Is the Media's Coverage of Tariffs Fair?

As U.S. trade policy continues to shift, retailers and consumers alike are facing growing uncertainty and concern. With so much still up in the air (including whether the proposed tariffs will change yet again), it’s impossible to predict what the real impact will be. As a result, many people are frequently searching for clarity and updates — but where exactly are they turning?

As part of our large-scale tariffs survey conducted in partnership with MX8 Labs, we asked people about their media habits when it comes to getting information around tariffs, as well as their thoughts on if the media is politicizing the situation as a whole. Here are a few highlights from the 1,000 U.S. consumers we surveyed: 

• 60% of respondents believe the media is “somewhat” or “definitely” politicizing tariffs to benefit one political party over another. 
• But that doesn’t seem to turn off a majority, because 56% say that the media coverage is "somewhat fair" or “very fair.” 
• The most common sources for tariff-related information are TV news (54%) and online news websites (40%). Social media is a source for 33%, while podcasts and government websites are less common at 14% and 12%, respectively. 
• Top TV channels that people watch for tariff information include the major broadcast networks (26%), Fox News (24%) and CNN (16%). 
• 39% use Facebook for tariff-related updates, and that share jumps to 64% for people over the age of 65. 

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