An exclusive poll for Axios by SurveyMonkey found that Facebook's favorability has plunged in the last five months.
The big picture: In the Axios/SurveyMonkey poll comparing views in October with last week (2,878 adults in the U.S.; error estimate: 2.5 points), Facebook's already low net favorability (favorable minus unfavorable) dropped twice as much as the other tech giants.
Key stat: The negative turn for Facebook is particularly large among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, with favorable ratings falling 16 points, from 67% to 51%. SurveyMonkey found more modest fall-offs among Republicans and GOP-leaners (10 points) and pure independents (eight points).
But, but, but: The mistrust is focused on the companies, not on technology. The vast majority of those polled (72%) still say tech has a positive effect on society.
Our thought bubble: The poll shows a huge drop for Facebook (and Twitter and Google). But remember these are free services. People talk a lot about leaving, but we suspect most want what these companies are offering.
Be smart: If Facebook were a political candidate, this kind of swing in public opinion would provoke a swift, massive response. For Facebook, that process has just begun.
Methodology: This new Axios/SurveyMonkey online poll was conducted March 21-23, 2018 among 2,878 adults in the United States. The modeled error estimate is 2.5 percentage points. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over. Crosstabs available here.
