Trust in American institutions is essential to the functioning of U.S. democracy. Yet today, many feel that trust is declining. So what impact does this have on American society?
We explore that question in our new five-part animated video series. Each short video brings together the Center’s key findings about trust in the news media, elections, police, scientists and the economy. Watch all five episodes here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ9z-Af5ISaswq9yoHM32olz4-AITb1Dl
People invest their trust in institutions and those who have power for a variety of reasons. Researchers have found that people’s confidence in others and
People invest their trust in institutions and those who have power for a variety of reasons. Researchers have found that people’s confidence in others and organizations can include their judgments about the competence, honesty and benevolence of the organizations or individuals they are assessing, as well as factors such as empathy, openness, integrity and accountability. These perceptions can be seen as building blocks of trust.
Many Americans say the creation and spread of made-up news and information is causing significant harm to the nation and needs to be stopped.
• More Americans view made-up news as a very big problem for the country than identify terrorism, illegal immigration, racism and sexism that way
• 68% say made-up news and information greatly impacts Americans’ confidence in government institutions
• 54% say it is having a major impact on our confidence in each other
Millennials stand out as the most ardent library fans on a variety of questions, including saying public libraries help them:
The politically aware, digitally savvy and those more trusting of the news media fare better in differentiating factual news statements from opinions. Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats are more likely to classify a news statement as factual if it favors their side.
In Western Europe, public views of the news media are divided by populist leanings – more than left-right political positions. Across eight countries, those who hold populist views value and trust the news media less, and they also give the media lower marks for coverage of major issues, such as immigration, the economy and crime.
Americans generally agree on the ideals and values that are important for democracy in the United States. But for the most part, they see the country falling well short in living up to these ideals. There is broad support for making sweeping changes to the political system.
When people consider engaging with facts and information any number of factors come into play. How interested are they in the subject? How much do they trust the sources of information that relate to the subject? How eager are they to learn something more? What other aspects of their lives might be competing for their attention and their ability to pursue information? How much access do they have to the information in the first place?
A new Pew Research Center survey explores these five broad dimensions of people’s engagement with information and finds that a couple of elements particularly stand out when it comes to their enthusiasm: their level of trust in information sources and their interest in learning, particularly about digital skills.
As partisan attitudes shift, just 20% of Americans say they trust the government to do what’s right always or most of the time. More continue to say they are frustrated than angry with the federal government.
Somewhat more Republicans express trust in government today than did so prior to the election, while views among Democrats have moved in the opposite direction.
One-third of the public (33%) has a great deal of confidence in the military and an additional 46% say they have a fair amount of confidence. Similar shares of Americans express at least a fair amount of confidence in medical scientists (84%) and scientists (76%).
Good neighbors can be a blessing, whether they’re people you can trust to water the plants or watch the kids. But building that trust can be hard: Just half of Americans (52%) say they trust all or most of their neighbors, while a similar share (48%) say they trust some or none of their neighbors, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey.
President Obama delivered remarks on the state of journalism at a dinner honoring the best in political journalism.
Our 2014 survey found trust and distrust in the news media varies greatly by political ideology. Report: Political Polarization & Media Habits
Public trust in the government remains near historic lows. Only 19% of Americans today say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right
Yet at the same time, most Americans have a lengthy to-do list for this object of their frustration: Majorities want the federal government to have a major role in addressing issues ranging from terrorism and disaster response to education and the environment.
And most Americans like the way the federal government handles many of these same issues, though they are broadly critical of its handling of others – especially poverty and immigration.
">A year ahead of the presidential election, the American public is deeply cynical about government, politics and the nation’s elected leaders in a way that has become quite familiar.
Just 19% of Americans say they can trust the government always or most of the time, among the lowest levels in the past half-century. Only 20% would describe government programs as being well-run. And elected officials are held in such low regard that 55% of the public says “ordinary Americans” would do a better job of solving national problems.
Yet at the same time, most Americans have a lengthy to-do list for this object of their frustration: Majorities want the federal government to have a major role in addressing issues ranging from terrorism and disaster response to education and the environment.
And most Americans like the way the federal government handles many of these same issues, though they are broadly critical of its handling of others – especially poverty and immigration.
Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers express, on average, very similar levels of trust and distrust in the 36 news sources in our recent survey. Each generation trusts roughly four-in-ten of the sources they are familiar with and distrusts about two-in-ten.