75% of Americans Have Trouble Finding Factual Political News, Says Harris Poll

While 80% of Americans believe in a balanced diet of political news, 54% admit they only consume from sources that align with their beliefs

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Three-quarters of Americans report difficulty finding factual political news, according to a new survey by The Harris Poll commissioned by Otherweb, an AI-driven news aggregator and registered public benefit corporation. Harris polled the public to better understand their relationship with news consumption pertaining to U.S. political news.

Big tech companies agreed this month to start fighting election misinformation online, as clickbait, deepfakes, and AI-generated content already present a challenge to people seeking reputable information. While 80% of Americans recognize the importance of consuming a balanced diet of political news from both left- and right-leaning sources, over half (54%) admit to primarily consuming news that aligns with their own beliefs.

The survey, which delved into the attitudes and perceptions of U.S. consumers across various demographics, also found that a staggering 87% of Americans believe people are more misinformed about political news today than they were five years ago. The desire for change is evident, as 89% of Americans wish they had an effective way to filter out low-quality news articles — a sentiment that increases with age.

“People want substance over sensationalism, especially in an election year,” said Alex Fink, CEO and Founder of Otherweb. “The results show an interesting dynamic in which people claim to want a better way to get quality information, but they’re still only reading the outlets they align with politically. The rise of clickbait and low-quality journalism has created a distrust where Americans don’t know what to believe, so they are more likely to view politics as a team sport where the truth doesn't matter as long as their side wins.”

The survey also highlights a generational divide in news consumption, as Gen Z (ages 18-27) is the least likely group to think source diversity is important, and 40% of them cite social media as their primary news source. Overall, 74% of Americans say they have to make more effort to be well-informed than they did five years ago. That figure rises to 79% for Baby Boomers (ages 60-78).

Readers of news aggregators emerged as the least likely group to confine their news consumption to their political side. Some 81% of those who use news aggregators as a primary political news sources believe Americans need to consume both left-leaning and right-leaning news to be well-informed, compared to 70% of those whose primary source of news is print newspapers.

The consequence of news consumption is even greater in a massive election year. In 2024, 64 countries representing nearly half the global population will head to the polls. Even though political ideologies seem to be growing further apart, the data shows a desire for Americans to weed through everything else and find the facts.

Learn more about Otherweb and its quest to deliver the news without the noise.

Survey methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Otherweb from Feb. 15-20, 2024, among 2,092 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5% age points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [e-mail].

About Otherweb

Otherweb is operated by a public benefit corporation that improves the quality of news consumption by filtering out junk and removing bias. Its web- and app-based platform aggregates the latest news from hundreds of trustworthy sources, allowing users to customize their experience and control their feeds. Twenty cutting-edge, open-source AI models filter out misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and clickbait with source code and datasets open to the public, showing full transparency and no hidden biases. Learn more at otherweb.com