The issues with these studies are the meanings of the words in the end. What does it mean to trust the media? Do I believe what the media is saying is true? Factually speaking it's very rare for them to outright fabricate information. Doing so creates a kind of media feeding frenzy anyway as competing news organizations love that kind of scandal.

Are they biased? Do they mix factual reporting with opinion and conjecture? Do the business realities of the media influence what stories are run and how they are presented. Of course the answer to all these questions is yes.

Most people tend to simply believe those sources which reflect their own biases. I am guilty as charged here. But I do think it very important people stop for two seconds to think about what is actually being said. Especially for any kind of outrage story. Saw one race bating piece on social media earlier today showing someone behaving like a right twat. But then I got to thinking and I was like, I almost never see this situation in real life. It's so rare it might as well not happen, and yet it happens on the internet everyday. The internet is the funhouse mirror of clown world after all. But perhaps the clown reflected in it is your own. Your own personal clown that is. Most people can't see theirs. But I can. Those pills the government gives you make him go away but I replaced mine with watch batteries so no one is the wiser.