Survey Reveals American Teens Distrust Media
A survey from the News Literacy Project, released in November, has shown a significant decline in trust among American teens towards media outlets. About 80% of teens feel that journalists provide less unbiased information than content found online.
Additionally, nearly half of the respondents believe that journalists do more damage to democracy than they do to support it, according to their findings.
Further data from a Gallup poll indicates that trust in news media among all Americans reached an all-time low in October 2025. Only 28% of people expressed having a substantial trust in the media.
Interestingly, most teens—84%—described the media using negative terms like “fake,” “biased,” and “chaotic.” In contrast, just 9% used positive words to characterize it, such as “interesting” or “good.” A few respondents, about 7%, opted for neutral descriptions, simply naming platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, or referring to common topics such as “Trump” and “war.”
Over half of U.S. teens believe that professional journalists “regularly” engage in unethical practices. The research points to several concerning behaviors, such as offering favors to sources for information, providing preferential treatment to advertisers, and manipulating content by taking information out of context.
The News Literacy Project conducted this survey among U.S. youth aged 13 to 18 and plans to continue this research into 2024, with data collected in April and May 2025.
When asked about movies and TV shows that represent journalism, many teens cited the Spider-Man series. Other mentions included “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “The Post,” “Spotlight,” the Superman series, and “All the President’s Men.”
In a separate Gallup report from October, it was revealed that just 36% of Americans said they did not trust the media “a lot,” and 34% reported having no trust at all. It marked the first occasion in the poll’s 50-year history that overall trust in the media fell below 30%, dipping below the previous low of 31% recorded in 2024.
