US Has Less Trust in Search Engines than Any Other Country, Edelman’s Global Survey Finds

The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer results reveal the U.S. is a country that has the most “distrust” in search engines as a “source for general news and information,” because just 45% of Americans surveyed say they have faith in the news and information they receive from search engines.

That’s the least trust in search engines of any of the 28 countries surveyed, followed by Japan and Australia (both 47%). Globally 59% say search engines provide reliable news and useful information.

Countries, like the U.S., where less than 50% express “trust,” are classified as “distrust” countries, rather than “trust” (60%-100%) or “neutral” nations (50%-59%).

As NewBusters has reported, a 2019 study by Columbia Journalism Review found that, out of the top 20 search results in Google’s “Top Stories,” the search engine referred nearly three times as many users to CNN as they did to Fox News – even though Fox News had far more viewers – and that results provided by Google snubbed every conservative news outlet except Fox.

The U.S. is also one of the least-trusting countries regarding the information coming from “traditional media.” Just 43% of Americans say they have confidence in what they’re being told, behind only Russia (35%) and Japan (39%). Similar to the U.S. 43% South Koreans trust traditional media. A majority of the world’s population (57%) trusts traditional media.

When it comes to “owned media,” only Korea (24%) has less trust than the U.S. and Russia (both 28%). All countries were tested and trust was 43%.

Americans’ distrust of all types of “media” taken together grew, according to the latest survey. Only 39% of Americans now say they have faith in what they’re being told, down from 45% in the previous survey. In the most recent study, only six out of 28 countries were less trusted than the United States.

A record-high 74% of Americans say they “worry about false information or fake news being used as a weapon,” up from 72% the previous year.

Conservatives being attacked. Tell your representative to demand Big Tech is held accountable to the First Amendment and provide equal treatment for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s Contact formPlease help us make Big Tech more accountable.

Editor’s Note:Original publication of this piece on CNSNews.com