Americans’ Confidence In Media Falls To Record Lows, Poll Finds

Topline

Americans’ confidence in newspapers and television news has fallen to the lowest levels ever recorded, according to a Gallup poll published Monday, amid a drop in trust across U.S. institutions like Congress, the presidency and the Supreme Court.

Key Facts

Only 16% of adults in the U.S. say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in newspapers, and just 11% said the same for television news.

Both ratings fell by five percentage points from 2021 and represent the lowest confidence levels since Gallup began tracking newspapers in 1973 and television news in 1993.

Confidence in newspapers hit a record low for Republicans (5%) and independents (12%) this year, while Democrats’ confidence (35%) is still above its all-time low of 28% in 2007 and 2016.

Confidence in television news has also fallen to record lows for Democrats (20%) and independents (8%), while the 8% of Republicans who reported having confidence in the medium is not statistically different from last year’s record low 6%, Gallup said.

Surprising Fact

The figures are from a Gallup poll taken between June 1 and June 20 that gauged Americans’ confidence in 16 institutions of American life, including police, military, Congress, the Supreme Court and public schools. Confidence ratings declined by a statistically significant margin for 11 of the 16 institutions referenced by Gallup in the last year, and none saw improvements over 2021. The only institution that ranked lower than television news was Congress, which only 7% of Americans reported having confidence in. The most trusted institutions in the poll were small businesses, with a 68% confidence rating, followed by the military at 64% and the police at 45%. The Supreme Court and the presidency saw the largest year-over-year drops in confidence, logging double-digit decreases to just 25% and 23%, respectively.

Key Background

A May Reuters Institute poll found 42% of Americans actively avoid consuming news–particularly concerning politics and Covid-19–because it makes them feel “worn out” and bring down their mood, while 29% said the news is unbiased or untrustworthy. Former President Donald Trump has attacked the media and even encouraged Republicans not to consume mainstream news since he began campaigning for president in 2015, though Republicans have consistently been less likely than Democrats to trust the news, according to Gallup.

Further Reading

Public Confidence In Supreme Court Sinks To 25%, Poll Says (Forbes)

Jan. 6 Hearings: Newsmax’s Coverage Has Made Dozens Of False Claims, Report Finds—Including Election Fraud (Forbes)