The American press is facing a crisis deeper than shrinking newsrooms or digital disruption. A new study from the News Literacy Project finds that teenagers overwhelmingly believe the nation’s news media is fake, chaotic, and dishonest, a view that threatens the foundation of an informed society at the same time a sitting president intensifies his attacks on journalism. The findings land in an era where corporate consolidation, political pressure, and presidential intimidation collide with the public’s fading confidence in the institutions meant to hold power accountable.
According to the report, 84% of teens use negative words to describe news media. They use words such as “fake,” “false,” “lies,” “chaotic,” “overwhelming,” “distorted” and “boring.” Many teens believe that journalists lie more than they inform. One in three teens said journalists are doing well at “lying or deceiving.” Half believe reporters “make up quotes.” Six in ten believe reporters “take images out of context.” Very few believe journalists confirm facts before reporting them. Only 30% said journalists regularly verify information. Only 23% said reporters correct errors. Even when asked to name one thing journalists are doing well, 10% of teens said “nothing.”
The study shows how fragile the understanding of real journalism has become. Just 9% of teens used positive words such as “informative” or “good” when asked to describe the media. Their limited exposure to journalism in entertainment is dominated by superhero movies. The most common reference teens made to journalism on screen was Spider-Man.
Authors of the report warn that this weak grasp of journalism principles leaves young people open to manipulation and political propaganda. They are susceptible to conspiracy theories, falsehoods, and partisan content disguised as news. The findings reflect a national trend. Only 28% of adults say they have confidence in mass media to report news fully, accurately, and fairly. A Reuters Digital News Report found that only 30% of Americans trust most news most of the time.
At the same time distrust grows, the Trump administration has escalated unprecedented attacks on the press. The president routinely insults reporters, pressures media executives and encourages regulators to punish newsrooms. On Air Force One, when pressed about the Epstein files, he told a Bloomberg reporter “quiet quiet piggy.” During a joint appearance with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, his response to a question about Jamal Khashoggi’s murder was “You are a terrible person.” He has mocked disabled reporters, told an Asian American journalist she should “ask China” about COVID, and accused Black reporters of being racist.
These confrontations have coincided with federal pressure on media companies. After Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chairman publicly targeted Jimmy Kimmel, ABC briefly suspended the late-night host. The FCC has launched investigations into nearly every major broadcast network. Trump has sued newspapers, broadcasters, and social media companies, sometimes winning multimillion-dollar settlements despite filing meritless claims. The White House now maintains a website cataloging journalists it labels “biased,” listing their names and work under headings such as “malpractice” and “left-wing lunacy.” A leaderboard ranks the Washington Post at the top of what the administration calls offenders. The site claims the press “subversively implied” wrongdoing and calls several outlets “media offenders of the week.”
Conflict has also erupted within the conservative media ecosystem. Trump earlier echoed Newsmax’s position in a regulatory fight over TV station ownership, writing “NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS” and “If anything, make them SMALLER!” after executives warned him that lifting ownership caps could harm conservative voices.
For teenagers watching this environment, the news appears hostile, fractured, and untrustworthy. Yet while many traditional outlets struggle to maintain credibility under political pressure, the Black Press of America continues to operate with a clear mission that has never shifted from its roots in 1827 when Freedom’s Journal became the first Black owned newspaper in the United States.
That legacy was front and center at this year’s Black Press Day in Washington. The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which is chaired by San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Publisher Dr. John Warren and represents more than 200 Black owned publications, marked 198 years of African American publishing with a celebration of the institution’s role in documenting and defending Black life.
“The Black Press of America continues to plow up the ground with our publications and our applications. It is our job. It is our calling. It is our legacy. It is our responsibility to fight and advocate for freedom, justice, and equality,” said NNPA President Dr Benjamin Chavis Jr. “We are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not give up that trust for anything.”
At the event, Westside (Fla.) Gazette Publisher Bobby Henry Sr. helped to honor the founders and journalists who built the institution that remains indispensable today. “The publishers we honor today were more than just storytellers. They were guardians of history, fearless in their pursuit of truth, unwavering in their service to our people,” Henry remarked. “Their newspapers were battlefields of justice, their words weapons against oppression. Their legacy is forever enshrined in the fabric of our history.”
