Mistrust of US government information is rising across major issues, new poll shows

A recent poll reveals that Americans are increasingly skeptical of government information, with majorities expressing little to no trust in federal government data concerning elections, politics, foreign affairs, and the environment, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USA Facts.

This mistrust not only surpasses levels seen at the conclusion of President Donald Trump's first term but has also increased since 2024, reflecting the impact of Trump's efforts to downsize the federal bureaucracy and its potential ramifications on public confidence in the executive branch, particularly among Democrats.

The majority of U.S. adults now have low confidence in government certifications of election results, with only 34% expressing trust, down slightly from 40% in 2024. Such certifications, usually straightforward processes involving local and state officials to verify vote tallies, have become contentious since Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election. Furthermore, trust in government information has become more divided along partisan lines compared to Trump's initial term in office.

Shannon Ingram, a 46-year-old Democrat from Maryland, exemplifies this shift in trust, citing shifting health recommendations and questioning the government's reliability as an example of "questionable" information presented by the administration. Approximately 60% of U.S. adults have low trust in federal government information pertaining to the environment, foreign affairs, elections, politics, abortion, or immigration, indicating a significant erosion of confidence in the information provided by the federal government.

This growing skepticism has escalated across nearly all topics examined in a survey conducted from 2019 to 2026, with notable increases in mistrust towards education, which has risen from 37% to 53% in just one year. The current findings emerge amidst a tumultuous period in the executive branch, marked by President Trump's efforts to dismantle essential aspects of the federal bureaucracy following his second inauguration.

These actions have led to the dismissal or departure of countless federal employees, causing a notable decline in the number of government statisticians and experts, who have since raised concerns about potential risks to data quality.