Gallup: Media Confidence in U.S. Matches 2016 Record Low
* 32% have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in media’s news reporting
* New high of 39% have no confidence at all, compared with 27% in 2016
* Democrats’ trust is down 12 points since last year; lowest since 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 32% of Americans who say they trust the mass media “a great deal” or “a fair amount” to report the news in a full, fair and accurate way ties Gallup’s lowest historical reading, previously recorded in 2016. Although trust in media currently matches the historical low, it was statistically similar in 2021 (36%) and 2022 (34%).
Another 29% of U.S. adults have “not very much” trust, while a record-high 39% register “none at all.” This nearly four in 10 Americans who completely lack confidence in the media is the highest on record by one percentage point. It is 12 points higher than the 2016 reading, which came amid sharp criticism of the media from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump — making the current assessment of the media the grimmest in Gallup’s history. In 2016, U.S. adults were most likely to say they had “not very much” trust (41%).
WNU Editor: I am surprised that 32% of Americans still trust their news media.