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Civic life, news, and public trust

Source reportMethodology

Overview

Adults reported low direct political participation and limited network-news trust, but the attitudes underneath did not reduce to a single anti-politics position.

About 71% had never donated to a political campaign, and 90% had not participated in a demonstration in the last 12 months. Trust in network news was more mixed: 56% said they trusted it some or a lot, while 44% said not too much or not at all.

Topline

71% had never donated to a political campaign.

Have you ever donated to a political campaign?

  • No 71.3%
  • Yes 26.0%
  • Not sure 2.7%

2023 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.6%

MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032

View source data

Most adults had not donated to a campaign

Roughly 71% said they had never donated to a political campaign. About 26% said they had donated, and 3% were not sure.

That makes campaign donation a minority behavior rather than a broad form of political participation.

Headline

90% had not participated in a demonstration in the last 12 months.

Have you participated in a demonstration in the last 12 months?

89.9% no

2023 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.6%

MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032

View source data

Recent demonstration participation was rare

About 90% said they had not participated in a demonstration in the last 12 months. Roughly 9% said they had, and 1% preferred not to answer.

The participation measures point in the same direction: formal campaign donation and recent protest participation were both limited.

Stacked breakdown

44% trusted network news not too much or not at all.

How much, if at all, do you trust the information you get from network news organizations (e.g., ABC, CBS, NBC)?

A lot
13.8%
Some
42.0%
Not too much
24.1%
Not at all
20.2%

2023 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.6%

MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032

View source data

Network news trust was limited, not absent

About 42% said they trust information from network news organizations some, and 14% said a lot. Another 24% said not too much, and 20% said not at all.

A related majority-rule statement also drew more disagreement than agreement. Roughly 45% disagreed at least somewhat that the majority should get what it wants no matter what the minority wants, while 30% agreed at least somewhat.

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Population
United States adults who completed both waves of the survey
Field dates
2023-04-19 → 2023-04-27
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.6%
Module
MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032
Sponsor
Verasight
Weight variable
weight
Weighting targets
age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

Sources

[4]
  • 01
    Have you ever donated to a political campaign?Anchors the topic in political campaign donation participation.reports.verasight.io/reports/mpsa-2023-omnibus-survey-2023-032
  • 02
    Have you participated in a demonstration in the last 12 months?Adds recent demonstration participation.reports.verasight.io/reports/mpsa-2023-omnibus-survey-2023-032
  • 03
    How much, if at all, do you trust the information you get from network news organizations (e.g., ABC, CBS, NBC)?Adds trust in network news organizations.reports.verasight.io/reports/mpsa-2023-omnibus-survey-2023-032
  • 04
    Please rate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement: In politics, the majority should get what it wants — no matter what the minority wants.Adds a democracy-attitude context item.reports.verasight.io/reports/mpsa-2023-omnibus-survey-2023-032

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://reports.verasight.io/reports/mpsa-2023-omnibus-survey-2023-032#have-you-ever-donated-to-a-political-campaign

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. Each wave's specific field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that wave's 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
Every wave is published as a standalone report at verasight.io/reports with full instrument and methodology.
Transparency
AAPOR transparency standards.

Wave-specific methodology, full weighting variable lists, and verbatim instrument text live in each report at verasight.io/reports.