Poll Finds 9 Out of 10 Americans Concerned About Misinformation, Lack of Trust in Media Fuels Alternative Sources

A new poll infers a link between Americans’ lack of faith in the media and the rise of politicized misinformation peddled by unreliable news sources.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published a survey on Monday that explores the breakdown of trust causing more Americans to reject mainstream media outlets. The poll found that nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults accuse the media of contributing to the country’s polarization, and almost half “have little to no trust in the media’s ability to report the news fairly and accurately.”

Opinions of the media seem to fall along party lines since the poll found that 61 percent of Republicans say the news media is hurting democracy, while only 23 percent of Democrats and 36 percent of Independents agree. Republicans were also found more likely to say that the media is fuelling America’s divisions and that the news is largely influenced both by the U.S. government and journalists’ political opinions.

The poll indicates that misinformation is a bipartisan concern for Americans, with nine out of ten U.S. adults agreeing to the premise. The AP found that a majority of respondents blame the news media, social media platforms, and politicians for fueling the spread of misinformation. Respondents also agreed that all three sources have a responsibility to push back on false claims.

From the report:

A third of American adults say they see stories with false claims from politicians or misleading headlines every day.

“There still is good journalism, it’s just the internet has made it so that anybody can be a quote-unquote journalist,” said Chris Nettell, of Hickory Creek, Texas, who said he leans Democratic. “We have some news media that only goes after a certain segment of society, and then those people think, because it’s all they read, that everyone else believes it too.”

The poll’s summary argued that the internet has contributed to the fragmentation of the media, fueling polarization as Americans seek news from social media and their respective political echo chambers. AP says that nearly two-thirds of their respondents expect news stories on social media to be inaccurate, but those who say they rely on social media regularly are “somewhat more likely to trust it than others.”