You don't need a weatherman to know which news sources Americans trust
Welcome to YouGov's weekly newsletter The Surveyor, with new polling data, insights, and charts on politics, life, and other topical issues — from our U.S. News team.
This week, we're spotlighting surveys about the news media, Donald Trump's policies, the Democratic and Republican parties, Americans' self-image, Elon Musk, international students, bananas, and manifesting.
Trust verified
We know that you, our loyal readers, trust no one more than YouGov for new and innovative survey research. But what about those times — rare as they must be — when you need some other kind of news? If you're like the typical American, there's one (non-YouGov) news outlet you're most likely to trust: The Weather Channel.
You may be rolling your eyes, but that's been a consistent finding from four consecutive years of YouGov's comprehensive Trust in Media survey. The 2025 version dropped this week, compiled by YouGov's Taylor Orth, and is full of detailed data on all your most — and least — trusted news sources.
The ever-popular Weather Channel, for example, has a net trust of +49. That means Americans are 49 percentage points more likely to say the Weather Channel is trustworthy than to say it's untrustworthy. Most other news sources are more polarizing: the New York Times had a net trust of +14, CNN of +8, and Fox News of 0 — meaning equal shares of Americans say it's trustworthy and untrustworthy.
The least-trusted news source of all 52 sources we asked about: the National Enquirer, with a net trust of -37. That is, at least, an improvement on last year's poll, which found Americans were 44 points more likely to say the National Enquirer was untrustworthy than trustworthy.
Check out the full report for way more, including differences in trust in media organizations among Democrats and Republicans, trust in news from social media sources, and breakdowns by age.
Weekend update
Two weeks ago, I shared with you another comprehensive Orth project: Survey data on 250 different Donald Trump policies.
I'm sorry to report that the May 16 newsletter is already out of date. We've updated the story to include polls on 283 policies.
YouGov's top data scientists have hypothesized the possible existence of an article that contains data on even more than 283 policies, but so far such a concept has only been created in laboratory conditions. We'll bring you continued updates as YouGov tracks how Americans are viewing Trump's presidency.
Charting opinions
Americans trust the Democratic Party more on health care and Republicans more on immigration
Issues that Americans are more likely to think the Democratic Party does a better job handling than to think the Republican Party does include LGBTQ issues (49% say the Democratic Party handles this better vs. 24% who say the Republican Party), the environment (44% vs. 25%), health care (43% vs. 26%), and abortion (43% vs. 32%). The issues Americans are more likely to think the Republican Party does a better job handling than to think the Democratic Party does include immigration (41% vs. 34%), crime (39% vs. 28%), and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (32% vs. 23%). (Jamie Ballard)
Among 60 areas asked about in the survey, more than half of Americans rate themselves above average in 17, especially trustworthiness and loyalty; in 51, Americans are more likely to rate themselves above average than below average. (Jamie Ballard)
Quick takes
Elon: 23% of Americans, including 10% of Democrats and 49% of Republicans, say they'd prefer for Elon Musk to continue his role as an advisor to Trump; 56% of Americans, including 80% of Democrats and 27% of Republicans, say Musk should leave
Manifesting: 39% of Americans believe that visualizing something can help to make it happen, and 38% do not believe in this. Women, younger Americans, and non-white Americans are more likely to believe in manifesting than are men, Americans 65 and older, and white Americans.
Bananas: 54% of Americans say they prefer the peels of bananas they eat to be solid yellow in color; 15% prefer yellow with brown parts, 21% prefer yellow with green parts, 4% prefer mostly green, and 0% prefer mostly brown
International students: 67% of Americans say having international students at U.S. universities is either very good (43%) or somewhat good (24%) for the country; 10% say it is either somewhat bad (6%) or very bad (4%)
Elsewhere
Polling partnerships
Yahoo News + YouGov on the Qatar jet and Afrikaner refugees
The Economist + YouGov on COVID vaccines, presidents' health, and the war in Ukraine
Polling abroad
Should you be allowed to marry your cousin? (YouGov UK)
What is the state of Britain’s handwriting? (YouGov UK)
Polling in the press
How young voters helped to put Trump in the White House (Economist)
As Democrats choose a path forward, remember the real problem (Washington Post)
More Americans say Trump has been transparent about his health compared to Biden: poll (The Hill)
Why are young women so concerned about wrinkles? (Yahoo Life)
How a Recession Might Tank American Romance (Atlantic)
Gen Z and millennials are thirsty for luxury bag dupes. Here are the brands they're after most. (Business Insider)
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This newsletter is compiled by David Montgomery and Carl Bialik
 | A guest post by
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That’s a lot of “them”
It’s one of the first steps in totalitarianism.
The control of one media.