The trust divide between liberal (self-identifying as left-wing) and conservative (self-identifying as right-wing) Americans has grown sharply since 2016. Donald Trump’s hostile campaign against the news media built on a small trust gap between liberal and conservative Americans that already existed in 2015. Back then, 35 per cent of Americans who self-identify as left-wing said that they trust most news most of the time, compared to 25 per cent of those on the right.

But since then, trust among those on the left has risen 18 points, while trust in news among right-wing Americans has decreased from the already low point of 25 per cent to just 9 per cent.

This means that if liberal America was a separate country, it would have one of the highest trust scores in the world. Among the 38 countries included in the same survey, it would rank alongside the Netherlands – a country with high trust in politics and other institutions. On the other hand, if conservative America were a separate country, it would have by far the least widespread trust – even lower than South Korea or Greece, two countries with traditional scepticism towards media institutions.

When it comes to trust in the news media, the US stands alone in its level of political polarisation.