Americans’ trust in the media has fallen to its lowest level ever recorded, with only 31% of the public expressing confidence that the media reports news accurately and fairly, according to a Gallup poll released Monday. The poll marks a continued decline in media trust, dropping one point from 2023’s 32% and tying the previous low set in 2016.
The decline is largely driven by frustration with how the media has handled key stories, including Russian collusion, the 2020 pandemic, and Hunter Biden’s laptop. Many Americans believe the media is no longer impartial, contributing to the record-low confidence.
More Americans now say they have no trust at all in the media (36%), while 33% report “not very much” confidence. The remaining 31% express some degree of trust, but the partisan divide is clear: 54% of Democrats express trust in the media, compared to just 27% of independents and 12% of Republicans.
Gallup notes that trust in the media has been on the decline for decades. In the 1970s, trust levels were significantly higher, with over 60% of Americans expressing confidence. However, the rise of alternative news sources and social media has led to greater skepticism of the mainstream media, which many now see as biased or unreliable.
