True or false? Americans question which news outlets report accurate information and which report fake news

'Trust in the media is really dependent on the source.'

Monmouth University released the results of a new poll, which reveal which sources Americans trust and which they consider "fake news."

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The poll was conducted by telephone between March 2 to March 5 in 2017 with 801 adults in the United States. The results of the Monmouth poll have a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent.

The Monmouth poll claimed 63 percent of America believes traditional major television and newspaper outlets are reporting "fake news."

Twenty-seven percent believe fake news is reported regularly while 36 percent believe false information is perpetuated on occasion.

As for online news sites, 41 percent believe the news is regularly fake and 39 percent believe fake news is reported on occasion.

Seventy-nine percent of all Republicans and 66 percent of independents are more likely to believe major media outlets are responsible for fake news stories, while only 43 percent of Democrats believe the same.

Over half the United States (54 percent) believe online news sites report fake stories to push a particular agenda while only 17 percent believe inaccuracies in online reporting are due to accidents and poor fact checking.

Patrick Murray, the director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, New Jersey, reported: "Trust in the media is really dependent on the source. It is interesting that Democrats are more likely to give a credibility edge to an outlet that is seen as more mainstream over one whose political perspective is more in line with their own.

"Most Republicans, on the other hand, seem to assume that every source that isn't conservative must, by definition, have a liberal bias and is therefore less trustworthy. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground for them.

"...Many Americans believe that fake news is rampant across all types of media. The main outcome of this phenomenon seems to be that all news media outlets are now eyed with suspicion.

What sources can be trusted?

It all depends on perspective.

When looking at the results of the poll, one might assume the best course of action is to read the same news story on several sites to see where any inaccuracies lie.

At Catholic Online, each story is carefully checked and cross-checked across several sources before publication and is written with a conservative Catholic audience in mind.

Catholic Online does not condone the delivery of fake news, inaccurate stories or other forms of "fake news." When you're looking for accurate accounts, real numbers, true stories and honest reporting, turn to your favorite news source: Catholic Online.

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