Trust in Media

Americans’ confidence in checking COVID-19 information aligns closely with their confidence in checking the accuracy of news stories broadly.

People in this group are most likely to say the outbreak has been made too big of a deal and journalists have been exaggerating the risks.

More Americans hold positive than negative views of the news media’s COVID-19 coverage, but Republicans and Democrats remain starkly divided.

The percentage who say journalists have exaggerated the risks of the outbreak has decreased notably in recent weeks.

A new analysis of open-ended responses to a survey of U.S. adults looks at the specific storylines or claims about COVID-19 that Americans said they were exposed to.

Our director of journalism studies explains how we determined what media outlets Americans turn to and trust for their political news.

An exploration of more than 50 Pew Research Center surveys confirms the overwhelming impact party identification has on Americans’ trust in the news media. And divides emerge within party – particularly the Republican Party – based on how strongly people approve of Trump.

Republicans and Democrats are particularly divided on how closely they connect made-up news to the news media or to President Trump.

France stands out from other Western European countries for its broad discontent toward the news media. About a third of adults say they trust the news media, including just 4% who say they have a lot of trust

A majority of Americans believe the news media do not understand people like them, and this feeling is especially common among Republicans.