As little as 26% of Americans have a favorable opinion of
their news media.
The survey goes beyond other research that showed a low
level of trust in the US media, but this poll stretches to a new level where
half of the American population believes there is a deliberate intention to
deceive public opinion.
This is the lowest confidence level ever. Five years ago,
surveys also showed a low level of trust in the media.
But these are strikingly worrying statistics in which
Americans believe US news outlets are acting to purposely misguide them.
In
other words, US citizens are essentially saying that American national media
outlets are attempting to deceive them into trusting fake news.
If Americans believe mainstream US news organizations are
spreading a campaign of disinformation (and not misinformation), this raises
question marks over how the US media is having an impact on misguiding global
views with its disinformation campaign.
Officials from different governments have previously slammed
US news coverage as a factor that instigates unrest in different regions of the
world and the American people’s growing suspicions of US news narratives add
further weight to the argument.
Critics have also criticized US mainstream media for using
pundits with links to arms manufacturers in a bid to persuade and encourage the
American public into supporting Washington’s foreign military adventurism at
the expense of their tax money.
This is while pundits who oppose US foreign policy or
express a different narrative are being taken off the air or prevented from
writing columns for newspapers.
In this modern age of information, reliable news sources are
difficult to find in the US and its allies.
This is while sources of news outlets from countries in West
Asia, East Asia, Eastern Europe, and beyond which offer an audience with
different narratives have been taken off the airwaves or heavily censored on
social media platforms.
If an audience has only one narrative, is that not a form of
brainwashing?
The Knight Foundation says it joined hands with Gallup as
part of an academic initiative launched in 2017 to address the decline in trust
for journalism and other democratic institutions.
In its latest joint publication, the survey has documented
that only 26% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the news media, the
lowest level Gallup and Knight have recorded in the past five years.
This is while 53% of the American population (more than half
of the nation) do not hold a favorable view of their news outlets.
With the new survey highlighting how the nation's cynicism
of US media is growing, the Knight Foundation pointed out that “democracy in
America relies on an independent press to inform citizens with accurate
information.
Yet today, two forces pose significant challenges to this
function: the growing struggle of news organizations to maintain financial
independence and the growing distrust of news among the public.”
For example, the research reports that “81 percent of
Americans in 2020 said the news media was ‘critical’ or ‘very important’ to
democracy.
In August 2022, a Quinnipiac University poll reported that
67% of Americans believe the nation’s democracy is in danger of collapse, up
from 58% in January.”
Across all political affiliations, more Americans say they
hold an unfavorable opinion of the news media compared to a survey conducted in
late 2019-early 2020.
This rise is especially significant among independent voters
who have no political affiliation to either the Republican Party or the
Democrats.
Perceptions of political bias in news coverage have also
increased, with independents again driving the trend, followed by Republicans,
then Democrats.
Furthermore, the younger generation continues to hold more
negative perceptions of the news media than older generations, which is in line
with previous studies.
Gallup’s long-term trend on this measure hit a record low in
2020 when the share of Americans with no confidence in the news media surpassed
that of people with at least some confidence for the first time in 40
years.
Research from the American Views 2020 report by Gallup and
Knight showed that Americans were “very concerned” about increasing political
bias in news coverage and the perception that news organizations “push an
agenda.”
Asked whether they agreed with the statement that national
news organizations do not intend to mislead, 50% said they disagreed while only
25% agreed, the latest study found.
Similarly, 52% disagreed with a statement that those
spreading national news “care about the best interests of their readers,
viewers, and listeners,” the study found. It said 23% of respondents believed
the journalists were acting in the public's best interests.
“That was pretty striking for us,” said Sarah Fioroni, a
consultant for Gallup. The findings showed a depth of distrust and bad feelings
that go beyond the foundations and processes of journalism, she said.
Journalists need to go beyond emphasizing transparency and
accuracy to show the impact of their reporting on the public, the study said.
“Americans don’t seem to think that the national news
organizations care about the overall impact of their reporting on the society,”
said John Sands, Knight’s senior director for media and democracy.
Whereas Americans are increasingly losing faith and
distancing themselves from national news coverage, the study found they have
more trust in local news.
65 percent said that local news organizations report the
news accurately and fairly to the public, and more than half of Americans say
most local news organizations can be relied on to deliver the information they
need.
53% believe most local news organizations care about how
their reporting affects their community broadly, and 47% believe most local
news organizations care about the best interests of their readers, viewers, and
listeners.
44% of Americans say local news organizations do not intend
to mislead, misinform or persuade the public.
But the study indicates more Americans are on top of the
news than ever before with (1) the ability of many people to instantly get
their news from a device they hold in their hand, (2) the rapid pace of the
news cycle and (3) an increased number of news sources.
According to the survey, these factors also appear to bring
problems as they overload Americans with news information. The study said 61%
of Americans believe these factors make it harder to stay informed, while 37%
said it's easier.
In an indication of how people are distancing themselves
from national media for their news, 58% said they relied on the internet while,
31% said television, 7% said radio and only 3% mentioned printed newspapers or
magazines.
As for the younger generation aged 18 to 25 years old, a massive
88% said they got their news online, the survey found.
While 72% say national news organizations have the resources
and opportunity to report the news accurately and fairly to the public, only 35%
say they can rely on most national news organizations to deliver the accurate
information they need.
The study also found that half or more Americans report
difficulty in sorting out facts and being well-informed, 61% say the
increase in information today makes it harder to be well-informed.
50% say there is so much bias in the US news media that it
is often difficult to sort out the facts.
The other results from this study as well as others indicate
that most Americans think news organizations prioritize business needs above
their public duty.
Overall, it's a disturbing example of how the US establishment
uses the media to exploit the American public, especially considering when only
23% of respondents believe the media is covering news with an attempt to
deceive them.
