Majorities in Both Parties Say Media Criticism Keeps Politicians in Check
Overall, 80% of Americans express this view, up from 75% in September 2025. Another 16% say such criticism keeps political leaders from doing their job.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Americans’ Trust in Information From News Organizations Has Risen in the Past Year
Trust in national and local news has risen since last year across parties and age groups, while trust in social media is virtually unchanged.
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How Many People in the U.S. Are Middle Eastern or North African?
Estimates of the U.S. Middle Eastern or North African population range from 3.1 to 5.2 million in 2024, depending on how ancestry, race and language are counted.
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Gas Prices Are High Now, but for Many Americans They Were Even Higher in the Past
Gas prices have surged amid the Iran conflict, but adjusted for inflation and wages, 2008 was costlier.
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On Facebook and Instagram, Political Ads Are Increasingly Critical of Data Centers
Political ads about data centers on Facebook and Instagram have turned increasingly critical, with 57% opposed and just 3% supportive ahead of the midterms.
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The 2026 Midterms Will Be Uniquely Difficult for Polls
Polls haven’t gotten worse, but fake respondents, synthetic AI surveys and election unknowns make the 2026 midterms uniquely hard to poll.
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Americans Are Open to AI in Healthcare, but Want Humans Making Final Calls
Americans are generally open to AI handling administrative and medical tasks, but they largely don’t want AI operating without human oversight. About half (47%) say AI will make the relationship between patients and their doctors worse, compared with 10% who say it will make it better.
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17 States Haven’t Had a Woman Governor, and 15 Haven’t Had a Woman Senator
Today, women currently hold a record 27 of the Senate’s 100 seats, and women hold the office of governor in 14 of the 50 states.
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Most Americans’ Religious Lives Haven’t Changed Much in Recent Years
Tracking the same adults from 2020 to 2025 shows most Americans’ religious affiliation, prayer frequency and service attendance remained steady.
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Religion Remains Stable in the U.S., With Mixed Signals for Young Adults
There is no clear evidence in the Center’s surveys that any birth cohort that can be tracked over time has become more religious in recent years.
