“Terror Attack on Rainbow Bridge”, “IDF Bombs Gaza Hospital”, “Anti-vaxxer Pushes Urine Therapy as ‘COVID Antidote’ Without Scientific Evidence”, “Dewey Defeats Truman”, “Trump: ‘Find the Fraud’”. What do all of these headlines have in common? They are deceptive and they were all published. Reported for one of several reasons; in a rush to be first, meeting an impossible deadline, unclear lines in the shroud of war, or worse to perpetuate political bias in the media.
It’s natural to make mistakes, although none of us like to admit it, we in the media industry are human. Some outlets, like The Washington Post and New York Times, offer their corrections and retractions on easy-to-access links. However, are major mistakes like the ones listed above causing Americans to lose faith in the media? In short, yes.
Nearly four in 10 Americans (39%) have no confidence in the media, according to the latest Gallup Poll. Another 29% selected “not very much confidence” in the media. More than two-thirds of America doesn’t believe the media is acting as the fourth estate it’s expected and designed to be. Meaning, Americans do not believe news is neutral, free of political influences, and/or free of implicit bias.
Breaking down Gallup’s poll more, Republicans and Independents are less likely to trust the media than Democrats. So, why is it one political party more trusting of the media than the others? And, if a majority of Americans (68%) have little to no trust in the media, who do they trust and why? Where are they sourcing their news? Social Media.
Pew Research found half of Americans “often” or “sometimes” get their news from social media. Facebook (30%) and YouTube (26%) make up more than half of news consumption online but they are both likely to face fierce competition from China’s TikTok.
A separate Pew poll showed the number of U.S. adults who get their news from China’s app quadrupled in 3 years from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023. Sampling only TikTok users 43% of them get news from the app. In comparison, Facebook has the same percentage of users likely to receive news from their outlet. Yet, users who get news from Facebook are down 9% since 2020.
While more Americans are relying on web-based aggregators to receive their news several questions remain — How can legacy and new-wave news outlets restore the American people’s trust? Is the trust too far gone? Have people and the media been so filter-bubbled that trust can’t be restored?
Some outlets are at least trying. Associated Press now hosts a “Not Real News” hub debunking social media claims. Factcheck.org and Snopes are other outlets trying to find the truth online. Even with these valiant efforts to correct the wrongs that may be found on the web, people are still flocking to social media instead of news outlets, Why?
One theory — It’s easy!
- Social media is just an aggregator, it will show you what it thinks you want – which is likely why so many Americans get their news from it. In short, it’s fast and cheap. Just remember it’s not going to be good for you.
Second theory – It’s expensive!
- Nearly every outlet has a paywall. If it’s not for their digital content, it is for streamed or syndicated. Not a lot of people want to pay and during economic hardships, some people just can’t afford to. In short, technology and the internet have made news fast and good but it will not be cheap because anything worth reading is behind a paywall.
Third Theory – There are too many options!
- In the 1940’s you had CBS, NBC and by 1943 NBC was split and ABC was born but that was it. There were maybe two local papers in each market. Now the number of outlets are endless. The big 3 plus, CNN, FOX, Newsmax, MSNBC. Then there are specialty outlets, Business Insider, ESPN, Vice, the list can go on. Since 2000, behavioral scientists have studied and continually found too many choices may lead to ‘choice paralysis.’ Too many options to read could lead to people becoming less satisfied with their decision to consume media entirely.
Restoring American’s faith may seem like an uphill battle because it is. The last time half of Americans had confidence in the media was 2005. According to Gallup, the highest recorded trust in the media was 72% in 1976, the same year the Apple Computer Company was formed, Jimmy Carter became President and the United States turned 200 years old.
Krystina Alarcon Carroll contributes features and columns for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
