Trump-supporting states have increased their coronavirus Google searches, but polls show Republicans remain less concerned

(Image credit: TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images))

published 16 March 2020

Googling coronavirus appears to have become much less partisan, The Washington Post reports.

During the period between Feb. 13 and March 13, there was a noticeable correlation between a state's support for President Trump and the number of Google searches for "coronavirus" among its residents. Blue states were searching the term twice as much as red states, reports the Post.

That seemingly has something to do with Trump's initial response to the pandemic, which was criticized as too casual. As a result, "Republicans have consistently been much less concerned about the coronavirus than Democrats," writes the Post. However, it's worth noting that, political views aside, two of the states with the highest number of searches — Washington and New York — have the largest counts of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox