Americans universally agree that people should fact-check media reports, rather than simply trust what they’re being told – and half say they don’t even need to follow the news to stay informed – according to newly-released results of a Pew Research survey.

Fully 94% of Democrats and Republicans alike think it’s important “for people to do their own research to check the accuracy of the news they get,” the national survey of U.S. adults finds. What’s more, two-thirds (66%) say it’s “extremely” or “very” important to fact-check what news media report.

Four of five adults say they actually take their own advice, as 82% report that they at least sometimes do their own research, including 37% who do so extremely/very often.

Similarly, four of five (79%) of U.S. adults feel they’re at least somewhat confident that they know how to do their own research, including 29% who are very confident.

Regarding what’s involved in “doing your own research,” 84% say it entails comparing information from multiple sources, 72% say it can include utilizing search engines (e.g., Google) and 77% cite reviewing scientific studies.

More than two-thirds (70%) say “Questioning what major news organizations are saying” is fundamental to doing one’s own research.

It’s also important to get news from media sources with differing political views, according to 88% of adults – and half (52%) call it either extremely or very important.

Even so, more Americans (47%) say they can stay informed without actively following the news than say they can stay informed only if they do actively follow it. Another 11% aren’t sure.

One reason so many people today believe that they don’t have to actively follow the news to stay informed appears to be that news imposes itself upon them. Half (49%) of people today say they mostly get news because they “happen to come across it” – not because they’re looking for it – up from 39% in 2019, when 60% of adults sought out their news.