Americans’ Complicated Relationship With News
Most people believe Americans have a civic responsibility to be informed when they vote. But far fewer say regularly following news is extremely or very important.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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What makes a news story trustworthy? Americans point to the outlet that publishes it, sources cited
U.S. adults’ views of what makes a news story trustworthy vary by party affiliation, demographic characteristics and news consumption habits.
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Many Americans are unsure whether sources of news do their own reporting
Roughly half of Americans or more were able to correctly identify whether three of the six sources asked about do their own reporting.
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Two-thirds of U.S. adults say they’ve seen their own news sources report facts meant to favor one side
59% of Americans say made-up information that is intended to mislead causes a “great deal” of confusion about the 2020 presidential election.
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Americans blame unfair news coverage on media outlets, not the journalists who work for them
About eight-in-ten Americans (79%) say news organizations tend to favor one side when presenting the news on political and social issues.
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Most Americans see a place for anonymous sources in news stories, but not all the time
A majority (82%) say there are times when it is acceptable for journalists to use anonymous sources, with 67% saying it is acceptable only in special cases.
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A look at the Americans who believe there is some truth to the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was planned
Most Americans (71%) have heard of a conspiracy theory that alleges that powerful people intentionally planned the coronavirus outbreak.
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Black, Hispanic and white adults feel the news media misunderstand them, but for very different reasons
59% of Americans think news organizations do not understand people like them, while a minority – 37% – say they do feel understood.
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Around three-in-ten Americans are very confident they could fact-check news about COVID-19
Americans’ confidence in checking COVID-19 information aligns closely with their confidence in checking the accuracy of news stories broadly.
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Q&A: How Pew Research Center evaluated Americans’ trust in 30 news sources
Our director of journalism studies explains how we determined what media outlets Americans turn to and trust for their political news.
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News Media Attitudes in France
France stands out from other Western European countries for its broad discontent toward the news media. About a third of adults say they trust the news media, including just 4% who say they have a lot of trust
