For the second year in a row, the majority of American adults who are likely voters agreed that “the media are truly the enemy of the people,” and “fake news” is a problem, the latest Rasmussen Reports Poll finds.
Majority of Americans say: “Media…enemy of the people”
Over the past couple of years, and even throughout the time former President Donald Trump served in the White House, numerous Americans decried “fake news” and blamed the media for stoking the flames of division across the nation.
And while we have a new commander-in-chief at the helm in the White House, the opinion of the majority of Americans hasn’t changed when it comes to the media.
In the latest annual survey by Rasmussen Reports, 58% of American voters agreed that the media are “truly the enemy of the people.” The survey was conducted between July 7-8, 2021.
Is the media the enemy of the people? Majority says yes.
When asked whether to what degree they agreed with the statement that the media are “truly the enemy of the people,” 34% of respondents strongly agreed, 24% somewhat agreed, 36% did not agree, and 23% strongly disagreed.
Along party lines, 76 percent of Republicans believe the media is the enemy, as to 37 percent of Democrats.
Is fake news problem? Most say yes.
Respondents were asked: “How serious is the fake news problem in the media?”
The vast majority, 83%, agreed it was a problem, including 55 percent who said “very serious,” and 28 percent who said “somewhat serious.”
Do you trust political news? Most don’t.
When asked: “Do you trust the political news you are getting?” The majority, 43 percent said no, compared to only 37 percent who said yes, while 20 percent were unsure.
Along party lines, a majority of Democrats, 56 percent said yes, while only 26 Republicans said yes, Breitbart reported.
Results of various other polls agree in condemnation of media
A Hill-Harris X poll conducted in June 2020 found that one-third of Americans believed that the media was the “enemy of the people.”
An April 2021 poll by NBC found that 64% of Americans believe social media is at fault for the growing divide in the nation, with 66% of adults admitting using social media once per day or more.
A poll taken in May 2020 conducted by Gallup and the Knight Foundation found that 84 percent, more than 8-in-10 Americans, believe that the media is to blame for the political divide in the United States.
The poll also found that nearly half of Americans, 49 percent, believe that there is a “great deal of bias” in what is reported by major media outlets, including 37 percent who believe a “fair amount” of bias is present in most media agencies.
