University Survey Shows American Majority Trusts 'Fake News Media' More Than Trump

A poll by the Quinnipiac University has found that majority of Americans still trust the media. This comes as President Trump continues to lambast them as promoters of "fake news."

The results of the survey were released on Wednesday. In Quinnipiac University's official website, it was revealed that 90 percent of American voters believe that it is vital that the news media hold public officials accountable.

It was also found that 52 percent of voters trust the media to tell them the "truth about important issues" while 37 percent believe in Trump. Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said that the media, which has been "demonized" by the president, is still more popular than him.

USA Today reported that, among the Democrat voters, 86 percent admitted that they believed the media more than the president. On the other hand, 78 percent of Republican voters said that President Trump tells them the truth.

The Quinnipiac University poll came after the president has repeatedly criticized the media for propagating "fake news." He also called the press the "the enemy of the American people." He has singled out the New York Times, CBS, NBC News, ABC and CNN in his tweets.

AOL News noted that the university's survey results contradicted a poll from Emerson College which stated that 49 percent of U.S. voters see the Trump administration as "truthful." Only 39 percent of the voters were said to have believed the media.

It was previously reported that fake news did not help Donald Trump win the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to a study by Stanford and New York University. It was found that fake news was "widely shared and tilted in favor of Donald Trump" but the readers' exposure and retention of the false stories may have been overstated.

Americans remembered 0.92 fake news that favored Donald Trump while remembered only 0.23 in favor of Hillary Clinton. A single false article would have needed the persuasive power of 36 television campaign ads to make a significant impact on the election.