These days, it’s hard to survive a day without hearing the term “fake news,” or someone in the public eye trying to get us to distrust the media. But according to a new survey, it seems most Americans do still put our trust in traditional news outlets. And while it may seem like a lot of people are getting their news from social media sites, it turns out that may not really be the case.
The survey conducted by Sharethrough finds that most people between the ages of 18 and 50 trust premium publishers when it comes to getting their news, with 65% trusting “Time,” 60% trusting CNN, 59% trusting the “Wall Street Journal,” and another 59% having faith in “The New York Times.”
And those numbers are way higher than those who trust social media. In fact, only 41% say they trust the news they read on Facebook, while only 33% trust articles shared on Twitter. What’s more, they are more openly distrusted by the public, with 27% saying the distrust Facebook, while only 14% distrust “The New York Times.”
One important thing for readers is where their news comes from, with 84% saying it’s important to know the source of their news. In this area, respected publishers also gain high marks, with 75% of “New York Times” readers saying they knew where their information was coming from, followed by “The Wall Street Journal,” “Time,” CNN, “Washington Post,” Fox and NPR. Meanwhile, when it comes to social media, only 55% of people say they were aware of the source of the info they're reading, while only 46% said the same about Twitter.