60% of Americans Distrust Federal Government Information

Six in ten U.S. adults report having little or no trust in information provided by the federal government on major issues, including elections and politics, foreign affairs, and the environment, according to a new poll. This skepticism represents a growing trend, with mistrust in government information now higher than it was at the end of President Donald Trump's first term. The survey, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USA Facts, highlights a significant decline in public confidence in the executive branch, particularly among Democrats, potentially influenced by past efforts to dismantle federal agencies. The findings underscore a pervasive sentiment that government communications are increasingly unreliable.

Concerns about the integrity of election processes are particularly pronounced, with only 34% of U.S. adults expressing a "great deal" or "quite a bit" of trust in government certifications of election results. This figure is a slight decrease from 40% in 2024. While election certification is typically a routine administrative procedure involving local and state officials confirming vote counts, it has become a contentious political issue since Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election. The poll also indicates that trust in government information has become more partisan since Trump's initial term. Shannon Ingram, a 46-year-old Democrat from Maryland, cited shifting health recommendations as an example of "questionable" government information, stating, "It's pretty hard to trust anything that's being communicated." She further elaborated that "there is a significant amount of bias, and it comes from the people who are authoring the content."

The survey indicates that mistrust in federal government information has risen across nearly every topic examined since a 2019 AP-NORC/USA Facts survey. Specifically, approximately 60% of U.S. adults report low trust in federal information concerning the environment, foreign affairs, elections and politics, abortion, and immigration. This widespread distrust suggests a broad erosion of faith in the federal government's ability to provide accurate and unbiased information to the public. The data points to a complex interplay of political polarization and perceived bias as key drivers of this declining trust, impacting citizens' perceptions of critical governmental functions and communications.