News audiences’ fears grow of misinformation in the media, new RISJ report reveals

Date

17 Jun 2024

Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

News audiences are becoming increasingly concerned about misinformation in the media, the latest Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism finds.

The 13th edition of the Report highlights growing concerns over fake news on the internet – with around six in ten (59%) expressing fears and concern being greatest on the TikTok and X platforms.

There is also public suspicion over how AI is used in the media, with audiences being more comfortable with it aiding supporting tasks than being used to replace the role of journalists.

The research also shows a series of ‘platform resets’ – with social media companies such as Facebook and X reducing the prominence and role of news on their platforms – is creating uncertainties for publishers.

Commenting on this move, RISJ Director and editor Professor Rasmus Kleis Nielsen said:

“The public is increasingly relying on competing platforms to access all sorts of content and information. Many of these platforms are in turn increasingly moving away from news and publishers, and instead focusing more on other kinds of content and other creators.
“This more complicated platform ecosystem, the end of mass referrals from legacy social media, and growing competition for attention means journalists and publishers will have to work much, much harder to earn the public’s attention, let alone convince them to pay for news.”

Released today, the report also reveals video formats and networks are increasing in popularity – particularly among young people, while also highlighting the rise of a new generation of news creators and influencers.

The research is based on the results of an online survey of almost 100,000 carried out in 47 global markets – including the UK, United States, Germany, Spain, Portugal, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina and Morocco.

Other key findings include:

Stable levels of trust in news (40%) – yet still four points lower overall than at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.
- Finland remains the country with the highest levels of overall trust (69%), while Greece (23%) and Hungary (23%) have the lowest levels,
Elections have increased interest in news in several countries, including the US (52%, +3 points from last year), but has decreased overall. Interest in news in Argentina, for example, has fallen from 77% in 2017 to 45% today. In the UK (38%), interest in news has almost halved since 2015.
A rise in news avoidance, with around four in ten (39%) saying they sometimes or often avoid the news – up 3% on last year’s average.
News publishers may be concentrating too greatly on reporting on key news stories at the expense of delivering different perspective on issues or positive news items.

The 2024 report was written by Nic Newman, Lead Author, RISJ Senior Research Associate and a consultant on digital media; Dr Richard Fletcher, RISJ Director of Research; Dr Kirsten Eddy, RISJ Research Fellow; Dr Craig T Robertson, RISJ Research Fellow; Dr Amy Ross Arguedas, Research Fellow at RISJ; and Professor Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Editor, RISJ Director and Professor of Political Communication at the University of Oxford.