Americans’ Trust in Media Plunges to All-Time Low

This probably won’t come as shock to many of you.

We haven’t trusted the MSM for years now — that’s part of the reason this website exists! To give you real news, free from the big names’ bias.

But, now we have proof that distrust of mass media corporations isn’t just an isolated trend, but one that’s spreading as more and more Americans wake up!

According to a new Gallup poll, America’s trust in the media has just hit a historic low point — with only 31% of Americans saying they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust and confidence mass media.

Here are the poll results:

Americans Trust in Mass Media 2024
— Great deal/Fair amount: 31%
— Not very much : 33%
— None at all : 36%

Great deal/Fair amount
— Republicans : 12%
— Independents: 27%
— Democrats : 54% pic.twitter.com/XySRe9XMFF

— David Procino (@APBIOonly) October 15, 2024

A higher number of Americans polled — 36% — said that they have absolutely no trust in the media at all, compared to those who said they trusted it:

🇺🇸Americans Trust in Mass Media:

For the 3rd consecutive year, more U.S. adults have no trust at all in the media (36%) than trust it a great deal or fair amount.

Via: @Gallup pic.twitter.com/UTIWGh83jf

— Business Blurb™ (@businessblurbb) October 14, 2024

From Gallup:

Americans continue to register record-low trust in the mass media, with 31% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly,” similar to last year’s 32%. Americans’ trust in the media — such as newspapers, television and radio — first fell to 32% in 2016 and did so again last year.

For the third consecutive year, more U.S. adults have no trust at all in the media (36%) than trust it a great deal or fair amount. Another 33% of Americans express “not very much” confidence.

Gallup first asked this question in 1972 and has measured it in most years since 1997. In three readings in the 1970s, trust ranged from 68% to 72%, yet by Gallup’s next readings in the late 1990s and early 2000s, smaller majorities of 51% to 55% trusted the news media. The latest findings are from a poll conducted Sept. 3-15, which includes Gallup’s annual update on trust in the media and other civic and political entities in the U.S.

As has been the case historically, partisans have different levels of confidence in the media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly. Currently, 54% of Democrats, 27% of independents and 12% of Republicans say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. Independents’ trust matches the record low in 2022, while Democrats’ and Republicans’ are statistically similar to their historical low points.

Independent Journal Review shared more insight:

Americans’ trust in the mass media has fallen to a record low leading up to the November election, according to a new survey released by Gallup Monday.

Around 36% of those surveyed said that they have “no trust at all” in the mass media, while only 31% expressed a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence and 33% expressed “not very much” confidence, according to the Gallup survey. The low trust in the media comes as mainstream outlets are being criticized over accusations of bias, such as with the lack of coverage of President Joe Biden’s mental acuity before his debate against former President Donald Trump.

Americans’ confidence in the mainstream media previously dropped to a previous low of 32% in 2016, which was matched in 2023, according to previous Gallup surveys.

Democrats expressed the highest amount of confidence in the mass media being able to report news “fully, accurately and fairly,” with 54% saying they trust it, according to the survey. Age gaps also made a difference in the ratings, with 74% of Democrats aged 65 and older having a fair or great amount of confidence in the media compared to just 31% of Democrats aged 18 to 29.

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Republicans and independents expressed much lower confidence in the mass media compared to Democrats, with only 12% of Republicans and 27% of independents saying they have a great or fair amount of media trust, according to the survey.