The national media’s credibility among Republicans took a nosedive during the Trump era, further widening an already significant gap in how our major political parties view those whose mission is to keep the public informed.
A Pew Research Center survey, released Monday, revealed that trust in the major media plummeted by half among GOP voters since 2016. Just 35 percent of Republicans now report “a lot” or some trust in the media. That’s down from 70 percent in 2016, and 49 percent as recently as 2019.
Meanwhile, Democrats, who undoubtedly see the media as aligned with or favorable to their interests, continue to believe the highest-level sources of information. Among them, 78 percent still trust the national media. That’s only down five percentage points in the last five years, the report indicates.
“This partisan gap is the largest of any time that this question has been asked since 2016,” Pew reported of the current 43-point spread, which was 13 points five years ago.
“And it grows even wider – to 53 points – between liberal Democrats (83%) and conservative Republicans (30%).”
The credibility of local news outlets is taking a hit among Republicans as well.
Overall, 75 percent of respondents say they trust their local media, which is down slightly from the 82 percent recorded in 2016.
On the local front, the Democrats’ faith in media has remained relatively steady, dipping to 84 percent now from 85 percent five years ago.
Yet only 66 percent of Republicans now have confidence in local news outlets, down from 79 percent in 2016.
Pew reports that the current gap – 18 points – is “larger than at any time in recent years.”
Meanwhile, the Big Tech blowback on conservatives also shows up in Pew’s research.
About 34 percent of liberals say they trust social media, compared to just 19 percent of conservatives.
That 15-point spread also is the largest Pew has noted in recent years.
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