Climate Change: Liberal Media Viewers Think We’re Doomed

Most viewers of MSNBC and CNN believe climate change could doom mankind to extinction within 100 years, and viewers of those networks are also likely to overestimate the amount of global warming that has already occurred.

A new Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 54% of Likely U.S. Voters who say MSNBC is their favorite cable news outlet, and 53% of those who say CNN is their favorite, believe if global carbon-dioxide emissions continue to increase at a rate comparable to what occurred during the past decade, humans would become completely or nearly extinct within 100 years due to climate change. By contrast, only 25% of Fox News viewers believe climate change could make humans extinct within 100 years. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

When it comes to the amount of global warming that has already happened, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the Earth’s average surface temperature has increased by about 2.1°F (1.2°C) since the late 1800s. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters correctly answered that the range of measured global warming is between one degree and three degrees Fahrenheit. Fourteen percent (14%) underestimated (less than one degree), while 27% overestimated it as being between three and five degrees, 14% said it was between five degrees and 10 degrees, and eight percent (8%) believed the amount of global warming since the late 1800s was more than 10 degrees.

Among voters who say Fox News is their favorite cable-news channel 41% answered correctly about the amount of measured global warming since the 1800s, as did 30% of MSNBC and CNN viewers. But while Fox News viewers were more likely to underestimate the amount of global warming, a majority of MSNBC and CNN viewers overestimated it. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of MSNBC viewers and 65% of CNN viewers believe global temperature has increased three degrees or more since the late 1800s, compared to 38% of Fox viewers who overestimated the amount of global warming. Thirty percent (30%) of MSNBC and CNN viewers believed temperatures have increased at least five degrees, compared to just 16% of Fox News viewers who believe the same.

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The survey of 2,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on April 29-May 3, 2021 by the Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

The Heartland/Rasmussen survey also asked voters about their viewing preferences for major network news and other media outlets, including online streaming services.

“There is a strong correlation between a likely voter’s favorite television news outlet and his or her understanding of basic facts about climate change,” Justin Haskins of the Heartland Institute observed in an analysis. “Respondents who don’t watch cable news and viewers of Fox News or ‘another’ outlet (such as The Blaze TV or Newsmax) were more likely to correctly estimate the amount of warming that has occurred since the late 1800s. More than four in 10 of the respondents in these three categories answered correctly, compared to about three in 10 viewers of CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC.”

Thirty-four percent (34%) of Likely Voters say Fox News is their favorite cable news outlet, 20% say CNN, 17% say MSNBC, 19% say “another” network and 10% say they don’t watch cable news.

Among Republican voters, Fox News is the overwhelming favorite (58%), while most Democrats are divided between CNN (34%) and MSNBC (29%). Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 27% say Fox News is their favorite cable news outlet, 15% say CNN, 12% say MSNBC, 30% say “another” network and 15% say they don’t watch cable news.

A majority of Likely Voters (55%) believe climate change is caused primarily by human activity, while 45% say climate change is primarily caused by long-term planetary trends. Seventy-six percent (76%) of Democrats believe human activity is the primary cause of climate change, as do 36% of Republicans and 48% of unaffiliated voters. Sixty-four percent (64%) of Republicans say long-term planetary trends are the primary cause of climate change, as do 24% of Democrats and 52% of unaffiliated voters.

Eighty-four percent (84%) of MSNBC viewers and 81% of CNN viewers say climate change is caused primarily by human activity, but 68% of Fox News viewers and 61% of those who watch “another” cable news network say long-term planetary trends are the primary cause of climate change. About three-quarters of those who watch news on the three major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) say human activity is the primary cause of climate change.

Whites (39%) are more likely than black voters (31%), Hispanics (36%) or other minority voters (35%) to correctly estimate the amount of global warming since the late 1800s as being between one and three degree. Black voters are more likely than other groups to say climate change will never cause human extinction.

Most Democratic voters (51%) believe climate change could make humans completely or nearly extinct within 100 years, but only 29% of Republicans and 30% of unaffiliated voters agree. Twenty percent (20%) of Republicans, 10% of Democrats and 19% of unaffiliated voters say climate change will never cause human extinction.

President Joe Biden’s supporters have a more gloomy expectation about the impact of climate change than other voters. Among those who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 53% believe climate change could make humans completely or nearly extinct within 100 years. By comparison, among voters who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, only 15% think humans could become extinct within 100 years due to climate change, and 24% say climate change will never cause human extinction.

Most voters still see climate change as a natural disaster in the making, and those who blame humans for it remain strongly supportive of a government crackdown.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to have the United States rejoin the Paris climate agreement, but most voters believe Biden’s decision will mean lost jobs and higher bills for Americans.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public, as well as Platinum Members.

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