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Gallup Poll: Media Confidence in U.S. Matches 2016 Record Low (2023)

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Gallup·news.gallup.com/poll/512861/media-confidence-matches-2016...

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High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.

Rating inherited from publication venue: Gallup

Relevant as background context for AI safety discussions about public trust in information sources, misinformation, and the societal conditions under which AI-generated or AI-assisted media may further erode institutional credibility.

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Importance: 28/100news articledataset

Summary

A 2023 Gallup poll found only 32% of Americans trust mass media to report news fully, fairly, and accurately, matching the 2016 record low. A record-high 39% report having no confidence in media whatsoever, up 12 points since 2016. Democrats' trust fell 12 points in a single year, narrowing the partisan gap to its smallest since 2016.

Key Points

  • •Only 32% of Americans have 'a great deal' or 'fair amount' of trust in media, tying the all-time Gallup low set in 2016.
  • •Record-high 39% have 'no confidence at all' in media, up from 27% in 2016 and 12 points higher than any prior reading.
  • •Democrats' media trust dropped 12 points in one year to 58%, while Republicans sit at 11% and independents at 29%.
  • •Trust in media has declined dramatically from 68-72% in the 1970s and has not exceeded 47% since 2005.
  • •This is only the second time in Gallup's trend that those with zero media confidence outnumber those with at least fair trust.

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Media Confidence in U.S. Matches 2016 Record Low

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#### Story Highlights

- 32% have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in media’s news reporting
- New high of 39% have no confidence at all, compared with 27% in 2016
- Democrats’ trust is down 12 points since last year; lowest since 2016

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The 32% of Americans who say they trust the mass media “a great deal” or “a fair amount” to report the news in a full, fair and accurate way ties Gallup’s [lowest historical reading, previously recorded in 2016](https://news.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx). Although trust in media currently matches the historical low, it was statistically similar in 2021 (36%) and 2022 (34%).

Another 29% of U.S. adults have “not very much” trust, while a record-high 39% register “none at all.” This nearly four in 10 Americans who completely lack confidence in the media is the highest on record by one percentage point. It is 12 points higher than the 2016 reading, which came amid sharp criticism of the media from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump -- making the current assessment of the media the grimmest in Gallup’s history. In 2016, U.S. adults were most likely to say they had “not very much” trust (41%).

The latest poll, conducted Sept. 1-23, marks just the second time, along with last year, that the share of

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