Trust in traditional media is at an all-time low and has dropped sharply since 2019, according to Edelman’s annual trust barometer.
The barometer, shared with Axios, reported that just 46% of Americans trust traditional media. This means that trust in traditional media has dropped to less than half, according to Axios.
The decreasing trust is not just for America, though – the “numbers are echoed across the rest of the world,” too, Axios reported. This indicates that a newfound lack of trust is not just based off of former President Donald Trump’s contentious relationship with the media and “fake news.”
“56% of Americans agree with the statement that “Journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations.” https://t.co/2xlXr0R1qU
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) January 21, 2021
Other data from Edelman’s annual trust barometer offer a glimpse into why Americans don’t trust traditional media. 56% of Americans agreed that “journalists and reporter and purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations.”
Similarly, 58% of Americans believe that “most news organizations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public,” according to the barometer.
Following the election, Edelman’s numbers also showed a decrease in trust in the media for both parties. 57% of Democrats trusted the media and 18% of Republicans had trust post-election, according to the data.
This data follows other polls that show Americans hold major issues with the media. A Gallup/Knight Foundation poll from September of 2020, for example, reported that 86% of Americans believe the media is biased. (RELATED: Poll Finds That One-Third Of Americans Don’t Trust The Media)
