CHICAGO– For Christopher Pugh, the 2020 election was a turning point.
He already distrusted the government. But as he watched Fox News news coverage immediately following the election and reading posts on Twitter, the social media platform now known as X, distrust grew. He now believes that the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and trusts that few people, other than former President Donald Trump, can bring him news of the election results.
“I trust Donald Trump, not the government,” said the 38-year-old Republican from Gulfport, Mississippi. “That’s it.”
While most Americans trust government-certified election results to at least some extent, Republicans are more likely to trust Trump and his campaign, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research And VSFactsAmericans also go into the November election worried about misinformation. Many have little confidence that the information they receive from presidential candidates — particularly Trump, but also Vice President Kamala Harris — is based on factual information.
Trump continues to lie about the outcome of the 2020 electionand said it was rigged against him, even after dozens of his lawsuits failed, reviews, tells And controls in battlefield states all confirmed the victory of President Joe Biden, and that of Trump himself attorney general said there was no evidence of widespread fraud. Despite no proof of any widespread fraud, a 2023 poll found that most Republicans believe Biden was not legitimately elected president.
As Trump runs for the third time as the Republican candidate, he also indicates that he can only lose because of widespread fraud. Last weekend threatened with prosecution those who “engage in unconscionable conduct” if he wins this November election.
“The only way they can beat us is by cheating,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas in June.
The recent findings of the AP-NORC survey show that a significant share of Trump’s supporters are more likely to believe what he says about the upcoming election results than to trust the government. certifications of election results.
About two-thirds of Republicans have at least a moderate amount of trust in Trump’s campaign to provide accurate information about the results of the 2024 election, while only about half say the same about official certifications of results, the survey found. By contrast, about 9 in 10 Democrats have at least a moderate amount of trust in the government certification, and an overwhelming majority, 82%, also have at least a moderate amount of trust in Harris and her campaign.
Most Americans — about 7 in 10 — trust government certifications of election results at least somewhat, the survey found. Majorities also trust national and local television news networks, as well as local or state newspapers, to provide accurate information about the outcome of this year’s presidential election.
Danielle Almeida, a 45-year-old Democrat from Briarcliff Manor, New York, says she has confidence in government-certified election results and is concerned that some Americans don’t.
“To have a democracy, we have to have confidence in the system and the results of our elections,” she said, adding that she thinks Trump “doesn’t care about fact-checking because he believes his supporters don’t care either.”
Americans are generally less trusting of campaigns — compared to sources like government and the media — but they trust Harris and her campaign more than Trump and his campaign to provide accurate information about the election outcome. About half have at least a “moderate” amount of trust in Harris and her campaign. In contrast, about 4 in 10 have at least a moderate amount of trust in Trump and his campaign.
Some Republicans’ distrust of election results began long before the 2020 election.
Richard Baum, 60, a conservative independent from Odessa, Texas, said his suspicions began in the 2000 U.S. presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore. After Bush won by a narrow margin, “hanging chads” became an unlikely symbol of a controversial presidential election as minor anomalies common in elections, grew into major national controversies.
“There were a number of things that weren’t right that made me question whether I could trust the government,” Baum said.
Baum said he would trust the election results only if voting were limited to one day, early voting and mail-in voting were banned, and photo IDs were required at all polling places.
Many Americans doubt the veracity of both presidential candidates’ campaign messages, but skepticism about Trump’s campaign is greater, according to the USAFacts/AP-NORC survey.
About 6 in 10 Americans believe Trump’s campaign messages are “rarely” or “never” based on factual information, compared to 45% who say the same about Harris’ campaign messages.
Many Americans also say it’s difficult to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the candidates. Just under half of Americans say it’s “very easy” or “somewhat easy” to find factual information about the candidates and their positions, and only about a third say it’s easy to tell whether what candidates say is true or not.
About 6 in 10 Americans say they can easily tell the difference between facts and opinions when it comes to information about the upcoming presidential election. However, only 4 in 10 say they can easily tell whether information is true or not.
However, Americans are more confident in factual information about election logistics: About 7 in 10 Americans say it is easy to find information about how to register to vote, and about 6 in 10 say it is easy to find information about how to cast their ballot.
Michele Martin, a 56-year-old Democrat from Pennsylvania, said she is “very concerned” about misinformation from politicians but finds it much easier for voters to access basic information.
“It’s online. It’s sent to you. It’s not hard to find,” she said.
About 8 in 10 Americans say that when it comes to getting information about the government, the spread of disinformation is a “major problem,” essentially unchanged since the question was asked in 2020.
Lisa Kuda, a 57-year-old Republican from Palm Harbor, Florida, said she gets most of her news from social media and friends. She said she feels disconnected from most news sources, except for Fox News.
“Disinformation is everywhere,” she said. “It’s really hard to find information about candidates.”
When Americans see news about the election and want to know if it’s true, 40% say they first look online. Much smaller percentages — about 1 in 10 for each — say they first check cable news, national TV news or social media.
Baum, of Texas, says he finds it difficult to easily access information about candidates because he believes social media platforms “censor conservative ideologies.” He also doesn’t trust Google and instead turns to conservative networks and podcasts like One America News and conservative podcasters to fact-check claims he’s not sure about.
Almeida’s process is very different. She starts with a Google search and wades through multiple articles from news organizations like The New York Times and NBC News, noting any discrepancies. If multiple articles contain the same information, she says, she’s more likely to trust it.
“Disinformation is a huge problem,” she said. “You have to take the time to do your research.”
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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report. Sanders reported from Washington.
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The poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29 to Aug. 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
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