Pollster shocked half of Americans believe national media aims to mislead: 'Pretty striking'
Only 25% of Americans agreed with the statement that national news organizations do not intend to mislead
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A pollster said Tuesday that the results of a recent Gallup and Knight Foundation poll, which found that half of Americans believe the media intends to mislead the public, were "pretty striking."
The study found that only 25% of Americans agreed with the statement that national news organizations do not intend to mislead the public. Fifty-two percent of Americans said they disagreed with the statement, according to the poll.
"That was pretty striking for us," Sarah Fioroni, a consultant for Gallup, told the Associated Press.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She added that the findings show a severe distrust in media that reaches "beyond the foundations and processes of journalism," according to the AP.
American trust in institutions like the media and Congress has continually dwindled over the years. (Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
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"Americans don’t seem to think that the national news organizations care about the overall impact of their reporting on the society," John Sands, the Knight Foundation's senior director for media and democracy, told the AP.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Thirty-five percent say most national news organizations care about how their reporting affects American society, culture and politics; fewer (23%) believe most national news organizations care about the best interests of their readers, viewers and listeners," the poll said.
The poll also found that Americans had more trust in local news organizations.
A Gallup poll from 2021 found that only 21% of respondents said they had "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers and only 16% of respondents reported the same of television news.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stack of newspapers on display.
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"Forty-four percent of Americans have high emotional trust in local news organizations, compared with 21% who have high emotional trust in national news organizations," the Gallup/Knight Foundation poll said.
A New York Times/Siena poll from October 2022 found that a majority of registered voters believed the media is a threat to democracy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The poll showed that 71% of the 792 registered voters questioned said "American democracy is currently under threat" and 84% of them viewed "mainstream media" as some kind of threat.
A voter is seen at a polling station during the New York primary elections in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., April 19, 2016. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo)
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The Knight Foundation/Gallup poll also found that half or more of Americans have difficulty with figuring out facts and being well-informed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sixty-one percent of Americans said the increase in information has made it more difficult to be well-informed and 50% said "there is so much bias in the news media that it is often difficult to sort out the facts."