Voters trust TV news nearly nine times more than social media, survey finds

Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) released a report examining how Americans engage with political and news content across television and digital platforms, finding that voters across party affiliations trust TV news more than social media, search engines or artificial intelligence tools.

The report, titled “The Lead Story: How Multiscreen TV Drives Cross-Partisan Engagement for Political Ad Campaigns,” analyzed data from a December 2025 survey of 2,319 U.S. adults conducted with Dynata.

Respondents across five groups, potential voters, non-voters, Republicans, Democrats and independents, reported higher levels of trust in TV news than in other digital media sources. Potential voters were nearly nine times more likely to trust TV news than social media platforms, while half of the respondents ranked AI as the least trusted source.

The survey also found that voters are 60% more likely to rely on TV news to stay informed about political issues than social media. Voters were also twice as likely as non-voters to subscribe to pay TV services.

TV news was the most common starting point for voters to understand current events, according to the report.

Sixty-one percent of voters said they typically watch local news and 57% watch national news, compared with 38% and 25% of non-voters, respectively.

Social media platforms were viewed as more likely to contain misleading or false information. Potential voters were nearly three times more likely to identify social media as a source of fake or misleading information compared with TV.

The study also examined advertising outcomes in news environments. Potential voters were 42% more likely to purchase products from advertisers appearing next to a breaking news story on local TV news.

Advertisement

“Today’s voters, regardless of political involvement or party affiliation, move fluidly across trusted multiscreen TV platforms, spanning both linear and streaming, to stay informed on current events and political issues,” said Jason Wiese, EVP, strategic insights & measurement at VAB.

“TV news delivers the scale, trust, credibility and authenticity that no other media can for both political and non-political advertisers. This creates the opportunity to reach audiences in high-quality viewing environments that are positively perceived and can inform, engage and ultimately drive action,” Wiese added.

The report defined “multiscreen TV” as the combined ecosystem of ad-supported linear and streaming television.