Government spending
The October 2019 Democratic debate and the data behind it
Impartial, trustworthy data is a crucial component of our mission at USAFacts, and we are committed to making government data accessible to the public. But how do Americans feel about data and facts?
AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducts the State of the Facts poll in conjunction with USAFacts to better understand how Americans feel about facts and where data is sourced.[1] This year’s findings show that adults find it hard to tell if information is true or not. They also rely on data and transparency to verify it.
Do Americans trust information they get about the government?
Although social media is among respondents’ most-used sources for getting information from the government (40% report using social media to get government data), Americans also cite low levels of trust in information on social platforms.
They’re also less likely to trust businesses, and artificial intelligence (AI) for accurate data. They’re most likely to trust public TV or radio, national TV news networks, and local TV news.
Do Americans trust information on elections?
Government certifications are the most trusted source for providing accurate information on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, with 40% of Americans trusting them “a great deal/quite a bit,” 29% trusting them “a moderate amount,” and 30% trusting them “only a little/not at all.”
Certifications ranked higher than local and national TV news networks, both presidential candidates and their campaigns, national and local newspapers, social media, and AI chatbots.
Trust in government certifications diverge among party lines, however: 51% of Republicans and 87% of Democrats trust government certifications of results at least moderately to provide accurate information on the outcome.
Americans are also skeptical about reliability of information from candidates. Of those surveyed, 39% find it difficult to know if what candidates are saying is true or not.
Skepticism extended to campaign messaging from both candidates, with 57% of those surveyed reporting that Donald Trump’s messaging was not rooted in factual information, and 45% thinking the same of Kamala Harris.
Do Americans trust artificial intelligence?
Nearly two thirds of Americans (64%) are not confident that information they get from AI is reliable and factual. Over half (52%) are concerned about how AI affects how they get information. Over half (51%) also say AI results are rarely based on facts.
Less than half (43%) think that AI will make finding factual and accurate information about the 2024 presidential election more difficult, compared with the 16% who think AI will make it easier.
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The 2024 State of the Facts poll was conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research with funding from USAFacts.
AP-NORC polled 1,019 adults nationwide (990 via the web and 29 via telephone) from July 29 to August 8, 2024, using the AmeriSpeak®. AmeriSpeak is NORC’s probability-based panel designed to be representative of all US households.
Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. Margin of error is +/- 4.0 percentage points. Complete topline and methodology is available at www.apnorc.org.
