Media’s “Fact Checks” Led to Distrust of the Press

The mainstream media’s fact-checking track record has led to public distrust, as the American people have often learned the truth about so-called conspiracy theories before the press finally had to admit their veracity.There have been several major instances where the media fact-checks a claim as false, only for evidence to later show that it was true from the beginning. In some cases, the media has had to issue corrections as a result, or at least acknowledge the updated evidence.
The repeated mistakes appear to favor the Democratic narrative, which may be why a Trafalgar poll from December found that 76.3% of Americans believe the mainstream media’s primary focus is on advancing its own political agenda.
Last October, Gallup found that just 36% of Americans trust the media, the second-lowest reading on record, with the worst being 32% in 2016.
With COVID-19, to take one example, the media repeatedly denied the likelihood that the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded gain-of-function research conducted there. The efficacy of lockdowns, wearing masks, and the COVID vaccines were pushed by the media. Lockdowns were supposed to be “15 days to slow the spread,” masks were to be worn to prevent the spread of COVID, …