Quick Hit:

Americans' confidence in the media remains at a historic low, with just 31% expressing trust in the news to report "fully, accurately, and fairly," according to a Gallup poll released Monday. The trust gap between Republicans and Democrats continues, while younger Americans exhibit significantly lower trust than older generations.

Key Details:

• Gallup’s latest survey shows that only 31% of Americans have "a great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in mass media, similar to last year’s 32%.

• 36% of respondents have no trust at all in the media, surpassing the number who trust it, and another 33% have "not very much" confidence.

• Trust remains highly partisan: 54% of Democrats, 27% of independents, and just 12% of Republicans express trust in media.

Diving Deeper:

Americans' trust in the media continues to languish near historic lows, with a Gallup poll released Monday showing only 31% of U.S. adults expressing confidence in newspapers, television, and radio to report the news fully and fairly. The poll, conducted from Sept. 3rd-15th, underscores a consistent erosion of media trust since its peak in the 1970s, when up to 72% of Americans expressed confidence in the fourth estate.

Gallup first recorded trust in media at these low levels in 2016, and confidence has not rebounded. A significant number of Americans—36%—now say they have no trust at all in the media, a figure that has remained higher than those expressing any level of trust for the third consecutive year. Another 33% of respondents reported having "not very much" confidence in the media.

The political divide in media trust is stark. According to the poll, 54% of Democrats say they trust the media, while only 27% of independents and a mere 12% of Republicans share that sentiment. These numbers reflect long-standing partisan divides, with Republicans exhibiting historically low trust and Democrats also seeing a notable decline from their peak trust levels between 2017 and 2022, when figures ranged from 68% to 76%. Currently, Democratic trust is down to 54%, continuing a decline that began in 2022 when it dropped to 58%.

The generational gap in media trust is also significant. Older Americans, particularly those 65 and older, tend to express more confidence in the media, with 43% of this age group saying they trust it. In contrast, only 26% of adults under 50 express the same confidence, with young Democrats showing particularly low trust—only 31% of Democrats aged 18 to 29, compared to 74% of Democrats aged 65 and older.

While the media faces widespread distrust, the poll found that other U.S. institutions, including the federal government, also garner low confidence. In fact, the news media was ranked the least trusted of the 10 institutions measured in Gallup's survey, with only 31% of U.S. adults expressing trust. The legislative branch, at 34%, is also viewed poorly by the public. Meanwhile, more than half of Americans trust their local government (67%) and state government (55%) to handle problems effectively.