Majorities in Both Parties Say Media Criticism Keeps Politicians in Check

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 19, 2025. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Most Americans – including majorities of both Republicans and Democrats – say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things that they shouldn’t, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in August. Overall, 80% of Americans express this view, up from 75% in September 2025. Another 16% say such criticism keeps political leaders from doing their job. 80% of Americans say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn’t % of U.S. adults who say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things that shouldn’t be done Note: Survey data is from Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (2016-2026) and Center phone surveys (1986-2013). Survey methodology and question wording have changed over time. Surveys in 1985, 1989 and 1998 that did not ask independents whether they lean toward the Democratic Party or Republican Party are excluded from party analysis. Refer to the detailed responses for more details. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER 80% of Americans say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn’t % of U.S. adults who say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things that shouldn’t be done All U.S. adultsRep/Lean RepDem/Lean Dem8/20268073899/20257566869/20247467813/20196850823/20186542843/20177048882/20167577747/20136869707/20115861577/20096266597/200758477011/20056243736/20056044757/20035449587/200259546811/20015549639/20016051682/19995867552/1998551/19946670648/1989687/198567 Note: Survey data is from Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (2016-2026) and Center phone surveys (1986-2013). Survey methodology and question wording have changed over time. Surveys in 1985, 1989 and 1998 that did not ask independents whether they lean toward the Democratic Party or Republican Party are excluded from party analysis. Refer to the detailed responses for more details. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER About this research Pew Research Center did this analysis to better understand Americans’ attitudes toward the news media and how they’re changing over time. Why we did this We have asked Americans about their views of the news media’s role in holding public officials accountable since the mid-1980s. This analysis looks at current attitudes and how they have changed over time. How we did this We surveyed 5,166 U.S. adults from Aug. 24 to 30, 2026. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population. Here are our survey questions, the detailed responses and the methodology. Large majorities among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (89%) and Republicans and Republican leaners (73%) say the news media’s so-called “watchdog role” helps keep political leaders in check. Views do not vary meaningfully by age or political ideology within the parties. Since the early 2000s, Republicans’ and Democrats’ views of the news media’s watchdog role have often shifted depending on which party controls the presidency. Supporters of each party tend to become more likely to say the media helps keep political leaders in check when the president is a member of the other party. But the latest Republican trend does not follow that pattern neatly. In September 2024, during the last year of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, 67% of Republicans said criticism from news organizations helped keep political leaders in check. Today, under Republican President Donald Trump, 73% express that view. The share of Democrats who say this also has increased since 2024, from 81% to 89%. Meanwhile, trust in information from national and local news organizations has also slightly increased since 2025 among both Republicans and Democrats. This is a reversal after years of declining trust, particularly among Republicans. Note: Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the methodology. Kirsten Eddy is a senior researcher focusing on news and information at Pew Research Center.