most often see news
actions on the campaign trail about the campaign trail
appears to be the most
common type of coverage
people are seeing. Four-in-ten
U.S. adults say this is the type
of election news they see most,
outpacing information about
the candidates’ stances on
issues (17%), their moral
characters (14%) or which
candidate is leading the race
(13%).

This does not align with what


Americans are most interested
in. For example, higher shares
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
say they are extremely or very
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
interested in news about PEW RESEARCH CENTER
candidates’ stances on the
issues (75%) and their moral
characters (60%) than say the same about candidates’ comments and actions during the campaign
(49%).

About half of Americans (49%) say they are extremely or very interested in the candidates’ career
experiences, while just 3% say this is the topic they see the most news about.

Jump to more information about what election news topics Americans are seeing.

www.pewresearch.org
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PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Age differences in primary platforms used for election news


Americans get news about politics and the
election in a wide variety of ways. No single Nearly half of adults under 30 say social
platform dominates: About a third of U.S. media are their main source of political
adults (35%) say TV is their most common and election news
source of election news, while roughly one-in- % of U.S. adults who say ___ is the most common way
they get political and election news, by age
five each say the same about news websites or
apps (21%) and social media (20%). Smaller Ages 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+
shares primarily use other platforms, including 10%
search engines, podcasts, radio or print Television
23%
44%
publications. 63%
18
News websites 24
Younger and older Americans are getting or apps 24
election news in very different ways. Nearly half 15
46
of U.S. adults under 30 (46%) say that social 23
Social media
media are their most common source of 7
3
election news, while others in this age category 12
Search through
turn to different digital sources like news Google or other 10
search engines 7
websites or apps (18%), search engines (12%) or 3
podcasts (6%). One-in-ten say TV is their most 2
6
common source of election news. Radio 7
5
6
But among U.S. adults ages 65 and older, a 6
Podcasts
majority (63%) say TV is their top source. The 4
2
same is true for 44% of those ages 50 to 64.
2
Print newspapers 2
or magazines 2
5

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer or who said “Some
other way” are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

www.pewresearch.org
10
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

The survey also asked about several specific news outlets as sources of political and election news;
there was little change on these questions since 2020. About two-thirds of Americans say national
TV networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) are at least a minor source of political and election news for
them, including three-in-ten who cite this as a major source. CNN and Fox News are each sources
of election news for about half of Americans, with about two-in-ten naming each cable news
network as a major source.

Smaller shares cite other outlets as major or minor sources of election news, including MSNBC,
The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post and conservative talk radio.

While Democrats and


Republicans largely give
Republicans, Democrats turn to different news outlets
for election news
similar answers about what
% who use each of the following as a major/minor source of political and
platforms they use most often election news
for election news (e.g., TV,
social media, etc.), there are Rep/Lean Rep Dem/Lean Dem
huge differences between the
54%
two parties on several of these ABC, CBS or NBC
82%
specific outlets. 35
CNN
72
Republicans are much more 69
Fox News
likely than Democrats to say 32
Fox News and talk radio are at 26
MSNBC
least minor sources of election 56
news for them. But Democrats 24
The New York Times
are far more likely than 53
Republicans to get election 21
NPR
news from all of the other news 48
outlets mentioned in the 22
The Washington Post
survey. For instance, about 45
Conservative talk radio,
twice as many Democrats such as Sean Hannity
42
(72%) as Republicans (35%) or Mark Levin 14

say CNN is at least a minor Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
source of political and election “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
news for them.

Jump to more on Americans’ sources of election news.

www.pewresearch.org
11
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Ratings of the news media’s election coverage differ by party


There also are huge partisan differences in opinions on how well the news media have done
covering the 2024 presidential election.

Overall, more than half of U.S. adults say the


Over half of Republicans say the news
media have done very (13%) or somewhat
media are doing poorly at covering the
(45%) well covering the election, similar to the presidential election
share who said the same in 2020. But
% who say the news media have covered the presidential
Democrats are about twice as likely as election …
Republicans to hold this opinion (77% vs. 39%).
All U.S. Rep/ Dem/
adults Lean Rep Lean Dem
Within each party, these perceptions differ by
age. While younger Democrats are less likely 21
than older Democrats to give the media positive Very well 13%
6
marks on their 2024 election coverage, the
56
opposite is true among Republicans. Younger Somewhat well 45%
33
Republicans are somewhat more likely than
26% 19
their older GOP counterparts to say the media Not too well 34
are doing at least somewhat well. 3
Not at all well 15%
26
People across all political and age groups are
Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
more likely to say the news sources they turn to Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
most often are doing well covering the election
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
than to say the same about the news media in
general.

Jump to more on how Americans feel about election news.

www.pewresearch.org
12
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

1. How closely are Americans following election news, and


what are they seeing?
About seven-in-ten Americans
surveyed in September (69%) A majority of Americans are closely following news
say they are following news about the 2024 presidential candidates
about the presidential % of U.S. adults who say they have been very/fairly closely following
candidates for the 2024 news about candidates for the presidential election

election very (28%) or fairly


(40%) closely.

More people say they are


tuning in to election news as
Election Day gets closer. In
April, 58% of U.S. adults said
they were following the election
at least fairly closely, and by
July, that number had risen to
65%. Attention in 2020 also Note: Directly comparable figures from September in election years are in bold.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
increased closer to that “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
election. PEW RESEARCH CENTER

A survey conducted in late


August and early September 2020 found that 66% of Americans said they were very or fairly
closely following news about candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump, while in late September
and early October 2016, 74% of respondents were following news about Trump and Hillary
Clinton.

www.pewresearch.org
13
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

This year, the rise in attention to the election has been driven by
Democrats. While Republicans and independents who lean Republicans, Democrats
toward the GOP were somewhat more likely than Democrats now following election
and Democratic leaners to be following the election at least
news at equal rates
% who say they have been very/
fairly closely in April and July, the two parties are now about
fairly closely following news about
equally likely to say they are following news about the candidates for the presidential
candidates very or fairly closely (70% vs. 71%, respectively). election

The July survey was conducted July 1-7, before Biden


announced his withdrawal as the Democratic candidate on July
21. On Aug. 5, Vice President Kamala Harris was confirmed as
his replacement.

Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted


Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

www.pewresearch.org
14
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Older Americans are paying much closer attention to election


news than are younger adults, mirroring patterns in overall Older Americans more
attention to news. About half of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 (53%) likely to be following
say they are following news about the candidates at least fairly election news closely
closely, compared with 85% of those ages 65 and older. And % who say they have been very/
fairly closely following news about
older adults are nearly four times as likely as Americans under candidates for the 2024 presidential
30 to say they’re following election news very closely (46% vs. election
12%).
All U.S. adults 69%

Men 75
Women 63

Ages 18-29 53
30-49 60
50-64 78
65+ 85

H.S. or less 61
Some college 69
College+ 76

White 75
Black 60
Hispanic 57
Asian* 58

* Estimates for Asian adults are


representative of English speakers only.
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include
those who report being only one race and
are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any
race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted
Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

www.pewresearch.org
15
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

In a 2024 presidential
The election-related events and people Americans
campaign season that has seen
have heard about most
a number of major and
% of U.S. adults who have heard or read ___ about …
dramatic events, three of them
stand out in terms of the A lot A little
public’s exposure to that news. Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden
70% 25%
as the Democratic candidate

Fully 70% of U.S. adults say The attempted assassination


of Donald Trump in July 66 29
they have heard or read a lot
The debate between Kamala Harris
about Harris replacing Biden as and Donald Trump
64 30
the Democratic presidential
JD Vance, Trump’s vice
candidate. presidential candidate 36 47

Tim Walz, Harris’ vice


Close behind is the July 13 32 47
presidential candidate
assassination attempt on The Democratic National
29 45
former President Donald Convention in August
Trump during a Pennsylvania The Republican National
24 49
rally, with 66% saying they Convention in July
Former independent candidate
have heard a lot about that. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 22 55
(The survey questions were endorsing Donald Trump
finalized before the second Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
assassination attempt on
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Trump in September.)

Finally, reinforcing reports of a large viewing audience, 64% of Americans say they heard a lot
about the Sept. 10 ABC debate between Trump and Harris.

Much smaller shares say they have heard or read a lot about several other topics mentioned in the
survey. These include the vice presidential candidates, Republican JD Vance (36%) and Democrat
Tim Walz (32%); the Democratic (29%) and Republican (24%) National Conventions; and third-
party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsing Trump when he withdrew from the race (22%).

Still, large majorities say they have heard at least a little about each of these topics.

www.pewresearch.org
16
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Similar shares of the two


parties say they have heard or Partisan differences in exposure to recent campaign
read a lot about the first stories
attempted assassination of % who have heard or read a lot about …

Trump in July. But on each Rep/Lean Rep Dem/Lean Dem


other campaign topic measured
Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden 67%
by the survey, there are
as the Democratic candidate 76%
partisan differences in how
The attempted assassination 69
much people have heard. of Donald Trump in July 67

The debate between Kamala Harris 58


For instance, Democrats are and Donald Trump 72
more likely than Republicans
JD Vance, Trump’s vice 34
to say they have heard or read a presidential candidate 41
lot about Harris replacing
Tim Walz, Harris’ vice 25
Biden as the nominee (76% vs. presidential candidate 41
67%). And the gap is larger
The Democratic National 21
when it comes to the debate Convention in August 40
between Harris and Trump, The Republican National 29
with 72% of Democrats saying Convention in July 20
they heard a lot about it, Former independent candidate 27
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
compared with 58% of endorsing Donald Trump 19
Republicans. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”

Democrats also are more likely PEW RESEARCH CENTER

than Republicans to have heard


a lot about not only Walz (41% vs. 25%) but also Vance (41% vs. 34%).

Four-in-ten Democrats say they heard or read a lot about the Democratic National Convention,
compared with 21% of Republicans who say the same. Republicans are more likely than Democrats
to say they heard a lot about the Republican National Convention, but the gap is smaller (29% vs.
20%).

Republicans are modestly more likely than Democrats to say they have heard or read a lot about
Kennedy endorsing Trump when he dropped out of the race (27% vs. 19%).

www.pewresearch.org
17
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

The survey asked respondents


what kinds of news about the Americans most often see news about actions on the
presidential candidates they presidential campaign trail, though they are most
are most interested in seeing.
interested in their stances on issues

▪ Topping the list is news


about the candidates’
stances on issues, with
75% of U.S. adults saying
they are extremely or very
interested in this.
▪ 60% are extremely or very
interested in the
candidates’ moral
characters.
▪ About half are highly
interested in the
candidates’ career
experiences and their
actions and comments
on the campaign trail
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
(49% each). “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
▪ 42% express high levels of PEW RESEARCH CENTER
interest in who is leading
the race.
▪ And trailing far behind, only 14% say they are extremely or very interested in the candidates’
personal lives.

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are considerably more likely than Republicans
and GOP leaners to be highly interested in the candidates’ moral characters (69% vs. 52%).

The survey also asked which of these six types of election news Americans see most often, and the
top areas of interest for Americans do not always line up with what they are actually seeing the
most news about.

By far, the leading topic seen by Americans is news about the candidates’ actions and
comments on the campaign trail: 40% say they see the most news about this, even though it
is not among the top two topics in terms of interest.

www.pewresearch.org
18
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Smaller shares say they see the most news about the candidates’ stances on issues (17%), the
candidates’ moral characters (14%) or the political horse race (13%). Just 8% say the most
common type of election news they see involves the candidates’ personal lives, while 3% most
often see news about the candidates’ career experiences.

www.pewresearch.org
19
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

2. Where Americans turn for election news


There is no single platform or pathway that
TV is Americans’ most common platform
most Americans use as their primary way to get
for political news, followed by news
news about the election. websites and social media
% of U.S. adults who say ___ is the most common way
About a third of U.S. adults say television is the they get political and election news
most common way they get political and
election news (35%), while roughly one-in-five Television 35%
each most commonly get it from news websites
or apps (21%) or social media (20%). News websites or apps 21

Social media 20
Smaller shares turn primarily to search engines
Search through Google
like Google (8%) or to radio or podcasts (5% 8
or other search engines
each). And just 3% of U.S. adults say print Radio 5
newspapers or magazines are their most
Podcasts 5
common way of getting election news.
Print newspapers
3
or magazines

Some other way 4

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.


Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

www.pewresearch.org
20
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

The platforms Americans use for election news differ by age


Different age groups turn to these platforms at
drastically different rates. Older adults far more likely to name TV
as their main source for election news
Almost half of U.S. adults under 30 % of U.S. adults who say ___ is the most common way
they get political and election news, by age
(46%) most commonly use social media
for political news. This is twice the share of Ages 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+
30- to 49-year-olds who say the same (23%).
10%
And it far surpasses the small shares of those 23%
Television 44%
ages 50 to 64 (7%) and 65 and older (3%) who 63%
primarily use social media in this way. 18
News websites 24
or apps 24
Older adults are far more likely than 15
their younger counterparts to say TV is 46
23
their most common way of getting Social media
7
political news. TV is the most common 3

source of political news for the majority of Search through 12


Google or other 10
Americans ages 65 or older (63%). By search engines 7
3
comparison, just one-in-ten adults under 30 say
2
TV is their primary source for this type of news. 6
Radio 7
5
Americans ages 30 to 49 have the most 6
varied habits when it comes to election Podcasts 6
4
news. People in this group are about equally 2
likely to say they get most of their election news 2
Print newspapers 2
from TV (23%), social media (23%) and news or magazines 2
websites or apps (24%). 5

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer or who said “Some
Republicans and Democrats are mostly similar other way” are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
in which platforms they use for political news. “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
For example, about a third of Republicans and PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Republican leaners get political news from
television (34%), identical to the share of
Democrats and Democratic leaners who say the same.

www.pewresearch.org
21
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

The survey also asked


respondents whether they use
Little change in how Americans use specific outlets
for election news since 2020
eight specific news outlets (or
% of U.S. adults who use each of the following as a ____ of political and
groups of outlets) as major or election news
minor sources of political and
Sep ’24 Sep ’20
election news. For most of
Major Minor
these outlets, the share of source source NET
Americans who use each for ABC, CBS or NBC
30% 37% 68%
32% 37% 69%
political news has remained
largely steady since we last 21 33 53
CNN
asked these questions ahead of 20 34 53

the 2020 election. 22 28 50


Fox News
21 28 49
Network television news
12 28 41
remains the most widely used MSNBC
13 28 41
of these sources: 68% of
12 26 38
Americans say ABC, CBS or The New York Times
14 28 42
NBC is at least a minor source
for election news, including NPR
12 22 34
15 22 37
three-in-ten who name this as a
major source. 8 24 32
The Washington Post
11 28 39

About half of U.S. adults use Conservative talk radio,


8 19 27
such as Sean Hannity
CNN (53%) or Fox News (50%) or Mark Levin 10 17 27
as a major or minor source of
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
political news, while about “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
four-in-ten say the same about PEW RESEARCH CENTER
MSNBC (41%).

Both The New York Times (38%) and The Washington Post (32%) remain sources of election news
for many Americans, although the shares who turn to these traditional newspapers have declined
modestly since 2020 (from 42% and 39%, respectively).

About a third of Americans name NPR (34%) as at least a minor source of election news, while
27% use conservative talk radio, such as Sean Hannity or Mark Levin (27%). The share who cite

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talk radio as at least a minor source of election news is identical to 2020, when the question
named Rush Limbaugh as an example before his death in 2021.

How election news sources differ by political party


Republicans and Democrats
differ substantially in the rates Republicans and Democrats differ in shares who use
that they use all eight major several major news outlets for political news
news brands our survey asked % who use each of the following as a major/minor source of political and
election news
about to get political and
election news. Rep/Lean Rep Dem/Lean Dem

Two of these sources – Fox 54%


ABC, CBS or NBC
82%
News and conservative talk
radio – are much more 35
CNN
72
commonly used by
Republicans. For example, 69
Fox News
32
while 69% of Republicans say
Fox News is at least a minor 26
MSNBC
56
source of political and election
news for them, only 32% of 24
The New York Times
53
Democrats say the same.
21
NPR
48
But Democrats are more likely
22
than Republicans to use each of The Washington Post
45
the other six sources, ranging
Conservative talk radio,
42
from cable networks like CNN such as Sean Hannity
or Mark Levin 14
and MSNBC to network TV
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
channels, legacy newspapers “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
and NPR. PEW RESEARCH CENTER

For instance, 48% of


Democrats say they use NPR as a major or minor source of election news, compared with 21% of
Republicans.

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Age differences within the parties


Younger Republicans are less
likely than their older GOP Within each party, younger adults turn to different
counterparts to say they use outlets for election news than older adults
both Fox News and talk radio % who use each of the following as a major/minor source of political and
election news
as sources for political and
election news.

For example, about six-in-ten


Republicans under 30 (58%)
say Fox News is at least a
minor source of election news
for them, compared with
almost eight-in-ten
Republicans ages 65 or older
(79%) who say the same.

By contrast, younger
Republicans are more likely
than older Republicans to use
several other sources, including
The New York Times, The
Washington Post and CNN.

Younger Democrats also are


more likely than older
Democrats to use The New
York Times and The
Washington Post as major or Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
minor sources of political news
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
during this election year. For
instance, two-thirds of
Democrats under 30 say they use The New York Times, compared with just 38% of Democrats
ages 65 and older.

Compared with their elders, younger Democrats are less likely to use the network TV stations or
MSNBC as sources of election news – in line with the broader pattern that older Americans are

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more likely to name TV as their most common source for such news. But Democrats of different
age groups use CNN as a source of election news at nearly identical rates.

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3. How Americans feel about election coverage


There is no consensus among Americans about
About 4 in 10 Americans say they can
how easy it is to find reliable information about
easily find reliable election information
the presidential election.
% of U.S. adults who say it has been ___ to find reliable
information about the 2024 presidential election
About four-in-ten U.S. adults (39%) say it has
Very/Somewhat Neither easy Very/Somewhat
been very or somewhat easy to find reliable easy nor difficult difficult
information about the 2024 presidential
39% 32 28
election, somewhat larger than the share who
have found it very or somewhat difficult (28%). Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
An additional 32% say it has been neither easy Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
nor difficult.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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By party and ideology


Democrats are much more
likely than Republicans to say Republicans – especially conservatives – are more
likely to say it’s hard to find reliable election news
finding reliable information
% who say it has been ___ to find reliable information about the 2024
has been easy, while
presidential election
Republicans are more inclined
to say it’s been difficult. Very/Somewhat Neither easy Very/Somewhat
easy nor difficult difficult

Rep/Lean Rep 29% 31% 39%


Around half of Democrats and
independents who lean Dem/Lean Dem 52 30 18
Democratic (52%) say it’s been
very or somewhat easy to find
reliable information about the Conserv Rep 31 27 42
2024 election, compared with Mod/Lib Rep 27 38 35
29% of Republicans and
Conserv/Mod Dem 44 36 20
Republican leaners who say the
same. Liberal Dem 62 24 14

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.


On the other hand, Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
Republicans are about twice as “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
likely as Democrats to say it’s
been at least somewhat difficult
to find reliable election information (39% vs. 18%).

In both parties, views differ by ideology:

▪ Conservative Republicans are slightly more likely than Republicans who describe themselves
as moderate or liberal to say it’s been difficult to find reliable information (42% vs. 35%).
▪ Liberal Democrats are more likely than conservative or moderate Democrats to say that
finding reliable information has been easy (62% vs. 44%).

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A majority of Americans (58%) think the news


Little change in Americans’ views of
media have covered the 2024 election well,
election coverage since 2020
including 13% who think they have covered it
% of U.S. adults who say the news media have covered
very well. On the other hand, 41% say the news the presidential election …
media have done not too (26%) or not at all
(15%) well covering the presidential race. Very Somewhat Not too Not at
well well well all well

Sep ’24 13% 45% 26% 15%


Americans’ views on campaign media coverage
were almost identical at the same point in the
Sep ’20 12 46 27 14
2020 election cycle.
Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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By party
As in 2020, Republicans are much more critical
Republicans are more critical of news
of election coverage than Democrats. Six-in-ten
media coverage of the election
Republicans say the news media have not
% who say the news media have covered the presidential
covered the 2024 presidential campaign well, election …
compared with just 22% of Democrats who hold
this view. Among Among
Rep/Lean Rep Dem/Lean Dem

18 21
And among Republicans, conservatives (69%)
are much more likely than those who identify as 5% 6
Very well
moderate or liberal (47%) to think the news 58 56
Somewhat well 34% 33
media are not doing a good job covering the
2024 election.
19 19
Not too well 36% 34
5 3

Not at all well 24% 26

Sep ’20 Sep ’24 Sep ’20 Sep ’24

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.


Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Within each party, responses differ by age


Young Republicans rate the media’s
group. Among Republicans, those under 30 are
election coverage more highly than do
more likely than older adults to say that the older Republicans
media are doing at least somewhat well: 51%
% who say the news media have covered the 2024
say this, versus 42% of those ages 30 to 49 and presidential election very/somewhat well
about a third of those ages 50 and older.
Rep/Lean Rep

Among Democrats, the opposite is true: Adults Ages 18-29 51%

under 30 are less likely than their elders to say 30-49 42

the news media are covering the election well, 50-64 32

though a 69% majority still say this. 65+ 35


Dem/Lean Dem
Ages 18-29 69
30-49 74
50-64 81
65+ 87

Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.


“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Americans’ views of news sources they turn to most for election news
Americans are much more positive in their
assessments of the sources they turn to most Most Americans think their own news
often for news about the presidential election sources cover the election well
than they are about the news media as a whole. % of U.S. adults who say the news sources they turn
to most often have covered the presidential election …
Not Not
Around eight-in-ten U.S. adults (81%) say the Very Somewhat too at all
news sources they turn to most often have well well well well
covered the 2024 election very (27%) or Sep ’24 27% 54% 15% 3%
somewhat (54%) well. Far fewer say their go-to
sources have covered the presidential election Oct ’20 30 53 12 4

not too (15%) or not at all (3%) well.


Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
Americans held similar views about 2020 “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”

election coverage by their most common news PEW RESEARCH CENTER

sources.

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By party
Even when it comes to the news sources they
Democrats more likely to say their go-to
use most often, Republicans are twice as likely
sources are covering the election well
as Democrats to say these sources have not
% who say the news sources they turn to most
covered the 2024 election well (22% vs. 11%). often have covered the 2024 presidential election …
Not Not
But Republicans see their own main sources of Very Somewhat too at all
well well well well
election news in a much more positive light
Rep/Lean
23% 55% 18% 4%
than the news media in general. The vast Rep
majority of both Republicans (77%) and Dem/Lean
33 55 10 1
Democrats (87%) say their most-used news Dem

sources have covered this election cycle at least Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
somewhat well. “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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A majority of Americans (59%) say they are


Most Americans feel worn out by
worn out by so much coverage of the 2024
election news, similar to previous years
presidential election. This figure has been
% of U.S. adults who say …
roughly consistent since we first asked this
question in 2016.
I feel worn out by so much coverage
of the campaign and candidates
Meanwhile, about four-in-ten say they like 62
59% 61 59
seeing a lot of coverage of the campaign and
candidates. Similar to when this question was
39% 37 39
asked in the spring, those who are following the 35
election more closely are more likely to say that
they like seeing a lot of coverage of the I like seeing a lot of coverage of
campaign and candidates. the campaign and candidates

Jul Oct Apr Sep


’16 ’20 ’24 ’24
Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Republicans and Democrats agree on this: 59%


Similar shares of Republicans,
of Americans in each party say they feel worn
Democrats feel worn out by election
out by so much coverage of the campaign and coverage
candidates.
% who say they feel worn out by so much coverage of
the campaign and candidates, by party
This is a change from April, before President
Joe Biden withdrew from the race. At that time,
Democrats were slightly more likely than
Republicans to say they felt worn out by so
much election coverage (66% vs. 58%).

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.


Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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4. Accuracy of election news


Most U.S. adults (73%) say they see inaccurate
About three-quarters of Americans say
election news at least somewhat often,
they see inaccurate election news at
including 37% who say they see this extremely least somewhat often
or very often. Only 3% of Americans say they
% of U.S. adults who say they have seen inaccurate news
don’t see inaccurate news about the election at about the 2024 presidential election …
all.
Extremely Very Somewhat Not too Not
often often often often at all
By party
14% 23 36 22 3
Republicans and independents who lean toward
the Republican Party are about twice as likely as Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
Democrats and Democratic leaners to say they “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
come across inaccurate election news extremely PEW RESEARCH CENTER
or very often (51% vs. 24%). Meanwhile, about a
third of Democrats (36%) say they see
inaccurate election news not too often or not at Republicans more likely to report seeing
all, while just 14% of Republicans say the same. inaccurate info about the election
% who say they have seen inaccurate news about the
Conservative Republicans are more likely than 2024 presidential election …
Republicans who describe themselves as Not too
Extremely/ Somewhat often/
moderate or liberal to report seeing inaccurate Very often often Not at all
news coverage about the election extremely or Rep/Lean Rep 51% 34% 14%
very often (60% vs. 37%).
Dem/Lean Dem 24 38 36

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.


Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Hearing inaccurate election news in conversation


News coverage is not the only place where
Americans are seeing or hearing information
58% of U.S. adults say they’ve heard
people share inaccurate election info in
about the presidential election that they
conversation at least somewhat often
consider inaccurate. About six-in-ten U.S.
% of U.S. adults who say they have heard people share
adults (58%) say they hear people share inaccurate information in conversations about the 2024
inaccurate information about the election in presidential election …
conversation at least somewhat often, including Do not
27% who hear this extremely or very often. Extremely/ Somewhat Not too often/ discuss the
Very often often Not at all election

27% 31 25 17
There are not substantial differences between
the two major political parties on this question.
Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Accuracy of news from primary sources


Just 10% of U.S. adults report seeing inaccurate
Relatively few Americans report seeing
news coverage from their most-used sources
inaccurate election news from their
extremely or very often, and 25% say they see sources often
this somewhat often.
% of U.S. adults who say they have seen inaccurate news
about the 2024 presidential election ___ from the news
A majority (63%) say they have not seen sources they turn to most often
inaccurate news coverage of the election often
Extremely/ Somewhat Not too often/
or at all from their most commonly used Very often often Not at all
sources. 10% 25 63

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.


By party
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
say they see inaccurate election news from the
sources they turn to most often. Still, fewer
than half of Republicans (42%) say they see this
More Republicans than Democrats
at least somewhat often, including just 14% who
report seeing inaccurate election info
say they extremely or very often see inaccurate
from their most-used sources
election coverage from their primary sources.
% who say they have seen inaccurate news about the
2024 presidential election ___ from the news sources
they turn to most often

Extremely/ Somewhat Not too often/


Very often often Not at all

Rep/Lean Rep 14% 28% 57%

Dem/Lean Dem 8 21 70

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.


Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Americans are split over how


easy it is to discern what’s true About half of Americans say it’s hard to determine
about the presidential what is true or not when getting election news
campaign. % of U.S. adults who say they generally find it ___ when getting news and
information about the presidential campaign and candidates

Around half (52%) say they Difficult to determine what Easy to determine what
generally find it difficult to is true and what is not is true and what is not
determine whether election
Sep ’24 52% 47%
news is true or not, slightly
more than the share who find it
Oct ’20 55 45
easy to determine (47%).
Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
These numbers are similar to Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
“Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
the last time we asked this PEW RESEARCH CENTER
question in October 2020,
when 55% of U.S. adults said it
was difficult to distinguish truth from fiction.

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By party and ideology


Just as they are more likely to report seeing
Most liberal Democrats think it’s easy
inaccurate information about the election,
to determine truth from fiction when it
Republicans also are more likely to say they comes to election news
find it tough to know what is true.
% who say they generally find it ___ when getting news
and information about the presidential campaign and
Most Republicans (61%) say it is difficult to candidates
determine what is true and what is not,
Difficult to Easy to determine
compared with 42% of Democrats who express determine what is what is true and
true and what is not what is not
this view. A majority of Democrats (58%) say
they find it easy to distinguish truth from Rep/Lean Rep 61% 38%
fiction when it comes to election news. Dem/Lean Dem 42 58

Views also vary within each party by ideology:


Conserv Rep 58 42
▪ Moderate or liberal Republicans are more Mod/Lib Rep 68 32
likely than conservative Republicans to say
Conserv/Mod Dem 50 50
it’s difficult to determine whether election-
related information is true or not. Liberal Dem 31 69
▪ Among Democrats, liberals are especially
Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
likely to find it easy to sort out truth from Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 16-22, 2024.
fiction. “Americans’ Views of 2024 Election News”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Acknowledgments
Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This is the
latest report in Pew Research Center’s ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and
journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with
generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. This report is a collaborative
effort based on the input and analysis of the Center’s news and information research team, politics
research team, methods, communications, design, digital and editorial teams. Find related reports
online at pewresearch.org/topic/news-habits-media/.

Research
Elisa Shearer, Senior Researcher
Michael Lipka, Associate Director, News and Information Research
Sarah Naseer, Research Analyst
Emily Tomasik, Research Assistant
Mark Jurkowitz, Senior Writer
Katerina Eva Matsa, Director, News and Information Research
Carroll Doherty, Director, Political Research
Kirsten Eddy, Senior Researcher
Luxuan Wang, Research Associate
Jacob Liedke, Research Analyst

Editorial and Graphic Design


Rebecca Leppert, Copy Editor
Kaitlyn Radde, Associate Information Graphics Designer
Peter Bell, Associate Director, Design and Production
Andrea Caumont, Associate Director, Digital Outreach

Communications and Web Publishing


Sogand Afkari, Communications Manager
Mithila Samak, Communications Associate
Justine Coleman, Associate Digital Producer

In addition, the project benefited greatly from the guidance of the Pew Research Center
methodology team: Courtney Kennedy, Andrew Mercer, Ashley Amaya, Dorene Asare-Marfo,
Dana Popky, Anna Brown and Arnold Lau.

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Methodology

Overview
Data in this report comes from Wave 155 of the American Trends Panel (ATP), Pew Research
Center’s nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults. The survey was
conducted from Sept. 16 to 22, 2024. A total of 9,680 panelists responded out of 10,627 who were
sampled, for a survey-level response rate of 91%.

The cumulative response rate accounting for nonresponse to the recruitment surveys and attrition
is 3%. The break-off rate among panelists who logged on to the survey and completed at least one
item is 1%. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 9,680 respondents is plus or minus
1.3 percentage points.

SSRS conducted the survey for Pew Research Center via online (n=9,391) and live telephone
(n=289) interviewing. Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish.

To learn more about the ATP, read “About the American Trends Panel.”

Panel recruitment
Since 2018, the ATP has used address-based sampling (ABS) for recruitment. A study cover letter
and a pre-incentive are mailed to a stratified, random sample of households selected from the U.S.
Postal Service’s Computerized Delivery Sequence File. This Postal Service file has been estimated
to cover 90% to 98% of the population.1 Within each sampled household, the adult with the next
birthday is selected to participate. Other details of the ABS recruitment protocol have changed
over time but are available upon request.2 Prior to 2018, the ATP was recruited using landline and
cellphone random-digit-dial surveys administered in English and Spanish.

A national sample of U.S. adults has been recruited to the ATP approximately once per year since
2014. In some years, the recruitment has included additional efforts (known as an “oversample”)
to improve the accuracy of data for underrepresented groups. For example, Hispanic adults, Black
adults and Asian adults were oversampled in 2019, 2022 and 2023, respectively.

1 AAPOR Task Force on Address-based Sampling. 2016. “AAPOR Report: Address-based Sampling.”
2 Email pewsurveys@pewresearch.org.

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Sample design
The overall target population for this survey was noninstitutionalized persons ages 18 and older
living in the United States. All active panel members were invited to participate in this wave.

Questionnaire development and testing


The questionnaire was developed by Pew Research Center in consultation with SSRS. The web
program used for online respondents was rigorously tested on both PC and mobile devices by the
SSRS project team and Pew Research Center researchers. The SSRS project team also populated
test data that was analyzed in SPSS to ensure the logic and randomizations were working as
intended before launching the survey.

Incentives
All respondents were offered a post-paid incentive for their participation. Respondents could
choose to receive the post-paid incentive in the form of a check or gift code to Amazon.com,
Target.com or Walmart.com. Incentive amounts ranged from $5 to $15 depending on whether the
respondent belongs to a part of the population that is harder or easier to reach. Differential
incentive amounts were designed to increase panel survey participation among groups that
traditionally have low survey response propensities.

Data collection protocol


The data collection field period for this survey was Sept. 16-22, 2024. Surveys were conducted via
self-administered web survey or by live telephone interviewing.

For panelists who take surveys online: Postcard notifications were mailed to a subset on
Sept. 16.3 Survey invitations were sent out in two separate launches: soft launch and full launch.
Sixty panelists were included in the soft launch, which began with an initial invitation sent on
Sept. 16. All remaining English- and Spanish-speaking sampled online panelists were included in
the full launch and were sent an invitation on Sept. 17.

3 The ATP does not use routers or chains in any part of its online data collection protocol, nor are they used to direct respondents to additional
surveys. Postcard notifications for web panelists are sent to 1) panelists who were recruited within the last two years and 2) panelists
recruited prior to the last two years who opt to continue receiving postcard notifications.

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Invitation and reminder dates for web respondents,


ATP Wave 155
Soft launch Full launch
Initial invitation Sept. 16, 2024 Sept. 17, 2024
First reminder Sept. 19, 2024 Sept. 19, 2024
Final reminder Sept. 21, 2024 Sept. 21, 2024
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Panelists participating online were sent an email invitation and up to two email reminders if they
did not respond to the survey. ATP panelists who consented to SMS messages were sent an SMS
invitation with a link to the survey and up to two SMS reminders.

For panelists who take surveys over the phone with a live interviewer: Prenotification
postcards were mailed on Sept. 11, and reminder postcards were mailed on Sept. 16. Soft launch
took place on Sept. 16 and involved dialing until a total of four interviews had been completed. All
remaining English- and Spanish-speaking sampled phone panelists’ numbers were dialed
throughout the remaining field period. Panelists who take surveys via phone can receive up to six
calls from trained SSRS interviewers.

Data quality checks


To ensure high-quality data, Center researchers performed data quality checks to identify any
respondents showing patterns of satisficing. This includes checking for whether respondents left
questions blank at very high rates or always selected the first or last answer presented. As a result
of this checking, eight ATP respondents were removed from the survey dataset prior to weighting
and analysis.

Weighting
The ATP data is weighted in a process that accounts for multiple stages of sampling and
nonresponse that occur at different points in the panel survey process. First, each panelist begins
with a base weight that reflects their probability of recruitment into the panel. These weights are
then calibrated to align with the population benchmarks in the accompanying table to correct for
nonresponse to recruitment surveys and panel attrition. If only a subsample of panelists was
invited to participate in the wave, this weight is adjusted to account for any differential
probabilities of selection.

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Among the panelists who completed the survey, this weight is then calibrated again to align with
the population benchmarks identified in the accompanying table and trimmed at the 1st and 99th
percentiles to reduce the loss in precision stemming from variance in the weights. Sampling errors
and tests of statistical significance take into account the effect of weighting.

American Trends Panel weighting dimensions


Variable Benchmark source
Age (detailed) 2022 American Community Survey
Age x Gender (ACS)
Education x Gender
Education x Age
Race/Ethnicity x Education
Race/Ethnicity x Gender
Black (alone or in combination) x Hispanic
Born inside vs. outside the U.S. among
Hispanics and Asian Americans
Years lived in the U.S.
Census region x Metropolitan status
Volunteerism 2021 CPS Volunteering & Civic Life
Supplement
Voter registration 2020 CPS Voting and Registration
Supplement
Frequency of internet use 2024 National Public Opinion
Religious affiliation Reference Survey (NPORS)
Party affiliation x Race/Ethnicity
Party affiliation among registered voters

Note: Estimates from the ACS are based on noninstitutionalized adults. Voter registration is
calculated using procedures from Hur, Achen (2013) and rescaled to include the total U.S.
adult population.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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The following table shows the unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that
would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey.

Sample sizes and margins of error, ATP Wave 155


Unweighted
Group sample size Plus or minus …
Total sample 9,680 1.3 percentage points
Rep/Lean Rep 4,483 1.9 percentage points
Dem/Lean Dem 4,992 1.9 percentage points
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request. In addition to
sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in
conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

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Dispositions and response rates

Final dispositions, ATP Wave 155


AAPOR code Total
Completed interview 1.1 9,680
Logged in (web) / Contacted (CATI), but did not complete any items 2.11 159
Started survey; broke off before completion 2.12 67
Never logged on (web) / Never reached on phone (CATI) 2.20 713
Survey completed after close of the field period 2.27 0
Other non-interview 2.30 0
Completed interview but was removed for data quality 2.90 8
Total panelists sampled for the survey 10,627
Completed interviews I 9,680
Partial interviews P 0
Refusals R 226
Non-contact NC 713
Other O 8
Unknown household UH 0
Unknown other UO 0
Not eligible NE 0
Total 10,627
AAPOR RR1 = I / (I+P+R+NC+O+UH+UO) 91%

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Cumulative response rate, ATP Wave 155


Total
Weighted response rate to recruitment surveys 11%
% of recruitment survey respondents who agreed to join the
panel, among those invited 73%
% of those agreeing to join who were active panelists at start of
Wave 155 35%

Response rate to Wave 155 survey 91%


Cumulative response rate 3%
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

© Pew Research Center 2024

www.pewresearch.org

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