Americans' trust in media is at new record low, Gallup poll finds
FILE - A woman watching nondescript news on TV and a smart phone while sitting on sofa in living room. Getty Images
Americans’ trust in the news media is at a new, record low, with only 31% expressing a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust and confidence in the media to report the news "fully, accurately and fairly."
That’s according to a recent poll from Gallup, which surveyed 1,007 adults aged 18 and older from Sept. 3-15, 2024.
The poll found Americans were most likely to have trust in local and state governments.
Here’s what Gallup’s poll found:
Americans’ trust in mass media, 1972 - 2024
Gallup first asked questions about Americans’ trust in mass media, which includes newspapers, television and radio, in 1972 and has measured it in most years since 1997.
In three readings in the 1970s, trust in the media ranged from 68% to 72%, yet by Gallup’s next readings in the late 1990s and early 2000s, smaller majorities of 51% to 55% reported trusting the news media.
The latest findings from September 2024 show 31% reported having trust in the media:
- 36% reported having no trust at all in the media
- 33% reported having not very much trust
- 31% reported a great deal or fair amount of trust
This is the third consecutive year that more U.S. adults have no trust at all in the media (36%) than trust it a great deal or fair amount (31%).
Americans’ trust in the media first fell to 32% in 2016 and did so again last year, with it being even lower at 31% this year.
Gallup’s survey found partisans and age groups have different levels of trust in the media.
Democrats were more likely to have trust in the media than Republicans, and older Americans (65+) were more likely to have trust in the media than younger age groups.
RELATED: Which issue will most influence voters' choice in November? New poll reveals answer
What does America have trust in?
The news media was found to be the least trusted group (31%) among 10 U.S. civic and political institutions involved in the democratic process, Gallup said.
The legislative branch of the federal government, consisting of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, is rated about as poorly as the media, with 34% trusting it.
In contrast, majorities of U.S. adults express at least a fair amount of trust in their local government to handle local problems (67%), their state government to address state problems (55%), and the American people as a whole when it comes to making judgments under our democratic system about the issues facing the country (54%).