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A study by the News Literary Project published in November found that American teens do not trust the media in the U.S., as 80% believe journalists fail to report information that is more unbiased than other online content.
Nearly half of American teens said journalists do “more to harm democracy than to protect it,” the study found.
Trust in the news media among Americans in general hit a new low in October 2025, according to a Gallup poll, as just 28% of Americans said they had a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the news.
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A study conducted in November found that teens in America feel distrust of the news media. (Getty/iStock)
The News Literary Project found that a large majority, 84%, of teens describe the news media negatively, using words such as “fake,” “false,” “lies,” “boring,” “crazy,” “biased,” and “chaotic.”
Just 9% of teens used positive words to describe the media, such as “interesting” or “good.” The study also found that 7% used neutral words to describe it, with some simply listing social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Facebook. Others used general topics to describe it, like “Trump,” and “War.”
Half or more of American teenagers believe professional journalists “regularly” engage in unethical behavior, the study said. The behavior, the study said, included doing favors to sources in exchange for information, giving advertisers special treatment, making up details, or taking photos and videos out of context.
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The TikTok logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen which displays the TikTok home screen, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. (Michael Dwyer/AP Photo)
The New Literacy Project surveyed U.S. adolescents, ages 13 to 18, who also did the survey in 2024. The data was collected between April and May 2025.
The respondents were also asked to name movies or TV programs that come to mind when they think of journalism.
Teens were most likely to name the Spider-Man franchise when they think of journalism, the study found. Teens also mentioned “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “The Post,” “Spotlight,” the Superman franchise, and “All the President’s Men.”
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A group of young people on their phones. (iStock)
A Gallup poll published in October found that just 36% of Americans said they had “not very much” trust, while 34% reported “none at all.”
The findings marked the first time in the poll’s 50-year history that overall trust in the media has dropped below 30%, falling beneath 2024’s record low of 31%.
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‘ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
