Perceptions of U.S. Media Freedom Drop to Record Low, Gallup Poll Finds

Perceptions of media freedom in the United States have reached a new low, according to survey results released by Gallup from polling conducted in May and June. The data shows that 69% of Americans believe the U.S. media have a lot of freedom, reflecting a six percentage-point decline from the previous low of 75% recorded in 2025.

According to the Gallup World Poll, public perception of media freedom in the U.S. historically averaged around 86%, a level recorded as recently as 2022. The measure dropped to 78% in 2023 before seeing a slight rebound in 2024, after which the downward trajectory resumed.

The findings highlight an emerging partisan divide that was not present when Gallup first began tracking U.S. party identification on this issue in 2024. In 2025, perceptions dropped 22 points among Democrats and five points among independents, while rising to 93% among Republicans. Current figures show 91% of Republicans believe the media have a lot of freedom, compared to 68% of independents and 57% of Democrats.

Gallup noted that the U.S. has also fallen behind other advanced economies. Across 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the median perception of media freedom has typically remained around 80%. After tying the OECD median at 75% in 2025, the U.S. figure of 69% marks the first year on record that the country has fallen below the projected OECD median of 70% to 76%.

Additionally, the report stated that overall trust in the mass media remains low despite a recent uptick from 28% in 2025 to 33% this year. Gallup observed that while perceptions of media freedom appear linked to which political party holds power, broader distrust in the media remains persistent among a majority of Americans.

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