3 weeks ago
Study Explains Why Americans Are Losing Faith in News Media
Americans are trusting the news less and less.
It has been happening for about 50 years.
Politicians saying that the news is unfair or dishonest is a big reason why.
A researcher read millions of speeches made in Congress.
He found that criticism of the news is linked to politics and big moments in history.
A survey found that only two out of eleven big news companies are trusted by most Americans.
Only about one in ten people think news companies always report the whole truth.
Americans also disagree about how news should be reported.
Some want reporters to stay neutral, while others want them to check facts out loud.
So far, ideas for fixing trust in the news have not worked very well.
Trust in American news media has fallen sharply over the past 50 years, far more than in other Western countries.
A Nieman Lab report analysing 10.7 million congressional speeches from 1939 to 2023 found media criticism is tied to partisan interests and historical moments.
A YouGov survey for the Center for Integrity in News Reporting found only two of 11 major national news organisations are trusted by a majority of Americans.
Media criticism intensified in the 1960s-70s when White Southern Democrats defended segregation, and in the early 1990s when Republicans such as Lee Atwater and Newt Gingrich attacked journalists.
David Beavers said efforts to rebuild trust through transparency, correcting misunderstandings, and media literacy have not been effective.
Americans are divided on reporting style: 53% prefer neutral reporting while 47% prefer a more active fact-checking approach.
- Who
- David Beavers, a former Politico journalist and political communication researcher whose report was discussed in an interview with Joshua Benton of Nieman Lab.
- What
- A study on why Americans' trust in news media has declined, based on an analysis of congressional speeches and a YouGov survey.
- Where
- United States.
- When
- The report was published on 5 August 2026; the survey ran from 16 February to 26 February; congressional speeches from 1939 to 2023 were analysed.
- Why
- Repeated political messaging portraying the media as biased or dishonest, tied to partisan interests and historical moments, has eroded public trust over the past 50 years.
Supporters of Neutral Reporting
Supporters of Active Fact-Checking
How news should be reported
Supporters of Neutral Reporting
53% of Americans prefer a neutral style where journalists present what public officials say and let readers decide what to believe.
Supporters of Active Fact-Checking
47% prefer a more active approach where journalists clearly state whether statements made by public figures are true or false.
Political relationship with the press
Supporters of Neutral Reporting
Democrats have become more supportive of the press since the 1990s.
Supporters of Active Fact-Checking
Republicans grew increasingly critical of the media, with press criticism becoming a central organizing feature of their rhetoric.
Key facts
- Report title
- Is Americans' Declining Trust in Media Driven by Political Messaging?
- Publisher
- Nieman Lab
- Publication date
- 5 August 2026
- Survey firm
- YouGov, for the Center for Integrity in News Reporting
- Trusted national news organisations
- 2 of 11 trusted by a majority of Americans
- Speeches analysed
- 10.7 million congressional speeches (1939-2023); over 559,000 media-related passages
- News style preference
- 53% prefer neutral reporting; 47% prefer active fact-checking
- Survey period
- 16-26 February (2026)
Quotes
David Beavers
Political communication researcher and former Politico journalist
“"In the US, think of medicine or law — like, the American Bar Association practically has the authority of a government unto itself in regulating the profession. And, to a somewhat lesser degree, journalism in the US is a little bit different than journalism in other countries. I think of the Italian case, for instance, where the order of journalists, the Ordine dei Giornalisti, basically controls access to the profession in the same way that American lawyers and American accountants do,"”
theprint.in
“"Like, if it’s 1960 and you decide you don’t trust your local newspaper, you’re in a big bind. You probably don’t have another newspaper to switch to. And you’re using the newspaper to meet a ton of different needs,"”
theprint.in
Sources
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