Polls show that
- 56% of Americans agree with the statement that “Journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations.”
- 58% think that “most news organizations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public.”
- When Edelman re-polled Americans after the election, the figures had deteriorated even further, with 57% of Democrats trusting the media and only 18% of Republicans.
The answer? Journalists should prevail on CEOs, who are more trusted, to assure the public the press is not lying to them. “Reversing the decline is a monster task — and one that some journalists and news organizations have taken upon themselves. They’re going to need help — perhaps from America’s CEOs.”
The standard explanation for this collapse in credibility is that the public is too stupid to resist the disinformation peddled by fringe groupss. But maybe the media deserves to be mistrusted. When a viewership discovers by subsequent experience that they’ve been fed false expectations and questionable facts they tend to become cynical.
For example:
