For the past three years, Gallup has surveyed voters’ opinions from the media, and once again they’re giving major news corporations a thumbs down.
The latest numbers from Gallup’s recent survey show that only 31% have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the media to report the facts. That includes newspapers, television, and radio. That number is down from 32% last year. 32% was also the same number in 2016 when Trump ran for President. Gallup says 31% is a new record low.
In the 1970s, a much larger portion of Americans had faith in news outlets, ranging from 68% to 72%. In the 1990s and early 2000s, that percentage declined, but Americans (51%—55%) still viewed newsgroups as trustworthy.
Gallup said there were different levels of confidence in the media among the political parties. Around 54% of Democrats have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. In 2023, that number was 58%, but with independents and Republican voters, that number dropped. Just 27% of independents and only 12% of Republicans said they believe what the news reports.
In 2016, Democrats’ trust in the media was 51%, but after Trump was elected and up through the 2022 Mid-Term Election, trust among Democrats ranged from 68% to 76%.
Gallup’s analysis also shows that there is an age gap among those who feel the media is trustworthy. “There is a 17-percentage-point gap in trust between the oldest Americans (those aged 65 and older) and those under age 50, at 43% vs. 26%, respectively,” said Gallup’s Megan Brenan.
Brenan also said young Democrats trust the media far less than older Democrats do.
According to the data, 31% of Democrats aged 18 to 29, versus 74% of those aged 65 and older have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in the news.
Trust in the media has dropped so much that Gallup says it ranks low with Americans’ poor approval of U.S. Congress.
