According to Gallup polling on this week, confidence in the mainstream media has plummeted following debunked news stories.
Only 11% of respondents trust the media “a lot” or “very much,” down 5 points since 2021.
The trust in television networks among Democrats dropped by 6 percentage points, from 26%. Only 8% of independents have confidence in the media, down 5 percentage points from 13% a year ago. Republicans’ trust in television news increased two points, from six to 8%.
Although the majority of Americans trust newspapers, their faith in papers has dropped. Democrats’ confidence decreased by three points to 35%. Independents’ confidence fell by seven points to 12%. Republicans’ confidence plummeted by three percentage points to 5%.
The confidence of the American people in the establishment media has been shaken by a slew of debunked stories. The Cassidy Hutchinson testimony to the January 6 committee was presented as credible, but just hours after the congressional hearing, much of her hearsay claims were debunked.
In 2020, it was reported that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian propaganda. The laptop was subsequently confirmed to be genuine after a year when Breitbart News’ Emma-Jo Morris and the New York Post verified it.
The media has often pushed the false story that Jussie Smollett was a victim of an assault carried out by Donald Trump supporters during President Trump’s term in office. Contrary to court evidence, Smollett’s claim that two men screamed racist abuse and assaulted him was found incorrect. Despite Smollett’s assertions to the contrary, he was sentenced to 30 months of felony probation and fined $120,000 for staging a fake hate crime in Chicago.
Gas prices plummeted below $3 per gallon in December, according to the media. Six months later, gas prices surpassed $5 per gallon and have not fallen since.
In 2021, the media continued to buy into the White House’s argument that inflation was short-term. But inflation has remained at a 40-year high for months, and it is expected to stay high in 2023.
