Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025

The report found that engagement with media sources like television, print and news websites continued to fall as audience shifted to social media, video platforms and online aggregators. Personalities and influencers were major participants in shaping public debates.

As many as 47 per cent of respondents worldwide reported online influencers and personalities as the biggest underlying sources of false and misleading information, along with national politicians.

In India, Meta-owned WhatsApp was cited by 53 per cent of respondents as the biggest source of false or misleading information, the highest level recorded in any market.

Among respondents in India (English-speaking online news users), 76 per cent accessed news online. Around 46 per cent read news on social media, 45 per cent watched news on the television, and 39 per cent accessed it via print. Among this demographic, trust in the news has remained largely stable at 43 per cent in the last 4-5 years. Legacy print titles and public broadcasters were trusted more than others.

Top online spaces accessed for news in the country were YouTube (55 per cent), WhatsApp (46 per cent), Instagram (37 per cent), and Facebook (36 per cent).

The report highlights how traditional news sources have been weakened by social media influencers and content creators. In the United States, consumption of news from social media and video networks rose to 54 per cent whereas use of television and websites and apps for news fell to 50 and 48 per cent respectively.

Interest in AI personalisation related to news ranked high among respondents when it promised to make news news faster, easier to consume and more relevant. Around 27 per cent of respondents were interested in summarised news articles and 24 per cent in translations.

The report found relatively low interest in chatbots for answering news-related questions (only 18 per cent). However, while interest in any single AI feature remained limited, a clear majority of respondents (66 per cent) expressed interest in at least one option.

As many as 13 per cent of respondents said they did not know how they would verify information they suspect may be false, misleading, or fake. But a majority reported that they would consult at least one source, and in most cases two or more. The most cited options for verification were news outlets, official sources such as government websites, and search engines.

Traditional news outlets and journalists still play a meaningful role in platform-based searches for verifying information, the report found. Among respondents who used search engines, 26 per cent said they would primarily look for news outlets, while 30 per cent of those using social media or video platforms reported the same.

The report showed that search and social media dominated consumer access to news, with weekly usage of 45 and 43 per cent respectively, making them important gateways for reach and user acquisition. On the other hand, notifications and email newsletters were key tools for building deeper relationships with existing users.

While mobile alerts can keep audiences up to date, they are far from universally adopted. The majority of the survey respondents (79 per cent in aggregate) reported receiving no news alerts in an average week, either because they had not downloaded a news app or they had disabled notifications.

In the UK, growing subscription and membership revenues remained a priority for most news publishers. However, with willingness to pay relatively low, few relied primarily on reader revenue. Instead, publishers pursued a mixed model that combined advertising, subscriptions and other income streams.

Focus and Factoids by Shelton Mark Rozario.