More Americans skeptical of government information: Survey

A new poll has found that Americans are more skeptical of information released by the federal government, with majorities saying they have little to no trust in the government.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts survey released Wednesday shows that almost 6 in 10 Americans say they trust the government “only a little” or not at all,” with 34 percent of American adults saying they trust the federal certification of election results “a great deal” or “quite a bit,” a 6-point drop since 2024.

Mistrust among Americans on most key issues has gone up, with 53 percent saying they trust “only a little” or “not at all” of the government’s information on education, 58 percent on environmental information, 57 percent on election results, 56 percent on immigration information and 46 percent on healthcare information.

Pollsters found that mistrust of nearly every topic has risen slightly since they first started asking in their 2019 survey . The latest survey found that trust in government information has declined as it has become more partisan since President Trump’s first term.

Trust in government information shifts when the opposing party controls the White House, the AP-NORC survey uncovered.

Democrats trusted government information less during Trump’s first term, though not dramatically more than Republicans. Democrats’ doubts declined under former President Biden but spiked again after Trump returned to the White House. But Republican distrust in government information saw a steady rise under Biden.

On some issues, the poll found that more Democrats, at 61 percent, have low trust in information about the federal budget, compared to 42 percent of Republicans.

A similar percentage of Democrats are skeptical about information released about crime, while 32 percent of Republicans say they feel the same.

Americans’ faith in institutions and trust in nonpartisan facets of government have waned as hyperpartisanship has increased in recent years. Information about elections has been scrutinized amid unfounded claims against election results, including during the 2020 presidential election.

Polling released by Fox News in June found that a quarter of registered voters said they “generally trust” the government, with 74 percent saying they do not. More than half of voters said they trusted the government in 2002, but that number has remained below 40 percent since the second Obama administration.

The AP-NORC survey was conducted July 29 to Aug. 10 and included 1,036 respondents. The margin of error is 4.1 percentage points.