- A new report from Pew Research Center says Republicans have become much more likely to trust national media since the start of President Donald Trump's second term.
- Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to trust alternative media sources like social media.
- Trump has said he would hold legacy media "accountable," initiating investigations.
About 53% of Republicans now say they have at least some trust in the information they get from national news organizations, according to The Pew Research Center.
In September, only 40% of Republicans said the same. Republican trust has also risen in local news outlets (75% from 66%) and in social media (45% from 37%).
Republicans are still less likely to trust the media than Democrats. Among Democrats surveyed, 81% say they have at least some trust in national outlets — a number that has remained relatively consistent over the last decade. Trust in local news is even higher among Democrats, at 87%, while trust in social media is lower, at 38%.
Does Donald Trump have anything to do with the change?
A study by the Pew Knight Initiative found that news influencers on social media are more likely to identify with right-leaning political views, and these influencers have become significant news sources, particularly among younger demographics.
Unlike traditional media, influencers frequently present content with a clear political perspective. And as a recent study finds, exposure to partisan media — whether liberal or conservative — correlates with reduced trust in the mainstream press, regardless of which party a person identifies with.
In a YouGov/American Enterprise Institute poll among people who said they voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election, shows 92% agreed that “the mainstream media today is just a part of the Democratic Party.”
Pew Research found that Republican trust in national media didn’t increase in 2016, when Donald Trump became president for the first time.
Trump administration says it wants to hold mainstream media ‘accountable’
Trump and his allies have said they are striving to hold news organizations “accountable” through investigations and legal channels.
Trump has filed lawsuits with CBS News and the Des Moines Register for deceptive advertising and accused outlets like The New York Times of acting on behalf of the Democratic Party. The FCC has also launched investigations into outlets perceived as unfair, including NBC, ABC and CBS.
Critics of the Trump administration take issue with the investigations and the accompanying threats to withdraw access and funding.
“Your right to say something depends on what the administration thinks of it, which is no free speech at all,” said Will Creeley, legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.