Fox News accidentally aired a graphic on air earlier than planned which showed data that the cable news network is the least trusted in the US.

The graphic aired during host Howard Kurtz’s Media Buzz programme displayed the results of a survey conducted by Monmouth University which asked “Who do you trust more?” in terms of cable news coverage. Fox News, the favoured network of US President Donald Trump, garnered only 30 per cent, dead last, in the poll.

Mr Kurtz had been discussing a related topic - a poll by the same group that addressed how often news outlets report "fake news" and the graphic was displayed incorrectly, per his statement posted on Facebook. He said the Associated Press “should be embarrassed” about its report regarding the network’s error. “Its dishonest piece was made worse by the fact that the wire service didn’t bother to contact me or Fox News for comment,” Mr Kurtz had written.

The Associated Press story noted Mr Kurtz had asked his team to take down the graphic during the broadcast but did not report that the graphic had been used again later on.

“During the segment, the control room mistakenly posted the graphic early, while I was dealing with the fake news questions. So I calmly asked that it be taken down. About a minute later, I asked for the graphic to be put back on the screen and discussed the finding with my guest, pollster Frank Luntz,” Mr Kurtz explained in the Facebook post.

The host also said the “echoed partisan chatter online” is also misinterpreting the graphic itself. He wrote that “the Monmouth poll found that 30 percent of those surveyed said they trusted Fox more and 20 percent said they trusted Trump more. Another 37 percent said they trusted both equally.

The poll found that respondents trusted CNN more than Trump by 48 to 35 percent, but only 13 percent trusted both equally. The survey said those questioned trusted MSNBC more than Trump by a 45-32 margin, but only 16 percent trust both equally”.