UK comms regulator Ofcom has published its latest weekly research on how Britons are receiving and acting on news and information during the current Coronavirus pandemic.

The report summarises the findings from week four of the ‘lockdown’, including how people’s experiences and behaviour has changed since the previous weeks. The research shows, among other things, that:

• people are not accessing news and information about Covid-19 as frequently; 12 per cent of people now access news about the virus at least 20 times a day, compared with a quarter (24 per cent) in week one;
• more people (30 per cent) are actively seeking to avoid news about the pandemic, up from 22 per cent in week one;
• 44 per cent of people have come across false or misleading information about Covid-19, in line with week one. False claims linking 5G to the outbreak remain the most commonly seen pieces of misinformation (51 per cent); and
• virtually all respondents continue to say they are closely following the official advice about practising social distancing (98 per cent), only going outside for essential things (97 per cent) and washing hands regularly (92 per cent).

The next wave of the research, covering week five of the ‘lockdown’, will be published on Tuesday May 5th 2020.

Other posts by Colin Mann:

1. Analysis: SVoDs drive $220bn content spend
2. A TikToking clock heading towards regeneration – or not?
3. European pay-radio: Getting ready

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Research