Trump's Message Against the Media is Working

There is an old belief that if you say something enough times, at least some people will believe it.

For over 4 years, Donald Trump has been calling the media “Fake News” and “The enemy of the people.”

The Knight Foundation and Gallup released a poll this week that shows many people are buying into Trump’s disregard for the press.

The AP writes that nearly half of all Americans describe the news media as “very biased,” the survey found.

“That’s a bad thing for democracy,” said John Sands, director of learning and impact at the Knight Foundation. “Our concern is that when half of Americans have some sort of doubt about the veracity of the news they consume, it’s going to be impossible for our democracy to function.”

The study found that 71% of Republicans have a “very” or “somewhat” unfavorable opinion of the news media, while 22% of Democrats feel the same way. Switch it around, and 54% of Democrats have a very favorable view of the media, and only 13% of Republicans feel the same way.

Knight and Gallup said 41% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in the ability of the media to report the news fairly, down from 55% in a similar survey in 1999.

This is so sad and you can blame Trump and the cable news networks for this huge shift in people’s distrust of the media.

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