Americans remain concerned about press freedoms, but partisan views have flipped since 2024

Most Americans continue to be concerned about potential restrictions on press freedoms in the United States. But there have been major shifts in partisan views since President Donald Trump retook office in January.

Overall, seven-in-ten Americans are at least somewhat concerned about potential restrictions on press freedom – a right that is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This includes 43% who say they are extremely or very concerned. These numbers are almost identical to the findings of an April 2024 survey, when 41% said they were extremely or very concerned and an additional 29% were somewhat concerned.

How we did this

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to better understand Americans’ attitudes toward the freedom of the press in the United States and how these attitudes might be shifting. We first asked this set of questions in 2024. The Center has asked about press freedom and free speech more broadly, both domestically and globally, for the past decade.

This survey of 5,123 U.S. adults was conducted from Feb. 24 to March 2, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.

Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.

But in many cases, it is not the same people who are worried. In 2024, during the Biden administration, 47% of Republicans and independents who lean Republican said they were extremely or very concerned about restrictions on press freedoms. Fewer Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (38%) said the same.

Today, under the new Trump administration, a majority of Democrats (60%) are highly concerned about press freedoms – about double the share of Republicans (28%).

The survey comes as the Trump administration has taken several actions against U.S. news organizations that have alarmed press freedom advocates. For instance, the White House banned the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One over an editorial dispute over the name “Gulf of Mexico” – an issue that is now making its way through the legal system after a judge ruled it a First Amendment violation. Trump also has filed multiple lawsuits against media outlets he has accused of defamation and election interference.

Related: What people around the world think about press freedom

Concern about press freedoms is higher among people closely following news about the Trump administration

Americans who have been paying closer attention to news about the actions and initiatives of the Trump administration are more likely to be concerned about potential restrictions on press freedoms. Among those who say they have been following this news very or fairly closely, about half (49%) say they are extremely or very concerned.

Those who have not been following this kind of news closely are less concerned. About three-in-ten (29%) express high levels of concern about press freedoms.

Views on the current state of press freedom in the U.S.

On a separate question in our new survey, a majority of Americans say the U.S. news media is not completely free to report the news.

Overall, a third of Americans say the media is completely free to report the news. The largest share (46%) say the media is somewhat free in this regard, while 21% say it is either not very or not at all free.

Again, these overall numbers are virtually unchanged since 2024. But the views of Democrats and Republicans have shifted along with the change in administration.

In 2024, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say the media is completely free to report the news (38% vs. 29%). Today, Republicans are more likely to say this than Democrats (42% vs. 25%).

Views on political, corporate influence on news organizations

Large majorities of Americans believe that U.S. news organizations are at least somewhat influenced by corporations and financial interests (85%) or by the government and political interests (86%). This includes over half of Americans who say news organizations are influenced a great deal by financial interests (55%) or by political interests (57%).

The share of U.S. adults who say news organizations are influenced a great deal by government and political interests has risen from 49% in 2024 to 57% in 2025. Democrats have driven this change: While about a third of Democrats (34%) said in 2024 that news organizations are influenced a great deal by government and political interests, roughly half (51%) say the same today.

A majority of Republicans also share this belief; 64% of Republicans now say news organizations are influenced a great deal by government and political interests. This figure is virtually unchanged from 2024, when 67% said the same.

Meanwhile, Americans also have become slightly more likely to say corporations and financial interests are influencing news outlets a great deal (51% in 2024 vs. 55% in 2025).

Perceived importance of press freedom to society

Most Americans continue to say press freedom is highly important. Overall, 77% say the freedom of the press is extremely or very important to the well-being of society, up slightly from 73% in 2024. An additional 17% say press freedom is somewhat important to society, while just 5% say it has little or no importance.

Majorities in both partisan groups see freedom of the press as highly important, although Democrats are modestly more likely than Republicans to express this view (82% vs. 74%).

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.