Bospar “Fake News” Study: 21 Percent of Republicans Consider Trump’s Twitter Feed a Trustworthy News Source

New data reveals that 36 percent of Americans will decide a news story is “fake” if they don’t agree with its politics and 20 percent don’t feel any news source is trustworthy

SAN FRANCISCO—August 15, 2017 – Bospar, the boutique PR firm that puts tech companies on the map, today announced the results of the Bospar Fake News Study. Fielded to over 1,000 American adults, the survey looked at the extent to which Americans understand “fake news” and how they determine what news sources are trustworthy.

Americans Confused About “Fake News”

Just about three-fourths (74 percent) of the American population understand what fake news is—namely, deliberate misinformation spread on social media and fake news sites designed to influence politics, and well over half—59 percent—admit they have read and believed a news story only to find out later that it was “fake news.”

But 57 percent of Americans are a bit confused, joining POTUS in his belief that fake news is misinformation deliberately created by main stream news sites, like CNN and MSNBC, a position held by many more Republicans (74 percent) than Democrats (46 percent).

Meanwhile, 19 percent of Americans think any negative coverage of President Trump is fake news, while 15 percent believe any positive coverage of President Trump is fake.

Indeed, politics play a key role in the conversation: when asked how they evaluate whether or not an article is “fake news,” 36 percent of Americans said it had to do with the political views of the source. Other ways that Americans determine whether or not an article is fake news include:

Republicans are again swayed more heavily by politics than Democrats—44 percent said the political views of the source is an indicator of whether or not something is “fake news” compared to only 36 percent of Democrats. Men (41 percent) were also much more likely than women (32 percent) to consider the political views of the source an indicator of “fake news.”

In CNN Non-Republicans Trust

Americans are reading very different news sources based on their political party affiliations.

While 62 percent of Democrats consider CNN a trustworthy news source, only 22 percent of Republicans do; 57 percent of Democrats consider New York Times to be a trustworthy news source, but only 20 percent of Republicans do; 40 percent of Democrats think MSNBC is a trustworthy news source, but only 12 percent of Republicans do. Meanwhile, 53 percent of Republicans think Fox News is trustworthy, but only 29 percent of Democrats do.

There is likewise a split when it comes to which political commentators Americans think are trustworthy:

Republicans Democrats
Sean Hannity 24 percent 4 percent
Rush Limbaugh 24 percent 2 percent
Stephen Colbert 4 percent 17 percent
Trevor Noah 5 percent 13 percent
Seth Meyers 3 percent 11 percent

Twenty-one percent of Republicans also consider Donald Trump’s Twitter feed to be a trustworthy news source, but only 4 percent of Democrats agree. Meanwhile, one-in-five Americans (20 percent) don’t think any news sources are trustworthy.

Americans Agree “Fake News” Is Dangerous

Americans are united in their concern that, if fake news is allowed to continue at current levels, trust in mainstream media will continue to erode (49 percent). They also worry about the erosion or disappearance of democracy (40 percent), terrorist incidents (40 percent) and war (36 percent).

Democrats worry that “fake news” will result in the re-election of President Trump (41 percent) while Republicans worry that it will result in his impeachment (27 percent).

Nearly half of Americans (47 percent) feel the U.S. government has been “not at all effective” in its efforts to investigate and eliminate “fake news,” while a third (33 percent) believe the efforts have been “somewhat effective.”

About Bospar

Bospar is a boutique tech PR firm featuring a team of highly seasoned professionals who exist to put tech companies on the map. Bospar’s principals include a longtime PR and tech industry guru, a former broadcast TV producer and award-winning media maven, a standout PR agency manager from the corporate side of a leading global law firm, and an experienced executive with both large agency and public company credentials. Bospar’s larger team includes experts in both social and traditional media, as well as financial and analyst relations and public affairs.

For more information, visit Bospar.com.

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About Bospar

Bospar is the award-winning “politely pushy” tech and health public relations and marketing agency. The firm, which launched in 2015, provides clients with national support thanks to its distributed agency model. Bospar’s staff includes marketing and PR experts and veteran journalists from top-tier tech and business media. The agency’s strategic and creative thinkers excel in earned and social media, analyst and investor relations, content creation and placement, and public affairs. Leaders from brands – including Alkermes, Standigm, Marqeta, Snowflake and Unisys – trust Bospar to drive category leadership for disruptive technologies and solutions.

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