• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, March 7, 2024

Most Americans feel they should consume political news from both the right and the left. But in reality, 54% mostly stick to news sources that align with their political beliefs, judging by a survey of 2,092 U.S. consumers from Otherweb, conducted by the Harris Poll from Feb. 15-20, 2024. 

In addition, a shocking 87% feel their fellow citizens are more misinformed about political news than they were five years ago and believe things that are simply not true. Of the Boomers polled, 92% agree with this, versus 78% of Gen Z. 

Also, 89% wish they had a way to filter out low-quality news articles on the internet. Again, 93% of Boomers want this, compared to 78% of Gen Z, 88% of millennials and 89% of Gen X. 

Education also plays a role in determining outlooks – but not by much. Of college graduates polled, 91% believe that more people are misinformed than they were five years; 80% with high school educations or less feel this way as do 89% of those with some college.  

Income, too, is a factor: 90% of those earning $100,000 or more believe people are more misinformed, compared to 79% of individuals with incomes of $50,000 or less.  

Overall, the respondents also agree with these statements: 

It has become increasingly difficult to find factual information related to politics—75%

I have to make more effort to be well-informed with regards to political news than I did five years ago—74% 

I find it harder to determine whether a political news story is true or false now than I did 5 years ago—73%

I spend more time reading/listening/watching political news than I did five years ago—60%

“People want substance over sensationalism, especially in an election year,” says Alex Fink, CEO and founder of Otherweb. “The results show an interesting dynamic in which people claim to want a better way to get quality information, but they’re still only reading the outlets they align with politically.” 

Fink adds, “The rise of clickbait and low-quality journalism has created a distrust where Americans don’t know what to believe, so they are more likely to view politics as a team sport where the truth doesn’t matter as long as their side wins.”