---
title: "Majority of Americans express low confidence in journalists to act in public’s best interests"
description: "57% of U.S. adults say they have not too much (40%) or no confidence (17%) in journalists to act in the best interests of the public."
date: "2026-02-11"
authors:
  - name: "Kirsten Eddy"
    job_title: "Senior Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kirsten-eddy/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/02/11/majority-of-americans-express-low-confidence-in-journalists-to-act-in-publics-best-interests/"
categories:
  - "Journalists"
  - "Media Polarization"
  - "Trust in Media"
---

# Majority of Americans express low confidence in journalists to act in public’s best interests

[![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/SR_26.02.05_news_confidence_featured.jpg?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=287447)
*A reporter takes notes during an interview in Pasadena, California. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)*

Pew Knight Initiative  The Pew-Knight Initiative supports new research on how Americans absorb civic information, form beliefs and identities, and engage in their communities.

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. Knight Foundation is a social investor committed to supporting informed and engaged communities. [**Learn more >**](https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/)

A majority of Americans (57%) express low confidence in journalists to act in the best interests of the public, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis from the [Pew-Knight Initiative](https://www.pewresearch.org/collections/pew-knight-initiative/). This includes 40% who say they have not too much confidence and 17% who say they have none at all. By comparison, 43% of adults say they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in journalists.

### Majority of U.S. adults say they have low confidence in journalists to act in the public’s best interests

*% of U.S. adults who have __ in journalists to act in the best interests of the public*

|  | group | A great deal of confidence | A fair amount of confidence | Not too much confidence | No confidence at all |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| All U.S. adults | all | 6% | 37% | 40% | 17% |
| Rep/Lean Rep | party | 2% | 22% | 47% | 28% |
| Dem/Lean Dem | party | 9% | 52% | 32% | 6% |

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.

Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Dec. 8-14, 2025.

In our [past surveys](https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2024/11/14/trust-in-science-2024-appendix/ps_2024-11-14_trust-in-science_a-02/), the public has expressed less confidence in journalists than in several other institutions and professions, such as the military, scientists and police officers. Other survey questions have also found relatively [low trust in news organizations](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/29/how-americans-trust-in-information-from-news-organizations-and-social-media-sites-has-changed-over-time/).

***Related:** [Americans' Complicated Relationship With News](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/02/11/americans-complicated-relationship-with-news/)*

**About this research**

This analysis from the [Pew-Knight Initiative](https://www.pewresearch.org/collections/pew-knight-initiative/) looks at how confident Americans are in journalists to act in the best interests of the public.

**Why we did this**

Pew Research Center regularly asks Americans about their [confidence in different groups and institutions](https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2026/01/15/trust-in-science-2026-appendix/ps_2026-1-15-trust-in-science_a-01/). This research aims to better understand changes in these perceptions over time and adds to our ongoing exploration of Americans’ views of the news media.

We asked this question as a part of [a larger Pew-Knight Initiative study](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/02/11/americans-complicated-relationship-with-news/) that explores how Americans think about their role in the news environment.

Learn more about [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/about/) and our [research on news habits and media](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/news-habits-media/).

**How we did this**

We surveyed 3,560 U.S. adults from Dec. 8 to 14, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s [American Trends Panel](https://www.pewresearch.org/the-american-trends-panel/). The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population.

We also conducted nine online focus group discussions led by PSB Insights with 45 U.S. adults from June 10 to 18, 2025. These discussions do not represent the entire U.S. population. Quotes were lightly edited for spelling, punctuation and clarity.

Here are the [survey questions](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/PJ_2026.02.11_role-of-news-consumers_questionnaire.pdf) used for this analysis, the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/PJ_2026.02.11_role-of-news-consumers_topline.pdf) and the [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/02/11/methodology-role-of-news-consumers/).

This is a Pew Research Center report from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Find related reports online at [https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/](https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/).

We continue to find **large differences by political party** on this topic. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (61%) are more than twice as likely as Republicans and GOP leaners (25%) to say they have confidence in journalists to act in the best interests of the public.

### Democrats are more confident than Republicans that journalists act in the best interests of the public

*% of __ who have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in journalists to act in the best interests of the public*

| Date | All U.S. adults | Rep/Lean Rep | Dem/Lean Dem |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2020-04-26 | 48% | 23% | 70% |
| 2020-11-29 | 45% | 17% | 71% |
| 2022-09-18 | 44% | 23% | 64% |
| 2023-10-01 | 42% | 21% | 61% |
| 2024-10-27 | 45% | 23% | 66% |
| 2025-04-20 | 45% | 27% | 62% |
| 2025-10-01 | 47% | 27% | 69% |
| 2025-12-01 | 43% | 25% | 61% |

Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Dec. 8-14, 2025. For dates of other surveys, refer to the topline.

Since we first started asking this question in 2020, Democrats have consistently been more likely than Republicans to express confidence in journalists. This party gap has persisted over time, though it has decreased since 2020.

This pattern mirrors past Center findings that Democrats are both [more trusting of the information they get from national and local news organizations](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/29/how-americans-trust-in-information-from-news-organizations-and-social-media-sites-has-changed-over-time/) and [more likely than Republicans to use and trust many major news sources](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2025/06/10/the-political-gap-in-americans-news-sources/).

As part of the new survey, we also conducted focus groups with 45 Americans. Regardless of political party, some of the participants in these focus groups described this broader loss of confidence in the news industry, saying they no longer know who or what to trust. For example, a Democratic woman in her 50s said, “We don’t have any really good journalists right now that are doing accurate news.”

Some participants said they now [curate their news more carefully](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/02/11/why-americans-think-news-habits-are-changing-in-their-own-words/), whether by verifying what they come across or by narrowing their consumption to a small set of trusted sources.

“It used to be, as a kid, I could just turn on the news on TV and it’s like everything is believable and credible,” a Republican woman in her 40s said. “But in a world where everything has become much more biased, and there’s unreliable and biased sources, you have to kind of take things with a grain of salt and look at where is it coming from, and who’s the source, and what is their main goal? And you just have to put a filter on it.”

*Note: *Former Research Analyst Jacob Liedke contributed to this analysis.** *Here are the [survey questions](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/PJ_2026.02.11_role-of-news-consumers_questionnaire.pdf) used for this analysis, the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/PJ_2026.02.11_role-of-news-consumers_topline.pdf) and the [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/02/11/methodology-role-of-news-consumers/).*