Report · Culture

Most Americans withhold judgment on authoritarian critiques of democracy

Reading

When asked whether authoritarian governments' criticisms of democracies deserve to be taken seriously, more Americans agree than disagree, 34% to 28%, according to a December 2025 Verasight survey.

The largest group, though, takes no side, with 38% neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Strong views are uncommon at either end: 7% strongly agree and 10% strongly disagree.

Topline

response scale

Topline scale

Most Americans withhold judgment on authoritarian critiques of democracy.

To what extent do you agree with the following statement: "When authoritarian countries criticize democracies for engaging in anti-democratic actions, their criticisms are legitimate and should be taken seriously."

  • Neither agree nor disagree 38.2%
  • Agree 27.1%
  • Disagree 17.2%
  • Strongly disagree 10.4%
  • Strongly agree 7.1%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.2%

tech_behavior

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-12-03 → 2025-12-08
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.2%
Module
tech_behavior

Source

Citation

Verasight Human/LLM Comparison Survey #2025-172, fielded December 3-8, 2025, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.2%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/verasight-human-v-synthetic

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.