People Are Losing Trust In Media & Government – So Who Are They Listening To?

Written By Guest User

Plus: Machado Gives Her Nobel Peace Prize To Trump

Good afternoon,

Before we get to today’s headlines, here’s a glimpse of what’s ahead for all of us this weekend in our weekly ‘Cheers to the Freakin’ Weekend’ section.

What We’re Watching:

What We’re Reading:

What We’re Eating:

And now, onto the news.

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Global Trust Crisis: Media, Gov’t In Decline — Only 39% Even Hear Opposing Views

Global trust in institutions is falling, and people are increasingly relying on family, friends, coworkers, and even bosses for information. That's according to Edelman’s annual Trust Barometer, which tracks confidence in business, government, media, and nonprofits worldwide.

  • By the numbers: Only 39% of people globally say they regularly get news from sources with varying political views, reports Axios, which received early data from the report that comes out Sunday.

    • That's down six points in just one year, according to Edelman's survey of nearly 40,000 people across 28 countries.

  • The data shows in the past five years, trust in national government leaders has dropped 16 points, while trust in news organizations is down 11 points.

Where are people turning to get information? Their family, friends, coworkers, and even bosses. Trust in personal circles is up around 10 points in the same timeframe.

The issue: In the U.S., people on the far sides of the political spectrum are less likely to have friends across party lines. The issue is most pronounced among liberals, who are least likely to have close friends on the right.

BIGGER PICTURE
The snapshot from the report reveals that information largely flows through personalized feeds, algorithms, and creators – rather than shared news ecosystems. Axios calls it the “shards of glass” effect, adding that sometimes those “shards” intersect.

  • EXAMPLES: Liberal baby boomers watching MSNOW often consume the same narratives as younger liberals following MeidasTouch on social media. Fox News and conservative digital creators play a similar role on the right.

  • In the U.S., trust in media hit an all time low of only 28% in fall 2025, a Gallup poll found.

AI deepens silos by serving people stories they already agree with via personalized AI feeds — reinforcing and amplifying existing views rather than exposing them to new ones.

  • ChatGPT and other popular models are trained to make users happy — which can include feeding them information to confirm their beliefs and possibly bending truth. These models have also been accused of their own political biases.

  • The technology also makes it easier to create targeted and persuasive content that appears “new,” but is not.

    • A study from video-editing service Kapwing finds that AI-generated “slop” now makes up more than 20% of YouTube Shorts content. It defines “AI slop” as “careless, low-quality content generated using automatic computer applications and distributed to farm views and subscriptions or sway political opinion.”

THERE’S MORE
The data comes as global leaders prepare to meet at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, where major topics are expected to include AI, tariffs, and broader economic tensions. Here are some things to look out for this year from the Forum’s annual Global Risks Report.

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🚨 ONE THING WE’RE FOLLOWING

Venezuela’s Machado Gives Her Nobel Prize To Trump; Nobel Committee Isn’t Pleased

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump during a meeting at the White House Thursday — and Trump is keeping it. Even after the Norwegian Nobel Committee said that, “once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.”

  • “She offered it to me. She said you ended eight wars and nobody deserves this prize more than in history,” Trump said Friday outside the White House. “I thought it was a very nice gesture.”

Machado told “Fox & Friends Weekend” that she gave up the prize on behalf of the Venezuelan people. “He deserves it,” she said, crediting Trump with helping bring an end to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s rule after the U.S. captured him earlier this month.

THE BACKSTORY
Trump has long argued that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and has repeatedly criticized the Nobel Committee for not awarding it to him, saying his foreign policy record, COVID response, and other actions merit the recognition.

Machado’s visit to Washington comes as she works to reassert her influence over Venezuela’s political future, particularly after Trump publicly distanced himself from the idea of her taking over following Maduro’s capture. He has said she lacks sufficient support and respect inside the country.

  • REWIND: Machado, 58, has been a leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela, promoting free and fair elections for more than two decades.

    • She most recently tried to run against Maduro in the 2024 election, but her candidacy was blocked by the government, forcing her into hiding amid threats of arrest. Her ally, Edmundo González Urrutia, ultimately ran in her place and won an estimated 70% of the vote — results that the Maduro regime refused to recognize.

  • The Trump administration has grown increasingly supportive of Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president. Rodríguez, who was not elected, has indicated she’s willing to work with Washington while keeping much of the existing authoritarian system in place.

    • C.I.A. Director John Ratcliffe met with Rodríguez in Caracas on Thursday — a day after Trump spoke to her by phone.

  • ON THE GROUND: Venezuelans inside the country are largely supportive (nearly 70%) of a new presidential election, according to new polling out this week. Machado still has overwhelming support.

BACK TO THE PEACE PRIZE
Some previous Nobel Prize medals – the physical prize, not the award itself – have been sold or transferred, but typically for charity. Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctioned his medal for more than $100 million in 2022 to support refugees from the war in Ukraine.

  • There’s more: John Nash Jr.’s economics medal was auctioned in 2019; Francis Crick’s DNA discovery medal sold for more than $2 million in 2013; and James Watson’s (who co-discovered the structure of DNA) medal was bought for nearly $5 million in 2014.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

  • Republicans urge Trump not to invoke Insurrection Act in Minneapolis amid unrest after ICE-involved shooting (FOX)

  • 21-year-old says he’s blind in left eye after federal agent shot him with less-lethal round at California protest (CBS)

  • Alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson’s defense is set to argue to disqualify prosecutors from the case (CNN)

  • 83-year-old man convicted of killing Uber driver who he wrongly thought was scamming him (AP)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

  • Norwegian politicians react to Machado giving Nobel Peace Prize to Trump (GUARDIAN)

  • Canada turns to China as Trump’s tariffs and threats bring foes together (NBC)

  • South Korean court sentences former president to 5 years in prison (ABC)

  • Israel sees spike in PTSD and suicide among troops as war against Hamas, Hezbollah persists (REUTERS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

  • Trump launches bid to tame electricity prices in the Northeast (POLITICO)

  • Mother of Elon Musk’s child sues xAI over Grok deepfake sexualized images (THE HILL)

  • Average US long-term mortgage rate hits the lowest point in more than 3 years (AP)

  • Hassett reveals Trump housing plan would let Americans tap 401(k)s for down payments (FOX)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

  • Bad Bunny delivers defiant multi-cultural message in new Super Bowl trailer: ‘The World Will Dance’ (VARIETY)

  • BBC strikes deal to make TV shows for YouTube (TELEGRAPH)

  • Kathleen Kennedy steps down as Star Wars creator George Lucas’s protégé Takes Over (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)

  • Mets, Bo Bichette agree to 3-year, $126M contract (ESPN)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Heated Rivalry, the breakout Canadian show about two male hockey players falling in love, is inspiring real life change in the world of sports.

  • Jesse Kortuem, a former professional hockey player originally from Minnesota, came out as gay in a Facebook post on Tuesday, in which he credited the show for inspiring him.

Meanwhile, Hudson Williams, the show’s star, says pro athletes have been coming out to him anonymously via emails and Instagram DMs.

Guest User
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Trump Threatens Insurrection Act In Minneapolis As Anti-ICE Protests Escalate