Most Americans feel they should consume political news from both the right and the left. But in reality, 54% mostly stick to news sources that align with their political beliefs, judging by a survey of 2,092 U.S. consumers from Otherweb, conducted by the Harris Poll from Feb. 15-20, 2024.
In addition, a shocking 87% feel their fellow citizens are more misinformed about political news than they were five years ago and believe things that are simply not true. Of the Boomers polled, 92% agree with this, versus 78% of Gen Z.
Also, 89% wish they had a way to filter out low-quality news articles on the internet. Again, 93% of Boomers want this, compared to 78% of Gen Z, 88% of millennials and 89% of Gen X.
Education also plays a role in determining outlooks – but not by much. Of college graduates polled, 91% believe that more people are misinformed than they were five years; 80% with high school educations or less feel this way as do 89% of those with some college.
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Income, too, is a factor: 90% of those earning $100,000 or more believe people are more misinformed, compared to 79% of individuals with incomes of $50,000 or less.
Overall, the respondents also agree with these statements:
It has become increasingly difficult to find factual information related to politics—75%
I have to make more effort to be well-informed with regards to political news than I did five years ago—74%
I find it harder to determine whether a political news story is true or false now than I did 5 years ago—73%
I spend more time reading/listening/watching political news than I did five years ago—60%
“People want substance over sensationalism, especially in an election year,” says Alex Fink, CEO and founder of Otherweb. “The results show an interesting dynamic in which people claim to want a better way to get quality information, but they’re still only reading the outlets they align with politically.”
Fink adds, “The rise of clickbait and low-quality journalism has created a distrust where Americans don’t know what to believe, so they are more likely to view politics as a team sport where the truth doesn’t matter as long as their side wins.”