A plurality of voters believe that major news organizations fabricate stories about President Trump, according to a new Morning Consult poll.
Forty-six percent of the 1,991 registered voters surveyed said they think members of the media make up stories about the president, while 37 percent believe news organizations do not make up stories about Trump or his administration.
Republican women were the most likely to say news organizations make things up about Trump, as 78 percent of those surveyed say there is fake news aplenty when it comes to the president. Republican men weren’t far behind, as 75 percent of them agreed.
Of all the Republicans surveyed, 76 percent believe the news media makes things up about the President, while 20 percent of Democrats agree. Sixty-five percent of Democrats do not think major news outlets make things up about the president.
The survey’s findings are not surprising, given that many major news outlets, including CNN, Vox, MSNBC, BuzzFeed, Slate, The Daily Beast, The Week, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and others have all reported numerous news items about Trump and his administration that turned out to be partially or completely false.
Remember when Politico reported that Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin kicked a little old lady out of her home over 27 cents? As it turns out, that story was full of glaring errors.
There was also that time when The Daily Mail claimed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch founded a student group called “Fascism Forever.” After the story was picked up by numerous outlets, it was debunked and deemed to be totally false. A Time reporter also claimed the Trump administration removed the Martin Luther King Jr. bust from the Oval Office, a claim that was untrue. It’s no wonder only six percent of Americans say they trust the news media.
