Partisan divides in media trust widen, driven by a decline among Republicans
In just five years, the percentage of Republicans with at least some trust in national news organizations has been cut in half.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
In just five years, the percentage of Republicans with at least some trust in national news organizations has been cut in half.
Nonprofit news reporters now account for 20% of the nation’s total statehouse press corps, up from 6% eight years ago.
Our director of journalism studies explains how we determined what media outlets Americans turn to and trust for their political news.
Nearly nine-in-ten voters who followed the 2016 returns (88%) did so on TV, while 48% used online platforms; 21% used social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
While Millennials overall are more likely than older generations to get political news through social media, there are striking party-line differences, particularly among Millennials who say they are very likely to take part in the primaries and caucuses.
From trust in government to views of climate change, here are some of Pew Research Center’s most memorable findings of the year.
Overall, 16% of registered voters follow candidates for office, political parties, or elected officials on a social networking site.
The public’s muted response on possible government monitoring of their online behavior differs from that of investigative journalists, whose work makes them potential targets for monitoring.
Social media users who are interested in politics have different experiences on Facebook and Twitter, with four-in-ten Twitter users saying that at least half of the posts that they see are political, compared with about a quarter of Facebook users who say the same.
When the campaign was finally over, the media almost immediately viewed Barack Obama’s victory as a transformational event, and a subject that had been in some ways taboo moved front and center – race.
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