A poll conducted by the Associated Press, NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights revealed that six out of ten Americans blamed misinformation on the media establishment.
A similar number of people say that they are responsible for correcting the misinformation.
Nine out of 10 Americans believe that the misinformation in the media is a serious problem. Around 33 percent of Americans said they are exposed to misleading media headlines and false claims by politicians each day.
Americans also blame establishment media for political division. Three out of four Americans blame the media for polarization. Just under half have little or no faith in the accuracy and fairness of media reporting.
Only 16 percent of respondents say that they have a high level of confidence in the media’s ability to report news accurately and completely. 45 percent of respondents said they had little or no confidence in the media.
The respondents were also sceptical of the intentions of the established media. Only 20 percent of respondents said that the media work to protect the democratic republic. Four out of ten people said that the media is trying to harm it.
Democrats are more positive about the media establishment than Republicans, despite their skepticism. Sixty one percent of Republicans believe the media is hurting the country, compared to only 23 percent among Democrats.
The poll found that “majorities of people across parties say that the news media fuels division in politics, but Republicans are more likely to say this than Democrats.”
The survey surveyed 1,000 adults between March 30 and April 3 with an error margin of 4.4 points.
In recent years, the public’s trust in the national media has declined. In a February poll, 50 percent of Americans said that the national media intended to mislead the public, misinform them, and convince them. Only 35 percent of Americans say they can trust most news organizations.
35 percent of respondents said that national news organizations such as CNN MSNBC NPR Washington Post Politico, NPR and the Washington Post cared more about promoting cultural activism than they did reporting news to their readers, viewers or listeners.
The media has been pushing disinformation for years. A good example is Hunter Biden’s “Laptop from Hell”. At least 15 media personalities in the establishment claimed that Hunter’s laptop emails were Russian propaganda, before the New York Times acknowledged it as authentic two year later. CNN admitted 532 days later that Hunter’s computer was real, after the original story on October 24, 2020. At the time they called it “Russian propaganda” and “made-up”.
According to a recent poll, 79 percent of Americans believe Donald Trump would be reelected in 2020 if voters knew about Hunter’s laptop. 79 percent of Americans say accurate reporting about Hunter’s laptop may have changed the outcome of the 2020 presidential elections.
