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August 8, 2017updated 23 Aug 2022 6:44pm

Four out of the ten most trusted news sources in America are British according to new study

By Dominic Ponsford

UK-based news providers make up four of the ten most trusted news sources in America, according to a new survey.

The online survey by the University of Missouri was filled in by nearly 9,000 Americans after being distributed across the country by 28 newsrooms in February and March this year.

It asked respondents to name three news sources they trusted versus three they did not.

The news sources were then ranked based on the proportion of trusted versus non-trusted responses.

The question was asked as an open text box.

Weekly news magazine The Economist ranked top, with 100 per cent “trusted” responses alongside Public Television.

News agency Reuters, which also publishes news straight to the web, was closely behind alongside the BBC – with nearly all who mentioned them ranking them as trusted sources.

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The Guardian was in seventh place, just behind National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.

At the foot of the table Buzzfeed ranked alongside alternative right news website Breitbart and “social media” as among the least trusted news websites in America.

It was only just ahead of “Trump” and the conspiracy website Infowars.

Huffington Post also ranked badly, with most distrusting it.

The Guardian has invested significant resources in its US operation winning a Pulitzer prize for its coverage of the Edward Snowden leaks.

The Economist has a circulation of 850,000 copies a week in North America, according to ABC.

Read the Trusting News Project Report 2017 in full.

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