Poll: Voters don’t trust media fact-checkers

A solid majority of voters believe news organizations play favorites when it comes to fact-checking the statements of candidates, according to a poll released Friday.

{mosads}A survey of likely voters by Rasmussen Reports shows just 29 percent trust media fact-checking of candidates, while 62 percent believe news organizations twist the facts to help candidates whom they appear to support.

Of voters who back Donald Trump’s presidential bid, the mistrust in fact-checkers skyrockets: 88 percent of the Republican nominee’s backers feel media organizations skew the facts.

However, 59 percent of those backing Democrat Hillary Clinton trust fact-checking by news organizations.

A majority of supporters of Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein also don’t trust media fact-checkers.

The poll comes after CNN recently came under fire for its decision to apply fact-checking chyrons, or on-screen graphics, to Trump’s statements but never to Clinton’s.

CNN media reporter and “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter defended CNN’s decision to only fact-check Trump, saying in a recent PBS forum with the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro that chyrons can’t be applied for Clinton’s falsehoods because they “may be more complicated, maybe more nuanced, may take a lot more explanation versus some of what Trump has said.”

Rasmussen’s national survey was conducted using 1,000 likely voters who were contacted by telephone and online. Its margin of error is 3 points.