American Public’s Trust in Mainstream Media Hits 50-Year Low: Poll

A new survey from Gallup revealed that the American people’s trust in the mainstream media has reached the “lowest point” in over 50 years.

As reported by Breitbart, Gallup had asked the public about their trust in mass media dating as far back as 1972. At that time, 68% of Americans said they either had a “great deal” or “fair” amount of trust in the media, with that number rising slightly to 69% in 1974. It then reached a record high of 72% in 1976.

Since 2000, that number has plummeted to remain consistently below 50%, with just 51% saying they trusted the media in the year 2000; the number then fell to 44% in 2004 before rising slightly to 45% in 2018. In every subsequent poll, the number has dropped further and further, with the most recent poll showing just 31% saying they trusted the media in 2024.

Gallup noticed that a major contributor to the decrease in trust came in the form of Republican voters, who overwhelmingly distrust the media compared to independents and Democrats.

“Whereas about a third of U.S. adults say they have no trust at all in the mass media, 59% of Republicans hold this view — a view that saw a particularly sharp increase between 2015 and 2017, when it rose 21 percentage points to 48%,” the report notes. “Republicans’ lack of trust in the media topped 50% for the first time in 2020 and has since remained at the majority level.”

“Lack of trust is also up sharply among independents, now 42%, while it continues to be low — 6% this year — among Democrats,” the survey’s summary added.

In addition to the partisan divide, Gallup also found that younger Americans are increasingly rejecting the mainstream media in favor of alternatives such as social media.

“Over the past two decades, significant gaps in trust have also emerged by age. People younger than 50 are much less trusting in the news media than people aged 50 and older, particularly the oldest Americans (those aged 65 and older),” Gallup continued. “An analysis of combined 2022-2024 data to increase sample sizes shows a 17-point gap in trust between the oldest Americans (those aged 65 and older) and those under age 50 — 43% vs. 26%, respectively.”

In the era of the two Trump presidencies, the mainstream media has faced increasing scrutiny and backlash for its apparent left-wing bias, often treating President Donald Trump and other Republicans unfairly compared to Democrats. Acknowledging both the mainstream media’s partisanship and the rise of alternative media, the second Trump Administration has granted press access to non-traditional media outlets, including podcasts and social media influencers.