Americans Have Trust Issues with CNN and MSNBC: poll

May 12, 2023

Trust for CNN, MSNBC Split — The stage is set for the Republican presidential debate, hosted by CNN, at The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 15, 2015. AFP PHOTO / L.E .BASKOW / AFP / L.E. BASKOW (Photo credit should read L.E. BASKOW/AFP via Getty Images)

*In a new poll conducted by YouGov, CNN, MSNBC, and The New York Times rank among the most polarizing media outlets.

According to YouGov’s 2023 poll, many Americans no longer trust some of the most trusted brands in news shows, TheWrap reports.

This latest poll is a follow-up to The Economist / YouGov poll published in 2022 asking Democrat and Republican voters how much they trust 22 prominent media organizations. YouGov revisited the topic this year by asking pollsters about a broader range of broadcast, digital, print, and social media outlets: 56 in total.

All three broadcast networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC, appear to be the most go-to news sources but Americans have trust issues with CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, according to the poll.

Donald Trump (Will Lanzoni-CNN) — Donald Trump during the 2023 CNN town hall (Will Lanzoni-CNN)

The most trusted network overall is apparently ABC and the least trusted media organization in America is Alex Jones’ InfoWars, according to the poll.

The YouGov poll reflects the opinions of only 1,500 Americans over a seven-day period. Per YouGov, “Poll results can differ significantly when they are conducted differently and at different times.”

Meanwhile, CNN’s leadership is reportedly under fire amid criticism of the network’s prime-time broadcast of a town hall with former president Donald Trump on Thursday.

We reported previously, via CNN, that host Kaitlan Collins fact-checked Trump throughout the 70-minute town hall. Over and over and over again, she told him that the election was not stolen. That it was not rigged. That there was no evidence for the lies he was disseminating on stage.

When Collins pressed him about removing classified documents from the White House, Trump replied: “You are a nasty person.”

A lot of criticism is been leveled at CNN’s Trump town hall for being an on-air spectacle.

“Predictably disastrous,” tweeted former network TV news executive Mark Lukasiewicz. “Live lying works. A friendly MAGA crowd consistently laughs, claps at Trump’s punchlines … and the moderator cannot begin to keep up with the AR-15 pace of lies.”