Trust in media: Study shows worrying trends in Germany

Trust in media: Study shows worrying trends in Germany

The Mainz long-term study on media trust shows that there is no nationwide decline in trust in the media in Germany. Nevertheless, the public debate is increasingly perceived as aggressive and unobjective. According to the study, which has been carried out since 2015 by the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, a growing minority views the established media critically or even hostilely. This is reported by the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

A representative telephone survey in November and December 2024, in which 1,203 respondents aged 18 and over took part, shows interesting results. For this survey, the statistical margin of error is a maximum of 3 percentage points. 47 percent of those surveyed trust the established media “when it comes to really important things,” which represents a slight increase compared to the previous year (44 percent). However, this trust is below the peak of 56 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, but higher than the 43 percent in 2019.

Trust in the media and social perceptions

A significant 20 percent of respondents say they don't trust the media, an improvement from last year's 25 percent. Over 50 percent perceive public debates as unobjective and aggressive. The survey also included the claim that 69 percent of respondents say people in debates stubbornly insist on their points of view and 68 percent do not let others finish. In addition, 44 percent report intentionally concealing important facts.

The perception of media coverage of specific topics is also critical. Only 27 percent of those surveyed trust the reporting on Israel and Gaza and 40 percent trust the reporting on the war in Ukraine. These values ​​underscore the divided relationship between media and audiences, whereby trust in public communication is seen as crucial to the functioning of democracies, as well as the Media center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz emphasized.

The challenges of established media

The pressure on established media is further increased by demonstrative slogans such as “lying press” and aggressive comments in online forums. Digitalization has contributed to the spread of conspiracy theories, posing a serious challenge to trust in reputable sources of information. These aspects are part of a long-term project that examines the determinants and dynamic development of media trust among the population.

The study results show that 20 percent of those surveyed agree with the statement that the media undermines freedom of expression in Germany. 20 percent also express the belief that the population is being systematically lied to by the media, compared to 14 percent two years ago. Agreement with the opinion that reporting is inadequate shows significant increases.

Trust in public broadcasting fell to 61 percent, the lowest value in the long-term study, while 56 percent of respondents trust local newspapers and 55 percent trust national daily newspapers. In comparison, trust in tabloids remains at 3 percent, and trust in private broadcasting has fallen from 22 percent to 17 percent. Overall, the media performs in the middle in the trust ranking, better than politics (19 percent) and the churches (14 percent), but worse than the judiciary (63 percent) and science (72 percent).

Overall, the study shows that despite a fundamental stability in media trust, there is an undeniable trend towards increasing skepticism and brutalization in public debate. The research questions of Media convergence at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz include the study of these trends and their impact on the media landscape and on public trust.

The comprehensive results of this tenth wave of the survey will be published in May 2025. In this context, the book title “Media Trust in Germany” will be available, which contains unpublished evaluations and new time series and provides important insights for future research and debates on the topic of trust in media and democracy.