Trust in the accuracy of the news media has been declining steadily among Americans for years, but according to a recent survey by news app SmartNews, some of the steepest losses of trust are now coming from Gen Z news consumers.
SmartNews’ report, which explored trust and consumer sentiment in the media across generational and partisan lines, found that Americans’ trust in print journalists currently stands at only 27 percent. For social media influencers, it’s even worse, at 21 percent. On the other hand, a majority of Americans (53 percent) said they still trust evening TV news anchors.
Americans cited the reputation of the media outlet (39 percent) as the most influential factor in determining whether or not they trust a news story, followed by how wide that coverage is (24 percent) and transparency regarding fact-checking (16 percent). Only three percent of respondents cited academic sources as the most important factor regarding whether or not they trust a story.
More than a third (35 percent) of respondents said they’re likely to stop reading—or even block—a news outlet whose political and/or social views don’t align with their own, according to the report. Nearly a third (31 percent) also said they’re likely to block social media influencers who don’t align with their views. However, less than a third (30 percent) said they check additional sources to verify news they find questionable.
The report also discovered that media mistrust varies among generations, and found a growing shift in media skepticism among younger audiences. Two-thirds of Gen Z news consumers (65 percent) said they usually or always question the accuracy of a news story, compared to 59 percent of Millennials, 55 percent of Boomers and 51 percent of Gen Xers. Gen Z audiences are also least likely to trust TV anchors more than other news sources (11 percent), compared to Millennials (23 percent), Gen X (29 percent) and Boomers (36 percent).
On the other hand, Boomers are the generation most likely to block a news outlet that doesn’t align with their views (36 percent), compared to only 27 percent of Gen Xers, 27 percent of Millennials and 15 percent of Gen Zers. Boomers are the most likely to block social media influencers who don’t align with their views (44 percent), a practice shared by only 22 percent of Gen Xers and Millennials and only 11 percent of Gen Zers.
Boomers are also the least likely generation to favor social media as a source. They are, however, the generation most likely to seek out supplemental sources to verify a story.
The same trust disparity can be observed along political lines. Respondents who identified as Republican are more likely (40 percent) to be skeptical of the news than Democrats (32 percent), independents (26 percent) or those who consider themselves apolitical (two percent).
On the other hand, the report also found that Republicans are more likely to trust social media influencers than Democrats or Independents (26 percent, vs. 16 percent and 19 percent, respectively).
SmartNews’ study surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults online in March.

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