Americans remain concerned about press freedoms, but partisan views have flipped since 2024
A majority of Democrats (60%) are highly concerned about press freedoms – about double the share of Republicans (28%).
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Free Speech & Press
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Free Expression Seen as Important Globally, but Not Everyone Thinks Their Country Has Press, Speech and Internet Freedoms
Across 35 countries, there are some disconnects between how people rate the importance of free expression and how free they feel they actually are.
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Americans more likely to support than oppose continuing federal funding for NPR and PBS
Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to support ending federal funding for public media.
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Many Israelis say social media content about the Israel-Hamas war should be censored
Most Israeli adults do not post or share about political and social issues online – including the war between Israel and Hamas.
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Americans’ views of offensive speech aren’t necessarily clear-cut
About six-in-ten U.S. adults (62%) say that “people being too easily offended by things others say” is a major problem in the country today.
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Many adults in East and Southeast Asia support free speech, are open to societal change
In East and Southeast Asia, half or more of adults say that people who disagree with their government’s actions should be able to publicly criticize the government.
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Americans’ Views of Technology Companies
Most Americans are wary of social media’s role in politics and its overall impact on the country, and these concerns are ticking up among Democrats. Still, Republicans stand out on several measures, with a majority believing major technology companies are biased toward liberals.
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Most Americans say a free press is highly important to society
Ahead of World Press Freedom Day, 73% of U.S. adults say the freedom of the press is extremely or very important to the well-being of society.
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Most Americans favor restrictions on false information, violent content online
Most Americans say the U.S. government and technology companies should each take steps to restrict false information and extremely violent content online.
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Freedom of speech and LGBT rights: Americans’ views of issues in Supreme Court case
60% of Americans think business owners should not have to provide services if it might signal support for beliefs on LGBT issues that they oppose.
