Americans See Skepticism of News Media as Healthy, Say Public Trust in the Institution Can Improve
72% of U.S. adults say news organizations do an insufficient job telling their audiences where their money comes from.
72% of U.S. adults say news organizations do an insufficient job telling their audiences where their money comes from.
One-quarter of United States lawmakers mentioned the term on Facebook or Twitter during the 116th Congress.
Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say major tech companies favor the views of liberals over conservatives. At the same time, partisans differ on whether social media companies should flag inaccurate information on their platforms.
A majority of voters said it is very or somewhat important to them to get messages from the presidential campaigns about important issues.
U.S. adults in this group are less likely to get the facts right about COVID-19 and politics and more likely to hear some unproven claims.
Most Americans (71%) have heard of a conspiracy theory that alleges that powerful people intentionally planned the coronavirus outbreak.
Roughly half of Americans think social media companies should be regulated more than they are now, our survey found.
Democratic lawmakers post more content on Twitter, while the median Republican member now averages more audience engagement than the median Democrat across platforms.
Traffic to digital-native news sites has plateaued in recent years. After rising from 2014 to 2016, it remained steady through 2019.
Those ages 18 to 29 differ from older Americans in their news consumption habits and in their responses to major news events and coverage.
A survey of U.S.-based journalists finds 77% would choose their career all over again, though 57% are highly concerned about future restrictions on press freedom.
Digital news has become an important part of Americans’ news media diets, with social media playing a crucial role in news consumption. Today, half of U.S. adults get news at least sometimes from social media. When it comes to where Americans regularly get news on social media, Facebook outpaces all other social media sites.
In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms. Free speech ideals and heated political themes prevail on these sites, which draw praise from their users and skepticism from other Americans.
The total number of journalists assigned to state capitol buildings is up 11% since 2014, though figures vary widely by state. And as newspapers employ fewer statehouse reporters, nonprofits are filling much of the void.