US Media Trust Edges Up From Record Low, Gallup Survey Shows

WASHINGTON — Americans' trust in the mass media rose to 33% in September, edging up from a record low of 28% last year, according to the latest Gallup Governance poll conducted between Sept. 1 and Sept. 17.

The survey found that 33% of U.S. adults have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of confidence in newspapers, television, and radio to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. The remaining respondents were evenly split, with 33% expressing "not very much" confidence and another 33% saying they have "none at all."

Gallup noted that the field period for the poll concluded before Sept. 18, when the Trump administration began denying White House access to several national news organizations over allegations of unfair reporting. Consequently, any public reaction to those access disputes or subsequent coverage curtailments by news organizations is not captured in the findings.

Despite the recent five-percentage-point increase, confidence remains weak by historical standards and near the bottom of Gallup's 50-year trend line. Trust in the media stood at roughly 70% in the 1970s and stayed above 50% through the early 2000s before declining steadily after 2004.

According to the pollster, the overall gain was driven almost entirely by Republicans. Trust among Republicans climbed to 22%, up from a record low of 8% last year, marking their highest level of trust since 2015. Meanwhile, confidence among Democrats remained essentially flat at 50% compared to 51% last year, and independents remained statistically unchanged at 31%.

A significant partisan divide continues, with Democrats expressing more than double the level of trust reported by Republicans. While Democrats' confidence peaked at 76% in 2018 before dropping to the current 50%, Republican confidence remains far below its 1972 peak of 68%.

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