{"id":285480,"date":"2026-02-10T17:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T22:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=chart&#038;p=285480"},"modified":"2026-02-10T17:05:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T22:05:54","slug":"majority-of-americans-say-being-informed-about-the-news-is-essential-to-voting-but-many-find-the-news-overwhelming-or-irrelevant","status":"publish","type":"chart","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/chart\/majority-of-americans-say-being-informed-about-the-news-is-essential-to-voting-but-many-find-the-news-overwhelming-or-irrelevant\/","title":{"rendered":"Majority of Americans say being informed about the news is essential to voting but many find the news overwhelming or irrelevant"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-chart-builder\">\t\t<div style=\"max-width:420px\" class=\"wp-chart-builder-wrapper alignnone wp-block-prc-chart-builder-controller\" id=\"c4c9bd12-de8a-47f7-83a2-b80147348048\" data-wp-interactive=\"prc-chart-builder\/controller\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;c4c9bd12-de8a-47f7-83a2-b80147348048&quot;,&quot;postId&quot;:285480,&quot;postUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/alpha.pewresearch.org\\\/pewresearch-org\\\/chart\\\/majority-of-americans-say-being-informed-about-the-news-is-essential-to-voting-but-many-find-the-news-overwhelming-or-irrelevant\\\/&quot;,&quot;chartPostUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/alpha.pewresearch.org\\\/pewresearch-org\\\/chart\\\/majority-of-americans-say-being-informed-about-the-news-is-essential-to-voting-but-many-find-the-news-overwhelming-or-irrelevant\\\/&quot;,&quot;postPubDate&quot;:&quot;2026-02-10&quot;,&quot;rootUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/alpha.pewresearch.org\\\/pewresearch-org&quot;,&quot;featuredImageId&quot;:285725,&quot;featuredImageUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/alpha.pewresearch.org\\\/pewresearch-org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Majority of Americans say being informed about the news is essential to voting \\u2026&quot;,&quot;subtitle&quot;:&quot;% of U.S. adults who say Americans __ to be informed about the news when they vote&quot;,&quot;note&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;source&quot;:&quot;Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Dec. 8-14, 2025.\\n\\u201cAmericans\\u2019 Complicated Relationship With News\\u201d&quot;,&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE&quot;,&quot;tableData&quot;:{&quot;header&quot;:[&quot;&quot;,&quot;Have a responsibility&quot;,&quot;Not sure&quot;,&quot;Do not have a responsibility&quot;],&quot;rows&quot;:[[&quot;% of U.S. adults who say Americans __ to be informed about the news when they vote&quot;,&quot;80%&quot;,&quot;13%&quot;,&quot;7%&quot;],[&quot;&quot;,&quot;&quot;,&quot;&quot;,&quot;&quot;],[&quot;% of U.S. adults who say ...&quot;,&quot;They are worn out by the news&quot;,&quot;52%&quot;,&quot;&quot;],[&quot;&quot;,&quot;Most of the news they come across is not relevant to their lives&quot;,&quot;48%&quot;,&quot;&quot;],[&quot;&quot;,&quot;The can stay informed even when they don&#039;t actively follow the news&quot;,&quot;47%&quot;,&quot;&quot;],[&quot;&quot;]],&quot;footer&quot;:[]}}\" data-wp-init--detect-web-share-support=\"callbacks.detectWebShareSupport\" data-wp-init--sync-table-height=\"callbacks.syncTableHeight\" data-png-url=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png\" data-has-csv=\"true\" data-post-url=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/chart\/majority-of-americans-say-being-informed-about-the-news-is-essential-to-voting-but-many-find-the-news-overwhelming-or-irrelevant\/\" data-chart-url=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/chart\/majority-of-americans-say-being-informed-about-the-news-is-essential-to-voting-but-many-find-the-news-overwhelming-or-irrelevant\/\" data-chart-title=\"Majority of Americans say being informed about the news is essential to voting \u2026\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-chart-builder-chart\" data-chart-view=\"chart\" data-allow-overlay=\"true\" data-wp-class--active=\"state.isActive\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-chart-builder-inner wp-block-prc-chart-builder-chart\" id=\"chart-block-2\" data-wp-key=\"c4c9bd12-de8a-47f7-83a2-b80147348048-chart\" data-wp-interactive=\"prc-chart-builder\/chart\" data-wp-router-region=\"chart-c4c9bd12-de8a-47f7-83a2-b80147348048-chart\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;c4c9bd12-de8a-47f7-83a2-b80147348048-chart&quot;}\" data-wp-watch--init-render=\"\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.watchForResize\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__text-wrapper\" style=\"max-width:420px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<hr class=\"cb__hr\" style=\"margin: 0 0 10px; max-width:420px;\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__title\">Majority of Americans say being informed about the news is essential to voting \u2026<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__subtitle\">% of U.S. adults who say Americans __ to be informed about the news when they vote<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"285725\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=285725\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9e1d5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"840\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-285725 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9e1d5; width:420px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png 840w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=300,238 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=768,609 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=511,405 511w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=200,159 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=260,206 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=310,246 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=420,333 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=640,507 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=740,587 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=160,127 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/01\/PJ_26.01.05_news_con_lede_guts.png?resize=320,254 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__note\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__note\">Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Dec. 8-14, 2025.\n\u201cAmericans\u2019 Complicated Relationship With News\u201d<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__tag\">PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<hr class=\"cb__hr\" style=\"margin: 10px 0 0; max-width:420px;\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t\t\t<!-- register a callback on this div to see if the native share is supported -->\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"share-modal__overlay\"\n\t\t\t\tid=\"share-modal__overlay-c4c9bd12-de8a-47f7-83a2-b80147348048\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--active=\"state.isActive\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--web-share-supported=\"state.webShareSupported\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.hideModal\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.hideModal\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-chart-view=\"share\"\n\t\t\t><\/div>\n\t\t\t<!-- TODO: I would like to be able to use the social share block here. Need to modify it to work with the share modal. -->\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"share-modal\" id=\"share-modal-c4c9bd12-de8a-47f7-83a2-b80147348048\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--active=\"state.isActive\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--web-share-supported=\"state.webShareSupported\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-chart-view=\"share\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"share-modal__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"share-modal__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"share-modal__title\">Share this chart<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"share-modal__close\" aria-label=\"Close Share Modal\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.hideModal\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dashicons dashicons-no-alt\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"share-modal__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"share-modal__button share-modal__button--twitter\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.shareTwitter\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.shareTwitter\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Share on X<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"share-modal__button share-modal__button--facebook\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.shareFacebook\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.shareFacebook\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Share on Facebook<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-chart-builder-table\" data-chart-view=\"table\" data-wp-class--active=\"state.isActive\" id=\"c4c9bd12-de8a-47f7-83a2-b80147348048-table\" style=\"max-width:420px;\">\t\t\t<hr style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 420px;\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__title\">Majority of Americans say being informed about the news is essential to voting \u2026<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__subtitle\">% of U.S. adults who say Americans __ to be informed about the news when they vote<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-chart-builder-table__inner\" style=\"max-width: 420px !important; margin-bottom: 0; overflow: auto;\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<figure class=\"wp-block-prc-block-table is-scroll-on-pc is-scroll-on-mobile chart-builder-data-table has-sans-serif-font-family has-small-font-size\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout is-sticky-first-column\" style=\"min-width:640px\"><thead><tr><th style=\"width:25%;line-height:1.1;vertical-align:bottom\"><\/th><th style=\"text-align:center;line-height:1.1;vertical-align:bottom\">Have a responsibility<\/th><th style=\"text-align:center;line-height:1.1;vertical-align:bottom\">Not sure<\/th><th style=\"text-align:center;line-height:1.1;vertical-align:bottom\">Do not have a responsibility<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td style=\"width:25%;line-height:1.1\">% of U.S. adults who say Americans __ to be informed about the news when they vote<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\">80%<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\">13%<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\">7%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:25%\"><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\" style=\"width:25%;line-height:1.1;text-align:left\">% of U.S. adults who say &#8230;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:25%;line-height:1.1\">They are worn out by the news<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\">52%<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\"><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\"><\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:25%;line-height:1.1\">Most of the news they come across is not relevant to their lives<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\">48%<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\"><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\"><\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:25%;line-height:1.1\">The can stay informed even when they don&#8217;t actively follow the news<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\">47%<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\"><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center\"><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<hr class=\"cb__download-data-button-hr\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__download-data-button\">\n\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.downloadData\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.downloadData\"\n\t\t\t\t\ttabindex=\"0\"\n\t\t\t\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"has-sans-serif-font-family\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\tDownload data as .csv\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__note\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__note\">Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Dec. 8-14, 2025.\n\u201cAmericans\u2019 Complicated Relationship With News\u201d<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"cb__tag\">PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE<\/div>\n\t\t\t<hr style=\"margin: 10px 0px 0px; 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