Public approval ratings of COVID-19 media coverage are declining as the pandemic wears on and debates over vaccinations, vaccine passports, and face mask mandates continue.
In fact, there has been an 8-point decline in the public view of the media's handling of the pandemic since the last month of the Trump administration.
Just 14% of American adults rate the media's COVID-19 coverage excellent, and another 28% rate the media coverage of the ongoing pandemic as good, giving a combined 42% positive view of media's handling of the COVID-19 crisis, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports poll.
That number is an 8-point decline from the 50% of American adults who gave at least a good review of pandemic media coverage during the last full month of the Trump administration.
A plurality of adults see media's COVID-19 coverage as poor (29%), according to the poll's topline results.
There is a no agreement on whether the media is exaggerating the threat of the coronavirus in that 44% of American adults say "yes" and 44% say "no," while 12% are unsure.
There is a large portion of American adults – albeit still short of a majority (44%) – that the "media [is] reporting accurately about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines." Just 38% say "no" when asked that question, while 16% are "not sure."
While many have concerns about the accuracy of reporting on vaccine safety, a majority of American adults (53%) are still tuning in "very closely" to the media coverage of the pandemic. Another 31% are following "somewhat closely," meaning 84% are at least somewhat closely tuned in.
Just 10% are "not very closely" following the coverage, while just 4% are not at all, and 2% are not sure.
The Rasmussen Reports poll surveyed 1,000 American adults July 21-22, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.