Media trust hits new low across the political spectrum
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For the third year in a row, the percentage of Americans who say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the mass media has fallen to a record low, according to a new Gallup survey.
Startling stat: Today, only 28% of Americans say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the mass media, down from 68% in 1972.
Why it matters: Trump's election in 2016 drove a historically high gap between Democrats' and Republicans' trust in mass media.
- Today, that gap has narrowed, as Americans across the political spectrum all report record low trust levels.
- Trust in mass media is at the lowest point ever this year for Republicans (8%), Democrats (51%) and Independents (27%).
Zoom in: A steep fall in trust among partisans and younger people has driven most of the overall trust declines.
- In the past three years, trust in mass media has fallen by 19 percentage points among Democrats and 6 points among Republicans, while trust among independents has held steady.
- The percentage of Republicans who say they have "no trust at all" in the media has also risen sharply over the past few years, from less than 30% in 2015 to 62% in 2025.
- The percentage of U.S. adults 18-29 and 30-49 that say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in U.S. media has fallen to historic lows of less than 30% for both groups, while those ages 65+ report much higher levels of trust (43%).
The big picture: Prior to George W. Bush's reelection in 2004, more than half of the U.S. population consistently said they had a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the mass media.
- While trust in most civic institutions has fallen over the past two decades, media remains the least-trusted institution measured by Gallup.
