DeKalb GA News

Trust in mass media among Americans has reached its lowest level in over five decades, according to a recent Gallup poll. The survey highlights a significant decline in confidence, with only 31 percent of Americans expressing trust in the media by 2024.

Historically, trust was much higher. In 1972, 68 percent of Americans reported trusting the media either a great deal or a fair amount. This figure increased slightly to 69 percent in 1974 and peaked at 72 percent in 1976. However, by the year 2000, trust had decreased to 51 percent and continued to decline to 44 percent by 2004.

The trend has shown fluctuations but generally moved downward since then. Trust dropped notably to 32 percent in 2016 during the presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. A slight recovery was observed in 2018 when trust rose to 45 percent, but it has steadily fallen again over subsequent years: reaching levels of 40 percent in 2020, followed by further declines each year until hitting the current low.

The reasons behind this decline are complex. Some commentators argue that certain actions by media outlets have contributed significantly to eroding public trust. Criticism has been directed at figures such as CNN’s Jake Tapper for perceived biases and failures to address critical issues impartially.

According to Breitbart News, this situation "didn't happen overnight and it wasn't an accident," suggesting that media organizations may need substantial policy and staffing changes to regain public confidence.

Gallup's findings indicate that rebuilding trust will be challenging for media networks unless significant reforms are undertaken.