Reuters Report Shows That COVID-19 Pandemic Has Increased Trust in the Media

Don’t trust everything on the internet, that’s something that we’ve always been taught the moment we’re allowed the use the computer.

However, with everyone stuck at home thanks to the pandemic, you have no choice but to trust the only source of information.

Especially the news.

Reuters Report Shows That COVID-19 Pandemic Has Increased Trust in the Media

According to a report by The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism on Wednesday (23 June), the COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased demand for reliable news during a time of global crisis. 

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is a research centre at the University of Oxford that keeps an eye on trends in the media. The Thomson Reuters Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Thomson Reuters, provides funding to the Reuters Institute. 

The report was based on a YouGov survey of over 92,000 digital news consumers in 46 markets including Australia, India, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. 

In addition, it was found that a large majority of people want media outlets to be impartial, objective, and neutral. A large majority also believed that news outlets should represent a diversity of views. 

During the pandemic, trust in the news had increased, particularly in Western Europe. 

Mistrust in Media

However, mistrust was rather evident in the deeply divided media of the US. 

Rasmus Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute, said, “We’ve been through a very dark time and much of the public recognise that news organisations have often been the ones shining light in that darkness.” 

He added that there has been “a greater appreciation of trustworthy news overall”, and that their research has evidently shown that “large majorities want journalism to try to be neutral”.

Trust in News has Grown

Findings have shown that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, trust in the news has grown, on average, by six percentage points. 44% of the total sample state that they trust most news most of the time. 

Finland is the country with the highest level of overall trust in the media, coming in at 65%, while the US has the lowest level at 29%.

45% of Singaporeans have said that they trust the news, compared to 41% for Malaysia, 39% for Indonesia, 40% for Hong Kong, and 43% for Australia.

The institute found that the consumption of mainstream news, especially in countries with “strong and independent public service media”, had increased.

However, it also found that printed media had continued to face a sharp plunge, which has further quicked the shift to digital news subscriptions. 

In addition, trust in news circulated through social media remained at a low of 24%, while there has been an increase in concerns over misinformation. 

The report also showed that younger people were not strongly associated with traditional media, and instead tended to turn to social media to get their news. 

TikTok has apparently become an increasingly popular source of news, especially among younger generations. 

It has also become a way to organise and mobilise political protests in areas like Peru, Indonesia, and Thailand.

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