What Is Fake News? Donald Trump Administration Trusted More Than Media, Emerson College Poll Says

A key finding of the Emerson College Spring 2017 poll conducted earlier this week showed that voters found the Donald Trump administration more trustworthy than the news media. The Trump administration was considered truthful by 49 percent of voters, while only 39 percent of the respondents said they trusted the media.

According to the poll, 48 percent voters considered the Trump administration untruthful, while a majority of 53 percent considered the news media untruthful.

"Numerous members of the Trump administration – including Trump himself – have been criticized frequently for making false statements," the Emerson College said in a news release.

"The partisan split on this topic is clear – 89 percent of Republicans find the Trump administration truthful, versus 77 percent of Democrats who find the administration untruthful. Conversely, 69 percent of Democrats find the news media truthful, while a whopping 91 percent of Republicans consider them untruthful. Independents consider both untruthful," it added.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 5 and Feb. 6 and pollsters questioned 617 registered voters with a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

This poll had similarities with Gallup's annual poll on the public's trust in media released before the presidential elections. Gallup's poll showed that 32 percent of Americans trusted the media, including 14 percent of Republicans, while the majority did not.

"Americans' trust and confidence in the mass media 'to report the news fully, accurately and fairly' has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32 percent saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media," Gallup analyst Art Swift said at the time.

Trump and his team had been at a sort of war with members of the press. At a press conference in December, Trump called one major media outlet "fake news."

Sean Spicer, in his first address from the White House, had criticized the media for what he claimed falsely portrayed the size of the crowd during the president's inauguration. Recently, White House counselor and chief strategist, Steve Bannon, reportedly referred to the media in Washington, D.C., as the "opposition party."