Axios published a report today aptly titled, "Media trust hits new low." And while it's not surprising, it does confirm that general distrust for the mainstream media is indeed widespread.
Felix Salmon, the author of the piece, aptly noted the following:
Faith in society's central institutions, especially in government and the media, is the glue that holds society together.
He's right. But what happens when they institutions have proven themselves untrustworthy?
What shouldn't be missed is that this is not just a minor dip in trust; it's an all time low. Think about how insane this is. More than half the country agreed with both these statements:
- "Journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations."
- "most news organizations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public."
YUP. Agreed.
Oh, and those numbers are from BEFORE THE ELECTION.
They re-polled Americans after, and it was even worse. 57% of Democrats said they trusted the media (which is still crazy low when you consider that that means even the people who have the mainstream media on their side don't really trust them!). But the most precipitous drop in media trust was among Republicans. Only 18% of Republicans say they trust the media.
Can I just say something obvious?
This is really bad.
It makes you wonder how the country can possibly hold together when half us are lapping up whatever the media tells us and the other half are like...
Just speaking personally here, these days if I hear something from a mainstream media source that literally makes me less likely to believe it. Just the fact that I heard it from them makes me wonder "what's the catch? What are they up to?"
I just assume they are trying to manipulate us.
And I don't think it's because I'm an especially paranoid person, it's a reputation the media has earned for themselves. I just wish I knew what the solution was, because our country won't survive being this divided forever.
