(The Lion) — Fewer than three in 10 Americans believe news media outlets report accurately and fairly, according to the most recent Gallup Poll.

“With confidence fractured along partisan and generational lines, the challenge for news organizations is not only to deliver fair and accurate reporting but also to regain credibility across an increasingly polarized and skeptical public,” the poll said.

The percent of Americans who express a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in media has dropped three percentage points from last year’s 31% to today’s 28%. Five years ago, 40% of Americans trusted mass media.

Today, 70% of Americans lack confidence in major outlets, with 36% saying they have “not very much” trust and 34% saying they have “none at all.”

In the 1970s, 68% and 72% of Americans trusted media reporting. Since 2004, that number has been in the minority.

The partisan divide is stark. Only 8% of Republicans are confident in news media, compared with 51% of Democrats. That 51% figure is the lowest it’s been since 2016. Among independents, 27% say they trust mainstream outlets.

Pew Research also found that confidence in specific outlets follows partisan lines. Only 17% of Americans who are skeptical of media trust ABC News, compared with 56% of those who generally trust mainstream reporting. In contrast, 40% of those who doubt news outlets say they trust Fox News, compared with 36% of those who are confident in major outlets.

Not only is media trust declining, but so is overall viewership, Mediaite reports. This summer, CNN hit “its lowest primetime demo ever,” with 87,000 viewers. MSNBC recorded its lowest primetime demo since 1998, at 66,000 viewers. Those figures are down 46% and 42%, respectively year-over-year, respectively.

Gallup also found younger adults are more skeptical of media, while older generations are more likely to trust major outlets.

From 2023-2025, 43% of adults aged 65 and older said they trust news reporting, compared with 28% of adults in any younger age groups, Gallup found.

“Generational divides further underscore the erosion, with older adults holding significantly more faith than younger Americans in the media,” the report said. “Given younger Democrats’ relatively low confidence in the media, overall trust could decrease further in the future, unless Republican trust rebounds.”

Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr said America’s lack of trust in media is the fault of the outlets themselves.

“This is an existential problem for legacy media’s business model & one that it has brought on itself,” Carr posted Thursday on X.

(Image credit: Flickr/Gage Skidmore)