Poll: Majority of likely voters do not trust news media
Trust in Congress also under water
- Casey Harper
- Mar 26, 2024
(The Center Square) – Americans do not trust several major U.S. institutions, particularly the national news media.
The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll found that 43% of Americans say the media is trustworthy, compared with 54% who said it is not trustworthy.
Younger people were more likely to trust the media, with 47% of those ages 18-34 saying they trust it and 46% saying the opposite.
The numbers steadily worsen as likely voters get older, with 41% of likely voters 65-years-old and older saying they trust the media, compared to 57% who do not.
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Kate Guether | The Center Square
With the presidential election coming in November, the poll also asked voters how confident they feel about the following statement: “The media will report on the issues that matter most to you.” Only 42% said they were confident that was the case, while 54% said they were not confident.
When asked whether the "media will cover all candidates fairly,” only 31% were confident the media would do so while 65% were not confident.
Only 36% of likely voters were confident the "media will provide enough context for voters to understand their choices” while 60% were not.
Democrats were far more likely to trust the national news media, 63%-33%. Only 24% of Republicans said they trust the media while 73% do not. Independents agreed, 35%-59%, on the same question.
Republicans have been more skeptical of the media for years, but former President Donald Trump famously called the media “the enemy of the people” and “fake news,” making the relationship between Republicans and the media far more adversarial.
The mainstream media has taken fire for their coverage of Trump, for dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian interference when time has proven the story as mostly true, and pushing the now largely debunked Trump-Russian collusion narrative, and more.
As for other U.S. institutions, notably, the poll found that Democratic voters do not trust the U.S. Supreme Court whereas Republicans do, and Independents are split. Overall, 56% of likely voters trust the court, while 40% do not.
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Kate Guenther | The Center Square
The U.S. presidency saw a similar rating, but Congress fared much worse. The survey found that only 41% of likely voters trust the U.S. House of Representatives, compared to 54% who do not.
The U.S. Senate fared a bit better with 46% trusting and 50% not trusting.
American likely voters trust their state legislatures 59%-36%, according to the poll.
