June 2026 Nationwide Survey: Americans Feel Less Divided Locally Than National Media Suggests

A nationwide survey examined how Americans' sense of political division shifts depending on whether they're consuming national versus local media. Key findings include:

• More than two-thirds of both self-identified Republicans and Democrats agreed that when they step away from national cable news and social media and focus on their local community, the world feels much less politically divided.
• More than 7 in 10 Republicans, Democrats, and independents agreed that unlike national news, which feels like it's designed to provoke anger, local news helps them stay connected to their actual neighbors.
• Local news was rated the least biased, least politically divisive, and most trusted source of information across the country.

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