Americans’ confidence in newspapers, television, and radio has fallen to a new record low, with just 28 percent saying they trust the news media to report events fully, accurately, and fairly. This marks a decline from 31 percent last year and 40 percent five years ago.
At the same time, roughly seven in ten adults now express little or no confidence in the media, with 36 percent reporting “not very much” trust and 34 percent saying “none at all.”
Gallup first measured trust in the news media in the 1970s, when confidence ranged between 68 and 72 percent. By 1997, it had dropped to 53 percent, and media trust has struggled to reach the majority level since. The highest reading in the past decade was 45 percent in 2018, shortly after confidence collapsed during the 2016 presidential election cycle.
The latest measurement, conducted from September 2 to 16, is the first time the figure has fallen below 30 percent.
Trust Low Across All Political Groups
The decline is evident across all major political affiliations. Republican confidence has dropped to 8 percent, the lowest point in recorded history, and has not risen above 21 percent since 2015. Independents remain skeptical, with just 27 percent reporting trust, matching last year’s record low. Even among Democrats, who have historically been the most trusting of media institutions, only 51 percent now express confidence in reporting.
Generational Differences in Trust
Older adults continue to show more faith in the media than younger Americans. Data from 2023 to 2025 show 43 percent of adults aged 65 and older trust the news media, compared with no more than 28 percent in younger age groups. In the early 2000s, confidence across age groups hovered just above 50 percent, but it has steadily declined since then, with older adults showing the smallest drop.
Among Democrats, younger adults express the least trust. Thirty-eight percent of Democrats aged 18 to 29 and 42 percent aged 30 to 49 report confidence in media, compared with 59 percent of those aged 50 to 64 and 69 percent of those 65 and older. Independents report lower trust than Democrats but higher than Republicans, with the oldest independents showing the most confidence. Republican trust is consistently low across age groups, ranging from six to seventeen percent.
Bottom Line
Media trust in the United States is at historic lows, with less than three in ten Americans expressing confidence in traditional news outlets. Declines span political affiliations and age groups, with the sharpest drops among Republicans and younger adults. These trends highlight a growing skepticism toward information sources and underscore the challenges facing media organizations as they attempt to regain credibility in a divided public landscape.