Survey finds half of Americans don't trust national news media

This Wednesday, the Knight Foundation released a survey in partnership with Gallup, which found that half of Americans believe that the national news media seeks to mislead or misinform its consumers.

The report American Views 2022 which investigates how Americans think about the media, notes that trust in the media has been declining since 2017.

Statistics show that during 2022 only 26% of Americans had a favorable opinion of the media, which represents the lowest figure in the last five years.

When respondents were asked if they believe that most national news organizations "do not intend to mislead, misinform or dissuade the public," only 25% agreed, while 50% of respondents felt they did not.

Half of those asked do not believe that national news companies have the "best interests of their consumers" at heart.

"Nearly half (47%) of Americans who prefer to get most of their news online report low emotional trust in national news organizations, while only 15% report high emotional trust," the report said.

Most Americans also attribute their lack of trust in national news to the fact that they do not feel well informed or feel unable to sort out the facts well.

"Seventy-six percent of Americans with low emotional trust in national news organizations say the increase in information available today makes it more difficult to be well-informed," the survey indicates .

Behind the data, Knight Foundation noted that, while distrust of information or institutions is not "necessarily bad," it is, however, "not necessarily bad. the study showed that the problem is that Americans are not only skeptical of the news, but that many feel the distrust on an "emotional level," so the industry should "redouble efforts to regain the public's trust."