Survey: Voters Across Party Lines Trust TV News Over AI, Social and Search
—Report on Multiscreen TV & Political Ad Engagement Released by VAB—
NEW YORK, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) released The Lead Story: How Multiscreen TV Drives Cross-Partisan Engagement for Political Ad Campaigns, an analysis of how Americans engage with political and news content across today's fragmented media landscape. The report—based on findings from a December 2025 survey conducted in partnership with Dynata of 2,319 U.S. adults—examines where viewers spend their time, which sources they trust most and how different TV contexts influence outcomes for political messaging.
Behaviors and sentiments were assessed across five key voting and party affiliation groups—potential voters, non-voters, Republicans, Democrats and Independents—to understand their commonalities and differences. Among the findings elaborated upon in the report:
- Americans overwhelmingly trust TV news over any other digital media source like search, social or AI. Collectively, potential voters are almost 9x more likely to trust TV news than social media platforms, while 50% of total respondents rank AI lowest for trust.
- Audiences turn to TV news sources to stay informed on political issues far more than any other platform. Further, voters are 60% more likely to use TV news to stay informed than they are social media, and twice as likely than non-voters to be pay-TV subscribers.
- TV news is the primary starting point for understanding current events or issues for voters, while social media is viewed as more supplemental. In addition, voters are much more likely to watch TV news—with 61% typically watching local news and 57% typically watching national news, compared to 38% and 25% of non-voters, respectively.
- Social media is far more likely than TV programs to be viewed as a source of fake or misleading information, as potential voters are almost 3x more likely to believe social media platforms are most likely to provide fake or misleading information vs. TV.
- Beyond political ads, people are much more likely to purchase products from advertisers in TV news, as potential voters are 42% more likely than not to buy from advertisers adjacent to a breaking news story on local TV news.
"Today's voters, regardless of political involvement or party affiliation, move fluidly across trusted multiscreen TV platforms, spanning both linear and streaming, to stay informed on current events and political issues," said Jason Wiese, EVP, Strategic Insights & Measurement, VAB. "TV news delivers the scale, trust, credibility and authenticity that no other media can for both political and non-political advertisers. This creates the opportunity to reach audiences in high-quality viewing environments that are positively perceived and can inform, engage and ultimately drive action."
Read the full report—which includes in-depth data, charts and analysis—here.
Note:
Throughout the report, 'multiscreen TV' refers to the combined ecosystem of ad-supported linear and streaming TV.
ABOUT VAB
The Video Advertising Bureau (VAB)—whose members include premium multiscreen TV providers and distributors, alongside a broader community of influential media companies—plays a dual role in the video advertising industry. VAB is fiercely advocating for the changes that bring about a more innovative and transparent marketplace. VAB also provides the insights and thought leadership that enable marketers to develop business-driving marketing strategies. Visit VAB online and access its continuously growing content library at thevab.com.
SOURCE VAB
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