State of the Facts 2024 State of the Facts 2024 Key Findings – The State of Facts Adults in the United States do not feel that it is easy to know if information they encounter is true or not, and they look for data and transparency to verify it as fact. [...] • 78% of adults believe that the spread of misinformation about government is a major problem Key Findings – Trends • Social media still ranks among the top of most-used sources for getting information about the government despite low levels of trust in the information found there. [...] Key Findings – Election 2024 Much of the public is skeptical about the reliability of the information about the 2024 election. [...] Thinking about some of the ways you get information about the government these days, how often, if at all, do you get information from…/Regardless of how often you get information from these sources, how much do you trust information from them about the government? Percent of adults A great deal/quite a bit of trust Several times a day/once a day Social media 10 40 Local TV news 21 38 National TV. [...] Thinking about the presidential election this November, how much do you trust the following sources to provide accurate information about the outcome of the 2024 presidential election? Percent of adults A great deal/quite a bit A moderate amount Only a little/not at all Overall Government certifications of election results 40 29 30 Kamala Harris and her campaign 30 21 47 Donald Trump and his campa.
Authors
- Pages
- 49
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- Instructions 1
- Slide 1: State of the Facts 2024 1
- Slide 2: Key Findings – The State of Facts 2
- Slide 3: Key Findings – Trends 3
- Slide 4: Key Findings – Election 2024 4
- Slide 5: Key Findings – Artificial Intelligence 5
- Slide 6: Evaluating Information 6
- Slide 7: Most adults prioritize transparency in considering information to be factual. 7
- Slide 8: Most adults are likely to consider information factual if it is based in data. 8
- Slide 9: Most adults find it easy to differentiate fact from opinion, but fewer say it is easy to know if information is true. 9
- Slide 10: 57% think Trump’s campaign messages are rarely or never based on factual information, and 45% say the same about of Harris’s campaign messages 10
- Slide 11: A growing share of adults feel policymakers aren't basing their decisions on evidence. 11
- Slide 12: Fact-driven versus value-driven opinions 12
- Slide 13: Compared with 2019, more now think that political division in the United States is a result of people relying on different facts rather than having different beliefs. 13
- Slide 14: When thinking about most issues, adults say they rely more on facts than their values. 14
- Slide 15: Though the way the public thinks about many topics is the same as in 2020, an increasing share now see abortion as a fact-based issue rather than value-based. 15
- Slide 16: Democrats are more likely than Republicans rely on facts more than their values. 16
- Slide 17: A higher percentage of Democrats and Republicans say they rely on facts when thinking about abortion now than in 2020. 17
- Slide 18: Independents say they view most issues through a fact-based lens, but are split on abortion and LGBTQ+ issues 18
- Slide 19: Trusted sources for information on the government 19
- Slide 20: Social media and TV news are the most common sources of information about the government. 20
- Slide 21: Since 2019, the share getting daily information from the president, social media, and TV news has declined. 21
- Slide 22: “New media” like podcasts, YouTube, social media, and AI rank among the least trusted sources. 22
- Slide 23: Few trust information about the government from social media despite its higher use. 23
- Slide 24: Trusted information on elections 24
- Slide 25: The public is particularly likely to find it difficult to know if information about the upcoming presidential election and what the candidates are saying is true or not. 25
- Slide 26: Many adults rely on an internet search to determine if information about the presidential election is true. 26
- Slide 27: Government certifications are the most trusted source for accurate information on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. 27
- Slide 28: Those with little trust in government certification of election results are more likely to look to Trump and his campaign to provide accurate information about the outcome of the 2024 presidential election than other sources. 28
- Slide 29: A greater proportion of Democrats than Republicans have high levels of trust in government certifications of election results. 29
- Slide 30: Election integrity and government misinformation 30
- Slide 31: A majority continues to feel the spread of misinformation about the government is a major problem. 31
- Slide 32: 45% are concerned about foreign governments promoting division on social media. About 1 in 3 are concerned about foreign tampering with voting systems. 32
- Slide 33: Artificial intelligence and the future of information 33
- Slide 34: Half are concerned about the future impact of AI tools on how they get information, while few are excited about the prospect. 34
- Slide 35: Younger adults are more likely than older adults to be excited about the future impact of AI tools. 35
- Slide 36: Few are very confident in the reliability of information from AI. 36
- Slide 37: More than 4 in 10 adults think AI will make it harder to find factual information about the election. 37
- Slide 38: Democrats are more likely than Republicans to think AI will make it easier to find accurate election information. 38
- Slide 39: Trust in information from the government 39
- Slide 40: The public follows inflation and the cost of living most closely, while fewer pay close attention to the federal budget or foreign affairs. 40
- Slide 41: On a range of issues, few are very trusting of information from the federal government. 41
- Slide 42: Despite low trust in information from the government, about two-thirds report using a federal government website to look up information. 42
- Slide 43: More think the political beliefs of the president and members of Congress influence information provided by the federal government than think the same about federal employees. 43
- Slide 44: Less than 1 in 3 Democrats, independents, or Republicans think political beliefs of federal employees significantly influence information provided by the government. 44
- Slide 45: Outlook and fatigue 45
- Slide 46: Close to three quarters of adults believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. 46
- Slide 47: Over half have felt the need to limit consumption of information related to government and politics due to overload or fatigue. 47
- Slide 48: Women are more likely than men to feel the need to limit media consumption on each of these topics. 48
- Slide 49: Methodology 49
