Americans’ trust in the media is at a record low. According to Gallup’s 2024 study last September, only 31% of participants stated they had a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in mass media, compared to 72% in 1976. Of the people who trust the media — as in newspapers, radio stations, and TV networks— 54% are Democrats, 27% are independents, and 12% are Republicans. Participants over 65 hold the most trust, accounting for 43%, whereas participants between 18 and 29 comprise 26%.
The steady decline has occurred for decades and has significantly dropped since 2019. According to the same study, 36% of Americans between the ages of 30 and 49 reported they trusted the media to some extent in 2019. In 2024, the percentage lowered by ten percent, tying them with the current percentage of Americans aged 18 to 29.
But why?
There are various reasons, and it narrows down to the amount of disinformation accessible to average Americans via social media sites, according to The Christian Science Monitor. Pew Research states that 54% of Americans receive at least some news from social media, opening up many disinformation opportunities.
Political alliance and age also significantly impact the way Americans gather their news. According to a survey conducted by Pew Research in 2019, 93% of people whose primary news source is Fox News are Republican, while MSNBC watchers are 95% Democrat. ABC, CBS, and NBC have a more politically diverse audience, with Democrats making up 53%, 55%, and 57%, respectively.
If a news station’s audience is predominantly of one political party, this can contribute to the nation’s ongoing epidemic of distrust in the media. In a world of former President Donald Trump’s “fake news,” it’s all too easy to dismiss any information that does not align with your existing beliefs.
Jeffery Dvorkin, former vice president of news and information at NPR, told The Christian Science Monitor, “They look for ideas and expressions that confirm their own feelings rather than inform them.” Â
According to Britannica, humans will unintentionally seek confirmation bias. If a news anchor discusses the vice-presidential debate and favors the candidate you support, you’re more likely to continue tuning in to their station. It is lovely to feel validated, but it is not okay to dismiss anything you don’t like as “fake news.” When you reject accurate information out of disagreement, you create space for misleading information to become the driving force behind your preferred narrative.
This mindset can have dangerous consequences.
On Oct. 16, NBC News ran a story discussing the disinformation stemming from Russia’s propaganda operations. Only about half of their efforts pay off, but their inaccurate information has reached millions of Americans, political figures, and Congress.
In her article, journalist Brandy Zadrozny stated, “The Storm-1516 campaigns rely on faked primary sources — audio, video, photos, documents — presented as evidence of the claims’ veracity. They are then laundered through international news sources and influencers to reach their ultimate target: a mainstream Western audience.”
Between this phenomenon, AI images, and platforms allowing anyone to broadcast their thoughts, a news source remaining completely objective is more critical than ever.
Eric Adelson, a UCF journalism professor and freelance writer for The New York Times, emphasizes that our job as journalists is to report and transport information. We relay 100% accurate information to our communities and allow them to form their opinions.
Aref Abdala, senior aerospace engineering major and NASA intern, says his main issue with traditional news platforms is their willingness to create misleading headlines to garner more attention. He references a recent headline, “Astronauts stuck in space.”
“[Since] I’m in NASA, I’m aware they’re not actually stuck there. There’s a backup plan; this was a test program.” Aref said. “But the media wants to get more attention, more clicks, the clickbait, the headers, you know.”
Although there’s been debate over whether these headlines provide benefits outside of the platform receiving greater engagement, when clickbait is intentionally misleading, it’s easier for false information to spread.
It doesn’t help that some of the most popular news stations— Fox News, CBS, and MSNBC— have an older audience, with Americans over 65 accounting for 37%, 35%, and 44%, respectively. According to Pew Research, 45% of Americans in this age group use social media sites, primarily Facebook and YouTube. In addition to the challenge of refraining from clickbait headlines, these sites expose them to misinformation that may be more challenging to decipher.
On Oct. 15, CBS News ran a segment teaching viewers how to detect AI, given the recent virality of fake Hurricane Helene and Milton images on the Internet. This segment may seem silly to someone younger, as many TikTok comments indicate. However, it’s imperative when your grandmother sees an image of a dog carrying a child out of flood waters on Facebook, she does not repost it saying, “Unbelievable! Cutest thing ever!”
You cannot believe it because it’s literally impossible, grandma.
Of the additional top news sources discovered by the 2019 Pew Research survey — CNN, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, NPR, and The New York Times — the last two listed have the youngest patrons. Participants 49 and younger make up about 64% of both platforms, with the majority falling between the ages of 30 and 49.
Regarding demographics, all eight stations mentioned have an overwhelmingly white audience, with an average of 69% compared to 20% of their viewers being Hispanic and Black. Females tune in 10% more than males, at an average of 55%, and participants who graduated college make up the majority at 42%. Disregarding the politically disproportionate audiences of Fox News and MSNBC, Republicans, on average, make up 26% of their viewings, and Democrats make up 70%.
What does this mean? It means most people stay in their bubble. Journalists must consider this before participating in biased reporting or endorsing candidates.
Elda Tuchman, junior film major, said he checks multiple news platforms to ensure the information he consumes isn’t skewed.
“Some news stations don’t fully give out the information being discussed,” Tuchman said.
Journalism was founded on democracy and truth, so why is the industry becoming another obstacle Americans must overcome?
Something must be fixed when official news sources compete with the general public with little to no journalistic qualifications via TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, etc. We can do better.