The claims of "fake news" over the past few years has had a substantial impact on American's trust in mass media. Today, only 41% of Americans have either a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in mass media. This is down 4% from last year and down 31% from its peak in 1976. Unsurprisingly, there is a distinct partisan split on this topic. 69% of Democrats trust the mass media, as opposed to only 15% of Republicans. This is likely due to the repeated attacks on the mainstream media by President Trump, hurting their legitimacy in the eyes of many Republicans. The left-leaning coverage by news channels like CNN and MSNBC compounds this issue.
The lack of trust in mass media hinders its ability to effectively preform basic duties, such as operating as a means of public surveillance. Regaining the trust of the American public will not be easy, but it critical that the mass media strives for the highest level of journalistic standards in order to win back the hearts and minds of the American people.
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