Democrats are waking up to the reality that while they used to operate with a monopoly on “trust,” even their voters are tuning out.
Axios published a piece that felt like an obituary detailing how “America’s obsession with countering mis- and disinformation has withered as society grows skeptical of institutions once trusted with facts.” For years, the left controlled “professional fact-checking,” using it to control speech and approved narratives. Even the federal government was a part of the game by creating backdoors into social media companies to restrain Americans from posting unapproved thoughts.
Still, Axios seems confused about why institutions like liberal media and public schools are experiencing record-low trust levels among Americans.
“Americans are less enthusiastic about policing information today than they were two years ago, and the trend is bipartisan,” the outlet complains.
CNN “fact checker” @ddale8 should actually CHECK HIS FACTs before going on live national television after my RNC speech and questioning my credibility about Biden‘s electric tanks! pic.twitter.com/mPx9Sm4RiZ
— Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 19, 2024
Whether it was COVID, illegal immigration, the economy, Biden’s mental health, or anything President Donald Trump-related, the so-called fact-checking almost always benefited one side: the left. Democrats enjoyed a practically free rein to say or publish whatever verifiable falsehood they wanted without having to worry about the information czars labeling them as liars. After a while, no matter which side you are on, it’s hard not to notice the hypocrisy. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
Now, Democrats are staring down the reality that their once powerful weapon has been dismantled. They are living in a nightmare of their own making, being forced to watch as Trump’s popularity grows and their “monopoly on trust” breaks apart.
Americans are far more likely to trust information from the Trump administration than they are from liberal media, according to a February YouGov poll. About 44 percent of U.S. citizens said they believe the Trump administration “a great deal” or a “fair amount,” compared to just 28 percent who said the same about the media class.
To make matters worse for Democrats, their voters’ previous zeal for the federal government to crack down on “false information” online has significantly dropped, according to Pew Research Center’s new survey. It found that in 2023, around 70 percent of Democrats wanted the government to restrict speech they disagreed with online; that number decreased to about 58 percent in 2025, who hold the same view.
“IF YOU LIE TO PEOPLE LONG ENOUGH, THEY’LL REJECT YOU”: Dem leaders are hitting a new approval rating low at just 25% as the party struggles with an internal civil war. @davidwebbshow weighs in pic.twitter.com/40hVsClTwM
— The Big Weekend Show (@BigWeekendShow) April 21, 2025
It turns out that if you try to force opinions about topics that directly affect millions of people without allowing a robust debate, people will start viewing you as the “bad guy.” Americans don’t trust Democrats or the media, who are experiencing historically low approval ratings, because of the way they used their version of the truth as a cudgel to beat their fellow citizens into submitting to a left-wing religion that is antithetical to their way of life. (ROOKE: Grad Student Released Manifesto Exposing The Left’s Depraved Fantasies)
Americans now trust Trump more than they trust Democrats or the media. It is impossible to predict how long this political shift will last. However, their battle plan to beat Trump using narrative control is currently untenable. Maybe they should try telling the American people the truth.
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