September 9, 2026
Less than half of U.S. adults trust information from government agencies, and many report uncertainty about navigating an information environment that’s rapidly changing with the growing adoption of AI.
The survey finds that many Americans struggle to determine what information is true, while confidence in traditional sources like the government is declining. This uncertainty extends to information about the 2026 midterm elections, where Americans face challenges evaluating what they see and hear.
Few believe factual information drives public discourse or decision-making. Roughly half of adults say Democratic Party campaign messages (47%) and Republican Party campaign messages (53%) are rarely or never based on factual information. Similarly, 44% say the same about debates between political candidates, and 40% about decisions made by policymakers.
Trust in information from the federal government has declined since 2024, across issues ranging from the economy and health care to elections and politics. The share of Americans expressing a great deal or quite a bit of trust in federal government information about inflation and the cost of living fell from 26% to 18%, while trust in information about health care declined from 26% to 16%, the environment from 21% to 12%, jobs and unemployment from 25% to 15%, abortion from 21% to 11%, and elections and politics from 22% to 13%.
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, Americans also report difficulty finding and evaluating information about the candidates. Thirty-seven percent say it is difficult to know whether information they encounter is true or not, while 30% say it is difficult to find factual information about candidates and their positions. Forty-three percent have trouble figuring out if what candidates are saying is true or not.
At a time when Americans already express uncertainty about the information they encounter, the growing role of AI introduces another source of concern. Americans approach AI’s growing role in how they get information with more concern than excitement. Nearly half (47%) say they are more concerned than excited about the future impact of AI on how they get information, compared with just 11% who say they are more excited. That concern is reflected in limited confidence in AI-generated information: only 9% are extremely or very confident that information from AI, chatbots, or search results is reliable and factual, while 49% are not very or not at all confident.
Americans see both potential benefits and risks in AI’s impact on information. Nearly half (46%) believe AI will make it easier to understand complicated information or problems, but only 22% think it will make it easier to know what information about the government is true, and 35% believe it will make correcting false information harder. Just one in five (20%) say it is easy to verify whether AI-generated information is accurate.
The nationwide poll was conducted by The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research from July 29 to August 10, 2026 using AmeriSpeak®, NORC’s probability-based panel. Online and telephone interviews were conducted with adults age 18 and older representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia. 1,036 completed the survey—1,017 via the web and 19 by telephone. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 4.1 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (September 2026). “State of the Facts 2026.” https://apnorc.org/projects/state-of-the-facts-2026/
