More than half of people in the UK regard the BBC as their most trusted source of news, according to a survey commissioned by campaign group 38 Degrees.
The results of the poll, published on Thursday, also suggested more than half of people did not trust the government with the future of the BBC.
The corporation’s future size and scope remains uncertain following last year’s funding settlement, in which it took on the £700m cost of free TV licences for the over-75s, with the government’s BBC white paper likely to be delayed until after the EU referendum.
The online YouGov survey commissioned by 38 Degrees, which was behind a petition signed by nearly 400,000 people in support of the BBC, said 53% of people did not trust the government to protect BBC services during charter renewal.
A further 25% said they trusted the government, with another 22% saying “don’t know”.
Given a choice of seven different news organisations including Sky News, ITV News and Channel 4 News, 58% of respondents ranked the BBC first for balanced and unbiased reporting. Sky News was second, with 15%.
The BBC also ranked top when given a selection of non-broadcast sources of news. Half of respondents ranked it first as a trusted source of balanced and unbiased reporting, ahead of family members (18%), national broadsheet newspapers (11%), social media (5%) and national tabloids (2%).
Adam McNicholas, 38 degrees media campaign manager, said: “The BBC is part of the British family. In celebration and in despair, we rely on the BBC as our most trusted source of news.
“Hundreds of thousands of 38 Degrees members have spoken loud and clear: we trust the BBC and we want to protect it. But these figures show that when it comes to the Beeb, the public doesn’t trust the government’s intentions.
“[Culture secretary] John Whittingdale’s views on the BBC are putting him increasingly at odds with public opinion. He risks a huge backlash from the public if the government continues to misunderstand the value that the British people place on the BBC.”
More than 177,000 38 Degrees members made individual submissions to the government’s charter review public consultation.
A total of 1,731 people took part in the online survey between 24 and 25 February.
