Polygraph

90% of Americans distrust the pharmaceutical industry.

Posted by The Joe Rogan Experience, Checked

Polygraph verdictMixed
Sources
2 contradict2 support2 context
Said
1 time·
Confidence
55%
The Joe Rogan ExperienceNov 6, 2026
View on Podcast ↗
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149 claimsThe check →

The claim that 90% of Americans distrust the pharmaceutical industry is not supported by the sources, which put distrust nearer half to three-quarters of adults depending on measure (Gallup 53% negative, Deloitte about half, KFF 21% trust meaning roughly 79% not trusting a great deal or fair amount).

This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.

What was said

… It's a real problem in this country where the liability protection has coincided with an ideology. That ideology is that vaccines it's like, if you just have a product and you call it a vaccine, it immediately gets respected. 90% of Americans distrust the pharmaceutical industry, right? But there used to be good vaccine actually, trust is declining. But, but, like, vaccine oh, okay, that pulls well. There's a huge effort among pharma to label as many things that they can a vaccine. …
The Joe Rogan Experience · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Contradicts. Gallup's 2026 poll reports 53% of Americans view the pharmaceutical industry somewhat or very negatively, the most negative Gallup has recorded, well short of 90%.[2]

Contradicts. Deloitte focus-group research found about half of Americans still don't trust pharma companies, while Americans were skeptical compared with other countries.[3]

Supports. KFF's 2026 poll found only 21% trust pharmaceutical companies to act in the public's best interest a great deal or a fair amount, implying most adults do not trust them, though this is not a measure of 90% distrust.[4][5]

Context. Gallup's and KFF's measures differ in wording and scale, so the true distrust share depends on the measure used; the PhRMA-linked Ipsos and Pew-style items show a plurality with favorable views of drug companies.[1][6]

Sources

6 sources: 1 primary, 5 not rated

  1. 1The Public on Prescription Drugs andsupremecourt.gov · primary source · cited for: context
  2. 2Bipartisan Negativity in Views of the Healthcare Industrynews.gallup.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
  3. 3American skeptics fuel ongoing pharma 'trust deficit' despite pandemic gains, research findsfiercepharma.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
  4. 4KFF Health Tracking Poll: MAHA and the Midtermskff.org · not rated · cited for: supports
  5. 5Americans Still Don't Trust Big Pharma. Social Media Shows Why.worldofdtcmarketing.com · not rated · cited for: supports
  6. 6[PDF] AMERICANS SPEAK OUT ON U.S. PHARMACEUTICAL ... - Ipsosipsos.com · not rated · cited for: context

Where this claim was made

Said in 1 published post

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