Who Is The Biggest Liar: Public Poll Says Trump

Many Americans recognize President Donald Trump as a fount of falsehoods and misinformation, but he’s not the only one they fault: They also don’t believe members of Congress or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, a survey from Gallup and the Knight Foundation indicated Thursday.

The survey listed 13 potential sources of misinformation, and Trump and social media had the dubious distinction of coming out on top. More than four in five of those polled said they were either very (48%) or somewhat (33%) concerned misinformation on social media would affect the outcome of the 2020 election, with 62% of Democrats, 36% of Republicans and 40% of independents expressing those sentiments.

Those surveyed said it’s wrong to spread misinformation even if it helps a candidate they support with just 3% saying it’s OK.

The survey comes as social media platforms Twitter and Facebook have taken steps to tamp down the spread of misinformation on both the coronavirus pandemic and the election. Twitter has been flagging misleading posts, including those put up by the president, while Facebook has said it would ban political ads that claim victory prematurely and work to stem the spread of false information on Instagram.

Trump was cited by 58% of those queried as a major source of misinformation with 11% more saying he supplied a fair amount. Ninety percent said social media supplied either a great deal (54%) or a fair amount (36%) of questionable facts.

Majorities also criticized cable news (79%) and network news (67%) for spreading misinformation while 56% faulted major newspapers. Seventy-one percent were highly critical of Republican leaders while 58% chided Democratic leaders. Foreign governments were cited by 76% of respondents.

The 1,269 adults queried Sept. 11-24 trust what they hear from their closest friends and immediate family members the most, followed by extended family, friends and co-workers, and government agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

When broken down along party lines, Democrats were nearly unanimous in their distrust of Trump and congressional Republicans, 98% and 93%, respectively, while 85% of Republicans said they distrusted Biden and 94% said they distrusted congressional Democrats. Independents blame everybody: Trump, 74%; congressional Republicans, 77%; Biden, 58%, and congressional Democrats, 70%.