Thirty-one percent of Americans believe that traditional major TV and newspaper media outlets regularly report "fake news," according to a Monmouth University poll. The poll found that another 46 percent believe such mainstream outlets occasionally report fake news.[1]
Most of those believe that such false reports are released intentionally to push an agenda.
The public believes the term "fake news" applies to more than just stories where the facts are wrong. Two-thirds of Americans (65 percent) "say that 'fake news' also applies to how news outlets make editorial decisions about what they choose to report."
Earlier Numbers of the Day have documented similar distrust in traditional media outlets. Just 13 percent of Americans believe that the media does a very good job covering both sides of political issues fairly.
Only 38 percent believe media outlets do a good job separating fact from fiction. Perhaps the most stunning finding of all is that just 53 percent believe they can trust their primary news source most of the time. In other words, over half of all Americans are skeptical of the reports coming from the news program they choose to watch.
Footnotes:
- Monmouth University, "‘Fake News’ Threat to Media; Editorial Decisions, Outside Actors at Fault," April 2, 2018
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.
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