The poll revealed that trust in the accuracy of mainstream media reports is suspect for 92 percent of Republicans, 53 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of independents, according to a press release summarizing the survey.
"Across the board, trust in traditional news outlets continues to sink, with the overwhelming majority of Americans (70 percent overall) saying that ‘traditional major news sources report news they know to be fake, false or purposely misleading,’" the release stated.
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President Trump has exacerbated the skepticism, especially among conservatives, with language and tweets that equate mainstream media with fake news, the release said.
"Most people say they can spot a fake piece of news. And while Republicans are much less likely to trust that traditional news sources publish real news, they and Democrats are both mostly confident, 78% and 73% respectively, in their ability to identify whether a piece of news as fake," the release noted.
However, Democrats are more likely to take additional steps to verify what they've read than Republicans, according to survey responses.
