T
he 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer results reveal the U.S. is a country that has the most “distrust” in search engines as a “source for general news and information,” because just 45% of Americans surveyed say they have faith in the news and information they receive from search engines.
That’s the least trust in search engines of any of the 28 countries surveyed, followed by Japan and Australia (both 47%). Globally, 59% of people say they trust the news and information provided by search engines.
Countries, like the U.S., where less than 50% express "trust," are classified as "distrust" countries, rather than "trust" (60%-100%) or "neutral" nations (50%-59%).
As NewBusters has reported, a 2019 study by Columbia Journalism Review found that, out of the top 20 search results in Google’s “Top Stories,” the search engine referred nearly three times as many users to CNN as they did to Fox News – even though Fox News had far more viewers – and that results provided by Google snubbed every conservative news outlet except Fox.
The U.S. is also one of the least-trusting countries regarding the information coming from “traditional media.” Just 43% of Americans say they have confidence in what they’re being told, behind only Russia (35%) and Japan (39%). Like the U.S., 43% of South Koreans believe what traditional media tell them. Globally, a majority (57%) of people trust traditional media.
When it comes to “owned media,” only Korea (24%) has less trust than the U.S. and Russia (both 28%). For all countries surveyed, trust averaged 43%.
Americans’ distrust of all types of “media” taken together grew, according to the latest survey. Only 39% of Americans now say they have faith in what they’re being told, down from 45% in the previous survey. Only six of the 28 countries surveyed show less trust than the U.S. in the latest study.
A record-high 74% of Americans say they “worry about false information or fake news being used as a weapon,” up from 72% the previous year.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
Editor's Note: This piece was originally published on CNSNews.com.
