BELLEVUE, WA – A new national poll on media accuracy and bias reveals a majority of Americans are concerned about accuracy and bias when it comes to national media reporting on gun violence and Second Amendment issues.
The poll was conducted for the Second Amendment Foundation by McLaughlin & Associates, a national survey research and strategic services company specializing in public opinion research and media planning. SAF was not involved in crafting survey questions or the actual polling.
According to McLaughlin, an overwhelming 71.9 percent of Americans are concerned about media bias at news networks such as ABC, CBS and NBC, including 34.3 percent who are “very concerned” and 37.6 percent who are “somewhat concerned.” Only one in four are not concerned about media bias on gun issues.
“While some may be surprised by the survey results,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “we’re actually not, which amounts to a sad commentary on the state of the establishment media today. The firearms community has felt for a long time that Second Amendment issues do not get a fair shake, and this survey strongly reinforces that impression.”
“Clearly the vast majority of Americans have lost faith in the national media when it comes to reporting honestly and fairly about gun violence and Second Amendment issues,” said veteran pollster Jim McLaughlin, president and partner at McLaughlin and Associates. “Interestingly, not only are Republicans (83%) suspect of the information they receive, but Independents (69%) and even Democrats (63%) are worried about bias on Second Amendment and gun violence issues.”
Gottlieb said guns, crime and the Second Amendment are going to be major issues in the 2024 presidential and congressional elections, and the McLaughlin survey exposes a major concern for gun owners and activists.
“If media bias on this issue is so clear to Americans,” Gottlieb observed, “it raises the question as to why?”