As you’ve probably figured out by now, not all news sources are reliable. A recent survey of New Jersey voters found that those who get their headlines from Sunday public affairs shows, national newspapers, NPR or cable shows like The Daily Show were more likely to respond correctly when asked about current events of the last year. Startlingly, Fox News viewers were 18 percent less likely to answer correctly than those who watched no news at all …
From Los Angeles Times:
Fairleigh Dickinson University recently questioned 612 adults in NewJersey about how they get their news, offering as options traditionaloutlets like newspapers and local and national television news, orblogs, websites and even Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show."
They then asked a series offactual questions about the major events of the last year, from the"Arab Spring" to the Republican race for president.
For example, respondents were first asked whether, to the best of theirknowledge, opposition groups in Egypt had been successful in bringingdown the Mubarak regime.
Among NPR listeners, 68% correctly said they had been; only 49% of Fox News viewers answered correctly. In fact, the survey found, Fox viewers were 18 percentage points less likely to answer correctly than those who watched no news at all.