Americans divided on whether companies should make statements about political, social issues

Americans remain divided on the importance of companies and organizations making public statements on political or social issues.

Today, half of U.S. adults say these types of company statements are very or somewhat important. The other half say they are not too or not at all important, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February.

This is similar to what we found in July 2020, when 52% said these statements were important and 48% said they were not important. That survey took place shortly after George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was murdered by a White police officer in Minneapolis. In the months following Floyd’s death, many companies issued public statements about racial justice and inequality.

As was the case in 2020, these views vary by race and ethnicity and by political party.

How we did this

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to explore public views on the importance of companies and organizations making public statements about political or social issues. We also investigated whether these views have changed since 2020, when we last asked this question.

For this analysis, we surveyed 5,097 U.S. adults from Feb. 10 to 17, 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. The survey was 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, the topline and the survey methodology.

Views by race and ethnicity

White adults are less likely than any other racial or ethnic group to say it’s important for companies to make statements about political or social issues.

Today, less than half of White adults (42%) say this is important. That compares with majorities of Asian (66%), Black (63%) and Hispanic (63%) adults who say such statements are important.  

Views by party

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners to see it as important for companies to make statements about political or social issues. About two-thirds of Democrats (66%) say that such statements are very or somewhat important, compared with 34% of Republicans.

Although Republicans are more likely than Democrats to be White, the gap on this question largely remains even when looking at partisans of the same race or ethnicity. For example, 63% of White Democrats place importance on company statements, while 72% of White Republicans say these statements are not important.

Have views changed since 2020?

Among Americans overall, views on the importance of company statements on political or social issues have not changed much in the last five years.

However, views among Black adults and Democrats have shifted. Although majorities in both groups continue to say company statements are important, these shares have declined:

• 63% of Black adults now say company statements are very or somewhat important, down from 75% in 2020.
• 66% of Democrats hold this view today, compared with 71% in 2020.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.