East Germans Have Less Trust in Journalism and Democracy

While 64 percent of respondents in West Germany are satisfied with the functioning of democracy in Germany, only 46 percent are satisfied in East Germany. Additionally, journalists are viewed much more critically in the eastern federal states. Half of the respondents in East Germany have the impression that journalism is mostly dependent on the influence of the “powerful” in politics. More than a third (36 percent) believe that the state and government dictate what journalism should report on. In the West, 19 percent share this opinion.

Furthermore, 27 percent of respondents in the eastern federal states consider journalism to be not credible, compared to 14 percent in the West. A difference also emerges regarding news: while 59 percent in the West say that news in Germany can mostly be trusted, only 49 percent in the East share this view.

In light of current political issues, it is also interesting to note the criticism that journalists in Germany are judged too much from a western perspective. This position is shared by 40 percent in the western federal states, while in the East, it is more than half at 53 percent. Even journalists themselves see an overly western perspective as a problem – here, 59 percent of all respondents agree with this criticism.

AfD Sympathizers Distrust the Media

However, it is not only the region that influences citizens’ attitudes towards democracy and journalism but also their political orientation: people who are close to the AfD are predominantly dissatisfied with the state of democracy in Germany. Only 22 percent of them say they are satisfied or very satisfied with democracy here. Among all respondents, it was 62 percent. Only 7 percent of AfD supporters consider journalism to be credible, compared to 53 percent of all respondents. Since they mostly distrust the news, especially from public broadcasters, AfD sympathizers use alternative news sites, social networks, video platforms, and messenger services much more intensively than other respondents and also consider these to be more trustworthy.

The clearest contrast to the opinions and media behavior of respondents close to the AfD is formed by those who are close to the Greens. These individuals have above-average trust in democracy and journalism (85 and 78 percent, respectively), use public broadcasting media even more frequently (88 percent) than the total of all respondents (79 percent), and distrust alternative news sites, video platforms, and social networks, for example.

About the Study

The long-term study “Journalism and Democracy” annually examines the expectations different groups have of journalism, how much they trust journalism, and what they criticize about it. In 2024, politicians, journalists, and the general population in Germany were surveyed for the third time. The study is designed to be multi-perspective and provides a view of the development of the relationship between journalism and society. The project leaders are Prof. Michael Steinbrecher and Prof. Günther Rager from the Institute of Journalism.

Further results of the surveys can be found on the project website (in German only).

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