A new poll found that Americans' trust in the media is nearing an all-time low, continuing a downward trend seen in recent years.
Only 34 percent of respondents to a Gallup poll released this week said that the news is reported "fully, accurately and fairly.” That figure is only two points higher than the lowest score ever recorded by Gallup during the 2016 presidential election.
The September 1-16 Gallup poll also found that only seven precent of Americans have “a great deal” of “trust and confidence” in the media, with 27 percent having a “fair amount.”
When queried about faith in newspapers, TV and radio, 38 percent said they had no confidence, while 28 percent said they had little confidence.
The survey was the first time that the percentage of Americans who said they had no trust in the media was higher than the combined percentage with a great deal or fair amount of trust.
“The percentage of Americans with a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media has not been at the majority level since 2003, although before that – in three readings in the 1970s and seven readings between 1997 and 2003 – it was the norm,” Gallup said.
The survey also found that Americans’ trust in the media is still split along partisan lines, with 70 percent of Democrats and only 14 percent of Republicans saying that they had a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media.
For the third year in a row, the majority of Republicans responded that they had no trust in the media, with 57 percent saying they had no confidence and 29 percent saying they did not have very much confidence.
Confidence in the media also dropped for independent voters to 27 percent, the lowest point so far recorded.
The poll also found a clear difference in terms of age, with older Democrats and independents more trusting of the media than younger people in their cohort.
“Americans' confidence in the media has been anemic for nearly two decades, and Gallup's latest findings further document that distrust,” Gallup said.
“Partisans remain sharply divided in their views of the media, with most Democrats versus few Republicans trusting it. These divisions are entrenched and show no signs of abating.”