Support for press freedom runs wide but not deep, according to new Pew Research Center findings. When accuracy and a free press collide, Americans lean toward accuracy, and many say government should be able to order some stories removed.
The Pew-Knight Initiative study draws on two surveys of roughly 3,500 US adults each, conducted in March and June 2026, along with 10 focus groups held in May and June. Nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) say press freedom is extremely or very important to the well-being of society, a share that has held steady for three years. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say so (81% vs. 66%).
In May, a separate Pew-Knight Initiative fact sheet ranked radio as the second-most-used source of local news, with 52% of US adults saying they get local news from radio at least sometimes.
Asked to choose, 53% say it is more important to prevent inaccurate reporting even if it limits press freedom, while 45% say the press should be free to report even if some reporting is inaccurate. Six in ten say the government should be able to require a news organization to take down a story that poses a risk to national security, and 51% say the same for a story containing false information. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to back that authority in both cases, at 72% vs. 50% for national security and 59% vs. 45% for false information.
Far fewer would allow the government to remove a story that clearly favors one political side (14%) or is critical of the government (10%). Responses were similar when respondents were asked whether social media companies should be able to remove user posts under the same circumstances.
The share of Americans who say the media is completely free to report the news slipped from 33% last year to 28%, while 48% say the press is somewhat free and 23% say it is not very or not at all free. Those who are extremely or very concerned about potential restrictions on press freedom rose from 41% in 2024 to 46%, on par with concern for the right to vote (46%), freedom to assemble peacefully (47%), and freedom of speech (50%).
Democrats are now less likely than Republicans to see the media as completely free (18% vs. 41%) and far more likely to be highly concerned about restrictions (64% vs. 29%), a reversal from 2024, when Joe Biden was president. Overall, 44% say the press has become less free during the second Trump administration, including 72% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans, while 12% say it has become more free, including one in five Republicans. Majorities of both Republicans (70%) and Democrats (74%) describe the relationship between the administration and the news media as bad.
Earlier this month, a DC Circuit panel declined to force the FCC to act on a petition to repeal its news distortion policy, leaving the policy in place for licensed broadcasters. In May, the FCC Media Bureau issued a public notice stating that no broadcaster has a right to use the public spectrum and listing the news distortion prohibition among licensees’ surviving obligations.
