Just 26% of Americans say they trust most news most of the time.

Americans' trust in the media to report the news "fully, accurately and fairly" has been hovering at historic lows in recent years, according to several surveys. In 2022, almost a third of American adults said the news was untrustworthy or biased and just 26% said they trusted most news most of the time. It's been a precipitous fall from an all-time high of 72% in the aftermath of the Watergate reporting during Richard Nixon's presidency in the 1970s.

So where does that leave us? Lost in our social feeds, drowning in disinformation and ultimately cynical about all information. When we can’t agree on the facts, we can’t have productive conversations about the important issues in our lives. And accepting a common body of facts is essential to the functioning of democracy.

Of course, it’s up to the news media to be transparent and demonstrate why we should trust them. But as news consumers, we, too, must show up and become more news-literate — understand the hallmarks of quality journalism and learn to spot mis- and disinformation. We each have a role and a responsibility to close the credibility gap. That’s why this year’s National News Literacy Week was focused on clarifying the problem of public distrust.