New data from a recent nationwide survey reveals the shifting landscape of media trust in the United States, highlighting consistent front-runners and a persistent, deep partisan divide in how Americans view their news sources.
According to a YouGov poll published on May 30, 2025, which assessed public trust in a comprehensive list of 52 news outlets, The Weather Channel has once again distinguished itself as the most trusted source among Americans. This marks the fourth consecutive year—following trends observed in 2022, 2023, and 2024—that the outlet has held this top position, commanding a net trust score of +49 in the 2025 findings.
Key Findings on Trust and Distrust
Following The Weather Channel in overall trustworthiness are two other prominent news organizations: the BBC, the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster, which garnered a net trust score of +26 among Americans, and PBS, the U.S. public broadcasting service, which received a score of +25.
At the opposite end of the spectrum lies the National Enquirer, identified as the least-trusted news outlet in the survey. Despite a slight improvement from its net trust score of -44 in the previous year, the tabloid still registered a significant -37 net trust score in the 2025 poll, indicating it is viewed as substantially more untrustworthy than trustworthy by the American public.
Other outlets registering among the lowest levels of trust include Infowars, with a net trust score of -15, and Breitbart News, with a score of -7.
Partisan Differences Shape Media Consumption
The YouGov poll underscores significant and widening partisan differences in attitudes towards news media. Generally, the findings show that Democrats tend to exhibit higher levels of trust in news organizations overall and in most major individual outlets compared to their Republican counterparts. This differential is a consistent theme across much of the media landscape assessed by the survey.
However, the poll did identify areas of common ground, particularly within financial news sources, where the gap in trust between Democrats and Republicans was notably narrower, suggesting a shared reliance or perspective on information related to economic matters.
The Most Politically Polarizing Outlets
The survey specifically highlighted several major cable news networks as the most politically polarizing outlets based on the stark divergence in trust scores between Democrats and Republicans. CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News were identified in this category.
The data revealed an 80-point difference in net trust for CNN between the two major parties, with trust significantly higher among Democrats than among Republicans. MSNBC exhibited a similar pattern, with its net trust score being 77 points higher among Democrats compared to Republicans.
Conversely, Fox News demonstrated the reverse polarization, with its net trust score standing 76 points higher among Republicans than among Democrats. These figures vividly illustrate the degree to which these prominent news sources are viewed through a partisan lens by their respective audiences.
The Unique Position of the National Enquirer
The National Enquirer held a unique distinction in the 2025 YouGov poll results. It was the only outlet among the 52 assessed that was considered more untrustworthy than trustworthy by both Democrats and Republicans. While partisan differences exist even in distrust (Republicans registered slightly higher distrust), both groups converged in viewing the publication negatively overall, setting it apart from politically polarizing outlets where one party’s trust tends to be the other’s distrust.
In conclusion, the YouGov poll of May 30, 2025, paints a clear picture of the American media landscape: one dominated in terms of consistent, broad trust by non-politically charged sources like The Weather Channel, characterized by enduring low trust for tabloid and ideologically extreme outlets, and defined by a profound, perhaps deepening, partisan divide in how core news organizations are perceived by the public.
