Most used sources of coronavirus news and information worldwide 2020, by country

According to a study conducted in March 2020, the most used sources of news and information regarding the coronavirus among news consumers worldwide were major news organizations, with 64 percent of respondents sayng that they got most of their information about the virus from larger news companies. The study also showed that social media was a popular news source for COVID-19 updates in several countries around the world. Despite social networking sites being the least trusted media source worldwide, for many consumers social media was a more popular source of information for updates on the coronavirus pandemic than global health organizations like the WHO or National health authorities like the CDC, particularly in Japan, South Africa, and Brazil.

Government sources also varied in popularity among consumers in different parts of the world. Whilst 63 percent of Italian respondents relied mostly on national government sources, just 22 percent of UK news consumers did the same, preferring to get their updates from larger organizations. Similarly, twice as many Italians used local government sources to keep up to date than adults in the United Kingdom, and U.S. consumers were also less likely to rely on news from the government.