Americans show distrust in media: no credibility, politically-dividing

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 May 18:16

These results demonstrate the increasing number of people who believe that the media take orders from their respective governments and thus alter news to fit in the respective mold.

A sign held up during former US President Donald Trump's speech at a Make America Great Again Rally in Michigan on April 28, 2018 (Reuters)

In a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights advocacy organization, results show that 9 in 10 adults in the US say misinformation is the main problem behind their distrust in the media's ability to report news correctly and fairly.

Two-thirds of the participants view news stories on their social media as inaccurate, and almost 6 out of 10 placed blame on the media for spreading misinformation and not owning up to the responsibility of addressing it.

Four out of 10 respondents believe the press is harming US democracy while about 2 in 10 believe it protects it, and 4 in 10 state neither that nor this. A mere 16% show confidence in the media's ability to report without bias while a whopping 45% show otherwise.

These results come just two days before World Press Freedom Day this week on Wednesday, which also demonstrates the increasing number of people who believe that the media take orders from their respective governments and thus alter news to fit in the respective mold.

Half of all Americans feel that news outlets are misleading, saying that they disagreed that these outlets "care about the best interests of their readers, viewers, and listeners."

One example is when the Western media played the propaganda card during the riots in Iran by supporting separatist dissidents and terrorist groups that were aiming to cause chaos under the title of advocating women's rights.

While Washington markets itself as the beacon of human rights and the savior of the planet, the compromisation of its own fake values clearly comes to exhibit its priorities in the domestic and international arena.

Back in December 2022, in a Pew research, only 34% of respondents in the US believed that social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp had a positive influence on democracy, while 64% believed the opposite. More Americans than residents of any other nation surveyed think that social media sites and the internet, in general, have widened political chasms.

With regard to the different political parties, 61% of Republicans say the news negatively impacts democracy and believe that media fuels political division as opposed to 23% of Democrats and 36% of independents.

The poll further shows that the internet-driven division of the media ecosystem was a major factor causing polarization, as it cites "experts" who claim that gerrymandering that diminishes political competition, as well as politicians who instill fear and distrust, are the causes but misinformation highly contributes as well.