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Confidence in U.S. Institutions Down; Average at New Low
webCredibility Rating
4/5
High(4)High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Gallup
Relevant as background data on the erosion of public trust in institutions, which affects the political feasibility of AI governance and safety regulation; useful for understanding the societal context in which AI policy must operate.
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Importance: 35/100news articlereference
Summary
A 2022 Gallup poll found that Americans' confidence in major U.S. institutions reached a new historical low, with significant declines across government, media, and other sectors. The survey highlights deepening public distrust in foundational societal structures, with particularly sharp drops in confidence in Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. This erosion of institutional trust has broad implications for governance, democratic stability, and the social fabric needed to address collective challenges.
Key Points
- •Average confidence across 16 major U.S. institutions hit a new record low in 2022, continuing a multi-decade decline.
- •Only 7% of Americans expressed high confidence in Congress, among the lowest-rated institutions surveyed.
- •Trust in media institutions, including newspapers and television news, remained near historically low levels.
- •Partisan polarization is a key driver, with confidence levels diverging sharply along political lines.
- •Declining institutional trust complicates collective governance responses to major challenges including AI regulation and disinformation.
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Confidence in U.S. Institutions Down; Average at New Low
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#### Story Highlights
- Significant declines in confidence for 11 of 16 institutions tested
- Average confidence across all institutions at new low of 27%
- Public most confident in small business; least in Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans are less confident in major U.S. institutions than they were a year ago, with significant declines for 11 of the 16 institutions tested and no improvements for any. The largest declines in confidence are 11 percentage points for the Supreme Court -- [as reported in late June](https://news.gallup.com/poll/394103/confidence-supreme-court-sinks-historic-low.aspx) before the court issued controversial rulings on gun laws and abortion -- and 15 points for the presidency, matching the 15-point drop in [President Joe Biden's job approval rating](https://news.gallup.com/poll/394028/biden-job-approval-not-budging-satisfaction-dips.aspx) since the last confidence survey [in June 2021](https://news.gallup.com/poll/351521/job-approval-biden-steady-congress-down.aspx).
Gallup first measured confidence in institutions in 1973 and has done so annually since 1993. This year's survey was conducted June 1-20.
Confidence currently ranges from a high of 68% for small business to a lo
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