CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� For Christopher Pugh, the 2020 election was a turning point.
He already distrusted the government. But as he watched coverage in the immediate aftermath of the election and read posts on Twitter, the social media platform now known as X, that distrust grew. He now believes the that the 2020 election was stolen and trusts few people other than former President Donald Trump to deliver him news about election results.
鈥淚 trust Donald Trump, not the government,鈥� said the 38-year-old Republican from Gulfport, Mississippi. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 it.鈥�
While most Americans trust government-certified election results at least a 鈥渕oderate鈥� amount, Republicans are more likely to trust Trump and his campaign, according to a new survey from the and . Americans also are heading into the November election with concerns about misinformation. Many have low trust that the information they receive from presidential candidates 鈥� particularly Trump, but also Vice President Kamala Harris 鈥� is based on factual information.
Trump , saying it was rigged against him even after , , and in all affirmed President Joe Biden's win, and Trump's own said there was no evidence of widespread fraud. Despite of any widespread fraud, that most Republicans believe Biden was not legitimately elected president.
As Trump runs as the Republican candidate for the third time, he also is signaling that he can only lose through widespread fraud. Over the weekend he those 鈥渋nvolved in unscrupulous behavior鈥� this election should he win in November.
鈥淭he only way they can beat us is to cheat,鈥� Trump said at a Las Vegas rally in June.
The recent findings from the AP-NORC survey show that a significant chunk of Trump's supporters might be more inclined to believe what he says about the upcoming election results than they are to trust government .
About two-thirds of Republicans trust Trump's campaign at least a moderate amount to provide accurate information about the results of the 2024 election, while only about half say the same about the official certifications of results, the survey found. By contrast, about 9 in 10 Democrats trust the government certification at least a moderate amount, and an overwhelming majority, 82%, also have at least a moderate amount of trust in Harris and her campaign.
Most Americans 鈥� around 7 in 10 鈥� trust the government certifications of election results at least a moderate amount, according to the survey. Majorities also trust national and local TV news networks, as well as local or national newspapers, to provide accurate information about the outcome of this year's presidential election.
Danielle Almeida, a 45-year-old Democrat from Briarcliff Manor, New York, said she trusts government-certified election results and finds it alarming that some Americans don鈥檛.
鈥淚n order to have a democracy, we have to trust the system and the results of our elections,鈥� she said, adding that she thinks Trump 鈥渄oes not care about fact-checking because he believes his supporters don鈥檛 care, either.鈥�
Americans are less likely to trust the campaigns overall 鈥� compared to sources such as the government and the media 鈥� but they have a higher level of trust in Harris and her campaign than in Trump and his campaign to provide accurate information about the outcome of the election. About half have at least a 鈥渕oderate鈥� amount of trust in Harris and her campaign. By contrast, about 4 in 10 have at least a moderate amount of trust in Trump and his campaign.
Some Republicans' distrust of election results started far before the 2020 election.
Richard Baum, 60, a conservative independent from Odessa, Texas, said his suspicions began in the 2000 U.S. presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore. After Bush won by a slim margin, became of a disputed presidential election as common in elections ballooned into major national controversies.
鈥淭here was some stuff there that didn鈥檛 seem right that made a lot of doubts in my mind about if you can trust the government,鈥� Baum said.
Baum said he would trust election results only if voting took place on only a single day, early voting and mail-in ballots were banned and photo IDs were required at all polling places.
Many Americans doubt the veracity of both presidential candidates鈥� campaign messages, but skepticism about Trump鈥檚 campaign is higher, the USAFacts/AP-NORC survey found.
About 6 in 10 Americans believe that Trump鈥檚 campaign messages are 鈥渞arely鈥� or 鈥渘ever鈥� based on factual information, compared to 45% who say that about Harris鈥� campaign messages.
Many Americans also say it's hard to discern fact from fiction when it comes to the candidates. Slightly less than half of Americans say it鈥檚 鈥渧ery easy鈥� or 鈥渟omewhat easy鈥� to find factual information about the candidates and their positions, and only about one-third say it鈥檚 easy to know if what candidates are saying is true or not.
About 6 in 10 Americans say it鈥檚 easy for them to understand the difference between fact and opinion when it comes to information about the upcoming presidential election, but only about 4 in 10 say it鈥檚 easy to know whether information is true or not.
Americans are, however, more confident about factual information related to election logistics: About 7 in 10 Americans say it鈥檚 easy to find information about how to register to vote, and about 6 in 10 say it鈥檚 easy to find information about how to cast their ballot.
Michele Martin, a 56-year-old Pennsylvania Democrat, said she is 鈥渧ery concerned鈥� about misinformation from politicians but finds it much easier to access basic voter information.
鈥淚t鈥檚 online. It鈥檚 mailed to you. It鈥檚 not hard to find,鈥� she said.
About 8 in 10 Americans say that when it comes to getting information about the government, the spread of misinformation is a 鈥渕ajor problem.鈥� That is essentially unchanged from when the question was asked in 2020.
Lisa Kuda, a 57-year-old Republican from Palm Harbor, Florida, said she gets most of her news from social media and friends. She said she feels alienated from most news sources other than Fox News.
鈥淢isinformation is everywhere,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really difficult to find information about candidates.鈥�
When Americans see news about the election and want to find out whether it鈥檚 true, 40% say they turn to an internet search first. Much smaller shares 鈥� around 1 in 10 for each 鈥� say they first check cable news, national TV news or social media.
Baum, from Texas, said he finds it difficult to easily access information about candidates because he believes social media platforms 鈥渁re censoring conservative ideologies.鈥� He also doesn鈥檛 trust Google and instead turns to conservative networks and podcasts such One America News and conservative podcasters to fact-check claims he鈥檚 unsure about.
Almeida鈥檚 process looks much different. She starts with a Google search and wades through multiple articles from news outlets such as The New York Times and NBC News, making note of any differences. If multiple articles have the same information, she said, she鈥檚 more likely to trust it.
鈥淢isinformation is a huge problem,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have to take time to do your research.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report. Sanders reported from Washington.
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The poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC鈥檚 probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
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The Associated Press鈥痳eceives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP鈥檚 democracy initiative . The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Christine Fernando And Linley Sanders, The Associated Press
