New Delhi: Much like the wider world, people’s trust in mainstream news brands has been declining in India, Reuters Institute’s 2024 Digital News Report has found. This has prompted many Indians to rely on various social media platforms and messaging apps for news, the report adds.
A survey by the Reuters Institute – findings of which are part of the report – notes that almost half of Indian respondents use YouTube (54%) and WhatsApp (48%), while Facebook and X are becoming less popular.
The 13th edition of Digital News Report, which is based on data from six continents and 47 markets, underlines that news media is being increasingly challenged globally by rising mis- and disinformation, low trust, attacks by politicians, and an uncertain business environment.
Key findings
Layoff of journalists, closure of media outlets, and other cuts due to a combination of rising costs, falling advertising revenues, and sharp declines in traffic from social media are being witnessed from across the world, the report notes.
The Reuters Institute highlights that there is no single cause for the "crisis" that pervades the news media ecosystem globally. "... it has been building for some time, but many of the immediate challenges are compounded by the power and changing strategies of rival big tech companies, including social media, search engines, and video platforms. Some are now explicitly deprioritising news and political content, while others have switched focus from publishers to ‘creators’, and pushing more fun and engaging formats – including video – to keep more attention within their own platforms."
In many countries, particularly outside Europe and the United States, the Reuters Institute finds a significant decline in the use of Facebook for news and a growing reliance on a range of alternatives including private messaging apps and video networks. "Facebook news consumption is down 4 percentage points, across all countries, in the last year," the report underscores.
By far, YouTube is emerging as the most popular platform for news globally. A third of respondents who took part in the Reuters survey expressed their preference for YouTube (31%), followed by WhatsApp (21%) and TikTok (13%). Interestingly, 10% of respondents said they rely on X (formerly Twitter) for news.
"News use across online platforms is fragmenting, with six networks now reaching at least 10% of our respondents, compared with just two a decade ago," the report says.
As regards the format, video has emerged as the most sought-after avenue for news, particularly among the younger population. About two-thirds (66%) of respondents have expressed their interest in getting their news from short news videos compared to 51% of respondents preferring longer news formats.
"The main locus of news video consumption is online platforms (72%) rather than publisher websites (22%), increasing the challenges around monetisation and connection," the report adds.
Photo: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay
A major finding of the survey is that an increasing number of people are identifying platforms including social media, search, or aggregators as their main gateway to online news. "Across markets, only around a fifth of respondents (22%) identify news websites or apps as their main source of online news – that’s down 10 percentage points on 2018. Publishers in a few Northern European markets have managed to buck this trend, but younger groups everywhere are showing a weaker connection with news brands than they did in the past."
The report also notes people's increasing reliance on "partisan" commentators, influencers, and young news creators, especially on YouTube and TikTok, for obtaining news. However, journalists still tend to hold sway on social networks such as Facebook and X, and traditional news brands.
Around six in 10 survey respondents (59%) globally expressed "concern" about what is real and fake on the internet. This figure has risen by 3 percentage points in the last one year. Respondents from South Africa (81%) and the United States (72%), both countries which are holding elections this year, have scored higher on this count.
"Worries about how to distinguish between trustworthy and untrustworthy content in online platforms is highest for TikTok and X when compared with other online networks. Both platforms have hosted misinformation or conspiracies around stories such as the war in Gaza, and the Princess of Wales’s health, as well as so-called ‘deep fake’ pictures and videos," the report adds.
Among the respondents who participated in the survey globally, only 40% said they trust the news they consume. At 69%, the trust factor in the news people consume is the highest in Finland. On the other hand, it is the lowest in Greece (23%) and Hungary (23%) due to concerns over "undue political and business influence over the media".
On the question of selective news avoidance, there has been a rise of 3 percentage points from last year's average. Around four in 1o (39%) now say they sometimes or often avoid the news. The rise has been significant in Brazil, Spain, Germany and Finland.
Similarly, the number of people who feel 'overloaded' by the amount of news these days has grown substantially: 11 percentage points in comparison to 2019, when the question was last asked.
Among the respondents surveyed in 20 richer countries, only 17% said they paid for any online news subscription in the last one year. While Norway (40%) and Sweden (31%) top the list of those who paid for news subscriptions, Japan (9%) and the United Kingdom (8%) figure at the bottom. "As in previous years, we find that a large proportion of digital subscriptions go to just a few upmarket national brands – reinforcing the winner-takes-most dynamics that are often linked with digital media," the report adds.
The report finds that in some countries there is evidence of heavy discounting, with around four in 10 (41%) saying they currently pay less than the full price. "Prospects of attracting new subscribers remain limited by a continued reluctance to pay for news, linked to low interest and an abundance of free sources. Well over half (55%) of those that are not currently subscribing say that they would pay nothing for online news, with most of the rest prepared to offer the equivalent of just a few dollars per month, when pressed. Across markets, just 2% of non-payers say that they would pay the equivalent of an average full-price subscription," the report adds.
Globally, far-reaching technological and behavioural changes are adding to the pressures on sustainable journalism. These changes, which are a result of growing artificial intelligence (AI) tools, are not only having a detrimental effect on news media but also challenging the dominance of tech giants such as Meta and Google.
"Some kind of platform reset is underway with more emphasis on keeping traffic within their environments and with greater focus on formats proven to drive engagement, such as video. Many newer platforms with younger user bases are far less centred on text and links than incumbent platforms, with content shaped by a multitude of (sometimes hugely popular) creators rather than by established publishers," the report explains.
In some cases, news is being excluded or downgraded because technology companies think it causes more trouble than it is worth. "Traffic from social media and search is likely to become more unpredictable over time, but getting off the algorithmic treadmill won’t be easy," the report adds.
Summing up its findings from across the globe, the report says, "Interest in the news has been falling, the proportion avoiding it has increased, trust remains low, and many consumers are feeling increasingly overwhelmed and confused by the amount of news. Artificial intelligence may make this situation worse, by creating a flood of low-quality content and synthetic media of dubious provenance."
