In these us-versus-them times of sharp social division, Americans increasingly judge the objectivity and credibility of their news sources through the prism of political party affiliation.

That sad conclusion comes from a new Pew Research Center report released Jan. 24. The report found that in the hothouse of 2020 American politics, facts are rated for reliability based on political leanings.

The report found that Republicans and Democrats are moving in different directions for their news toward two perceived ideologically opposite news media environments.

The study, conducted from Oct. 29 through Nov. 11, asked more than 12,000 adults about their use of, trust in, and distrust of 30 different news organizations for political and election news.

The outlets included television networks Fox News, CNN, PBS, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, MSNBC and Univision. Radio news outlets included NPR, BBC, and the opinion shows of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

Print media included the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, USA Today, New York Post, Washington Examiner, as well as Time and Newsweek magazines.

Digital news outlets were Politico, Breitbart, HuffPost, BuzzFeed, Vox, The Hill, Business Insider, Vice and the Daily Caller.

The survey found Republicans and conservative-leaning independents perceive many of the most established news sources as untrustworthy. Democrats and liberal-minded independents view most of those same sources as credible. You can read the full Pew study at: https://pewrsr.ch/2O8u9gA.

Republicans and conservative independents expressed distrust in 20 of the 30 news outlets. Only seven outlets surveyed generate more trust than distrust among Republicans – including, most prominently, Fox News and the radio programs of Hannity and Limbaugh.

Democrats and liberal-minded independents expressed trust in 22 of the 30 news outlets. Only eight generate more distrust than trust including — surprise! — Fox News, Hannity and Limbaugh.

Dismally, about one in five Republicans and Democrats alike say they only get news from sources that reflect their political beliefs. Americans increasingly are cocooning themselves inside media bubbles that mold facts to fit their partisan orthodox.

The Pew study found that among Republicans, the stronger their support for President Trump the greater their animosity toward traditional news outlets and journalists.

Fox News is the North Star of the Republican media ecosystem. About two-thirds of Republicans say they trust Fox News as a source. About two-thirds of Republicans say they distrust CNN.

With Democrats, about 70% say they trust CNN, and 61% don't trust Fox.

Pew found that Republican distrust of mainstream media increased sharply from a similar study conducted in 2014. The top three for increased distrust among Republicans were CNN, Washington Post and New York Times. All three outlets are frequent targets of Trump, who often labels them “fake news.”

Confidence in the mainstream media outlets has been more stable among Democrats, and in some cases has increased.

Pew reported that people who engage multiple news outlets offering different viewpoints have more moderate political leanings. They also are more trustful of those media sources.

The Pew report is further evidence of our fractured politics. The heated conflict in the Senate over Trump’s impeachment – and the strident cable news network alternate universes created nightly therein – conform to the Pew findings.

In this poisonous partisan divide, facts become fungible.

Democracies become dysfunctional when facts are subject to political manipulation. Reality becomes distorted. Confusion reigns; and from that confusion authoritarianism can emerge.

As a news organization, The Day has the responsibility to present facts and stories without favor or political bias. We have an obligation to clearly identify opinion and commentary pieces. As an independent news organization, we are free of corporate influence. On the opinion pages we make it a point to publish diverse points of view — liberal, conservative and centrist — and give readers ample opportunities to be heard through letters and online comments.

As news consumers, and citizens, you have an obligation to honestly assess the perceived biases and political leanings of your news sources. As you do that assessment, factor in your own biases and political leanings as well.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But finding common ground to further the welfare of our nation only works if we all share the same facts. Increasingly, that is not the case.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.