Report · Politics

Few Americans think news coverage often reflects what's really happening

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Relatively few Americans think news coverage regularly captures what's happening on the ground. Just 21% say it reflects reality most of the time, and 6% say all of the time, according to an April 2023 Verasight survey.

The largest share (38%) say coverage reflects reality only sometimes. About a quarter (26%) say it rarely does so, though accurately on occasion, and 10% say it never does.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Few Americans think news coverage often reflects what's really happening.

How much do you think news coverage in America accurately represents current situations on the ground?

  • Sometimes 37.7%
  • Rarely, but it is accurate sometimes 25.5%
  • Most of the time 20.8%
  • Never 10.4%
  • All of the time 5.6%

2023 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.6%

MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2023-04-19 → 2023-04-27
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.6%
Module
MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032

Source

Citation

MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032, fielded April 19-27, 2023, N=1,000 United States adults who completed both waves of the survey, +/- 3.6%.

https://verasight-mpsa-2023.tiiny.co

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.