Confidence in American media has continually slid in recent years. In 2025, it reached new lows, according to polling from Gallup.
Since 1972, Gallup has asked the same question of survey respondents: “In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media — such as newspapers, TV and radio — when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately and fairly — a great deal, a fair amount, not very much or none at all?”
In 1972, 68% said they had a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. Since reaching a high of 72% in 1976, the figure has steadily dropped.
Last year, the figure fell to a new low of 31%, down from 40% in 2020. This year’s polling shows that the figure has dropped even lower.
Only 28% of respondents said they had a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in newspapers, television, and radio to report news “fully, accurately, and fairly.” It marked the first time in the history of the survey that the figure had fallen below 30%.
For the first time, those who identify as Republicans dropped to single digits, as only 8% of those respondents said they had trust in mass media. 27% of Independents say they trust media, remaining flat from last year’s historic lows. 51% of Democrats surveyed said they have trust in media.
Confidence in the media is higher among older respondents. 43% of those aged 65+ said they had a great deal or fair amount of trust in media.
Those aged 50-64 responded similarly at 28%, while 30-49 year olds were at 23%. Those aged 18-29 were also at 28% favorability.
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