Dutch mainly relying on traditional media for coronavirus information

Netherlands residents are mainly looking to traditional media and news websites to get information about the coronavirus, according to a study by the University of Amsterdam and research agency Flycatcher among a representative group of 977 Dutch. Search engines, health sites and social media are used much less for information about Covid-19, the researchers found, RTL Nieuws reports.

Researcher Fam te Poel called it striking that people are mainly turning to traditional media - television news programs and online and physical newspapers - to get their information. "People usually start their own research via Google, and that way they get to unreliable information faster. Now you don't see that at all," she said.

A quarter of respondents said that they often search for information on official sites, like the RIVM website or the national government site. Half said that they find the information sometimes contradictory or unclear - with the emphasis on "sometimes", Te Poel said. "Half of Dutch people often find the information about the coronavirus reliable."