In a presidential election year that has thrown the country's divisions into stark relief, Americans can agree on this: Misinformation about government and politics is a major problem.
A new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Opinion Research and USAFacts finds that while voters say it's pretty easy to find accurate information about voting, they have a harder time knowing whether there's any factual basis for the information they're getting from and about the candidates.
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Among the poll's findings: eight in 10 rated the spread of misinformation about government a "major problem."
The deluge in political misinformation and conspiracy theories has fueled distrust in institutions and threatens to undermine confidence in elections, democracy and the nation itself, according to Cindy Otis, a former CIA officer and now vice president of analysis at Alethea Group, a company that helps combat disinformation.
"We are living today in the biggest period of false information in history, and we Americans are largely doing it to ourselves," Otis said last week during a hearing focused on election-related misinformation. "Americans are losing trust in what they read and see online. We are desperate for information, but certain groups feel they cannot trust the traditional institutions upon which they used to rely."
The poll found the candidates and their campaigns are themselves seen as not credible by many Americans, with less than a third of Americans saying campaign messages from either Biden or Trump are often or always based on facts.
Roughly half of the respondents said Trump's campaign messages are rarely or never based in fact, while about four in 10 respondents say that of Biden's campaign.
Not surprisingly, Democrats and Republicans disagree about which candidate has the bigger problem with the facts. But Trump scores lower even among his own party, with nearly a quarter of Republicans saying his campaign messages are rarely or never based in fact compared with only about one in 10 Democrats who say the same about Biden.
When Americans do try to verify news about the campaign, internet searches are the preferred way, the survey found, with 35% saying they turn to the web to see if news about the contest is true.
Traditional news sources fared worse: 13% said they turn to cable news networks, 8% said national news networks and only 3% went with newspapers or online news sites, reflecting a broader loss of trust in news organizations.
Social media received similarly poor marks, with only 5% saying it's where they go to verify whether election-related news is true. Nevertheless, social media remains a leading source of news for many, with 37% saying they get news from platforms like Facebook or Twitter at least once a day.
One silver lining in the poll? At least six in 10 Americans say it's easy to find factual information about registering to vote and casting their ballot. That's especially good news during a pandemic year election in which many voters will vote by mail for the first time.
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