The Global Disinformation Index (GDI) commissioned YouGov to conduct an independent survey of more than 1000 informed readers in the U.S. Respondents were asked to assess up to 10 news sites against a series of questions which served as proxies for understanding the perceived disinformation risks of news publishers. Respondents were also asked to self-identify politically (left, centre or right) and provide other demographic data. The sample of news sites was developed in partnership with the University of Washington and is based on some of America’s highest traffic sites and those with the most followers on social media. The U.S. media market sample also included key regional news outlets, national and cable television networks, and niche sites (for different political and demographic groups).

While the analysis is based on U.S. respondents, the study offers potential insights into how politicisation and polarisation affect perceptions of a news publishers’ disinformation risk more generally. We hope that the findings are used in that spirit.

The study’s findings do much to support past research on how political polarisation has influenced Americans’ perceptions, including their understanding of the disinformation discourse. However, the study goes further to look at the relationships that exist between perceptions of disinformation risk and trust in specific news sites.

This analysis considered disinformation risks based on informed readers’ perceptions of a news publisher’s credibility, reliability and reputation.