Media confidence has fallen again in Germany

Trust in the media has fallen again in Germany. However, other institutions, particularly scientific ones, enjoy a high level of trust.

Mainz (Germany). Researcher at the Institute of Journalism Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Institute of Social Sciences at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have been studying trust in the media in Germany since 2015. According to the current edition of Study (PDF), the German population’s trust in local media has fallen again and is now roughly at the level before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Currently, 64 percent of those surveyed consider public broadcasting (ÖRR) to be trustworthy. This is significantly higher than the previous year (62%), but well below the previous peak (72%). In 2020, 70 percent of Germans said they trusted the ÖRR. Between 2016 and 2019, the approval rate fluctuated between 65 and 72 percent.

Trust in the media and other institutions

If we look not only at the ÖRR, but at all media outlets in Germany, public trust is significantly lower. Just 44 percent said they “somewhat” or “totally” trust the media on key issues such as health threats, environmental issues and politics. Last year the level was significantly higher (49%).

Although trust in the media appears low, trust in other institutions of the Federal Republic, including politics (17%), churches (17%) and business (18%), is even lower. Trust in the Bundeswehr (43%) is approximately the same as that in the media and trust in the judiciary (59%) and science (69%) is significantly higher.

Alienation between media and reality

According to the survey, trust in the media has decreased, among other things because many people (22%) believe that the media and reality are increasingly distant. Furthermore, almost a third of those surveyed (31%) believe that media reports do not show real social conditions and do not take seriously the issues that are important to them individually (25%).

The responses also show that statements such as “The media and politics work hand in hand to manipulate public opinion” are increasingly popular (23%). In 2020, this proportion was significantly lower (15%).