Who do Americans trust the most for their information? According to a recent Gallup/Knight Foundation poll, it’s Tucker Carlson. Out of 2,800 respondents, 113 mentioned Carlson as the “public individual” they watched or followed most often. This is a significant result, considering the broad definition of “public individual” that Gallup offered to participants.
Interestingly, leftist comedians Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert also ranked in the top 10, higher than scientists, presidents, journalists, and Joe Rogan. MSNBC host Rachel Maddow came in at a close second, with the only other figure besides Carlson to receive more than 100 mentions.
What motivates Americans to choose a particular public figure for information? Likability and trustworthiness are the top priorities, followed by entertainment value and perspectives coming from outside the legacy media bubble.
Despite recent uncertainty for Carlson, he announced that he would resume his nightly show on Twitter. In fact, a recent poll from Change Research showed that Carlson is currently more popular among registered voters than his former network.
Written by Samuel Boehlke, a rising senior in Mass Communication/Law and Policy at Concordia University Wisconsin and a current intern at The Federalist. Reach him at [email protected] or by DMs @vaguelymayo.
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