American Views: Trust, Media, and Democracy

Results of the 2017 Gallup/Knight Foundation Survey on Trust, Media, and Democracy show that most Americans believe it is now harder to be well-informed and to determine which news is accurate. They increasingly perceive the media as biased and struggle to identify objective news sources. They believe the media continue to have a critical role in our democracy but are not very positive about how the media are fulfilling that role. Key findings:

1. Americans believe the news media have an important role to play in democracy, particularly in terms of informing the public, yet they do not believe the media are fulfilling that role
2. Americans believe that it is increasingly harder to be a well-informed citizen
3. Americans' perceptions of the news media are generally negative, and their perceptions of bias have grown considerably from a generatation ago. A majority cannot name an objective news source
4. Americans are highly concerned about the effects of "fake news" on our democracy, but their definitions of "fake news" vary
5. Americans view many newer sources of news positively, but they are less positive about social media
6. Even in the midst of technological change affecting the news environment, television news programs are the most popular news source. TV news and newspapers are most trusted.
7. The public expresses concerns about the role that major technology companies are playing in the modern news environment, but it is divided on whether they should be regulated
8. The news media may have as much potential to reinforce existing views as they do to persuade