Majority cynical about digital platforms as a news source for politics, new RISJ report reveals

Most people are cynical about digital platforms as a source of news about politics, according to new research from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

And the research found that while many people use platforms for news about politics, they remain sceptical and concerned about misinformation, bias, privacy, freedom of expression, and tech power.

The finding is one of several key discoveries from the latest report from RISJ - ‘What Do People Want? Views on Platforms and the Digital Public Sphere in Eight Countries’.

The report aimed to explore the role of digital platforms in contemporary media environment, including the public’s view on the benefits and problems they raise, in particular relating to news and information on politics.

And it revealed that, as a source of news for politics, only 30% trust social media, 31% trust messaging apps and 37% trust video networks. Generative AI (30%) is much less trusted than search engines (55%).

The report was sponsored by the Knight Foundation and is based on survey data from across eight countries – Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Spain, the UK and the US.

It focused on five platform types – social media, search engines video networks, messaging apps and generative AI chatbots – and other key findings included:

• Platforms tend to be more trusted as a source of political news by younger people and, to a lesser extent, men and those on the right. However, these patterns can vary by country.
• Less than half of respondents think platforms are biased towards certain political views – but many people are uncertain
• A majority of those surveyed believe platforms should be held responsible for false information
• Despite the generally low trust and concern over issues related to politics, many people judge platforms have a net positive impact both for them and for society

The report was written by Dr Waqas Ejaz, Postdoctoral Research Fellow; Dr Richard Fletcher, Director of Research; Professor Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Senior Research Associate; and Professor Shannon McGregor, Associate professor and Director of the PhD program at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

The Knight Foundation is an American non-profit foundation providing grants for journalism, communities and the arts.

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is dedicated to exploring the future of journalism worldwide.