TV most trusted for news but majority anyway using social media
TV and radio news are the most trusted by news consumers but the majority anyway turn to online sources for news. And the explanation is that people turn to social media for news. Online news sources are now as widely used as TV news, which saw steep decline last year, according to a survey by UK media regulating authority Ofcom.
The survey confirms similar results from other markets. A US survey shows that six-in-ten prefer a digital device for news (58%), more than say they prefer TV (27%). Even fewer Americans prefer radio (6%) or print (5%).
The UK survey shows that Alphabet-owned YouTube challenges traditional news channels and that most people encountered misleading content during the general elections this summer.
Television is no longer the single main source of news for UK adults. Online sites and apps are now as popular as TV news for the first time, Ofcom says.
TV has been considered the leading source of UK news since the 1960s, when widespread set ownership saw it overtake radio and newspapers. But Ofcom’s annual study shows that 71% of adults now do so online, compared to 70% for TV, marking a generational shift in the balance of news media.
“The big driving factor is the increasing use of social media for news. More than half of UK adults (52%) now use platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to access news, up from 47% in 2023.”
“Once the dominant feature of the nation’s news diets, the reach of TV news has gradually declined in recent years, and fell sharply from 75% to 70% last year.
“Going online is by far the most popular way for younger people to access news (88% of 16–24-year-olds), but older generations are also gradually adding online sources to their news diets.”
“Over half (54%) of people aged 55+ find news online – up from 45% in 2018 – with most navigating directly to news websites. Only 28% access news via social media, significantly lower than 16-24s at 82%.”
“Despite this trend towards online news sources, TV remains by far the leading platform for news among older age groups (85%), compared to only half of 16-24s (49%).”
Public service broadcasters (PSBs) remain an important way to access news. BBC One remains the most popular individual news source, while news across all BBC platforms (TV, radio, news website, Sounds and iPlayer) still reaches 68% of all UK adults.
Four of the ten most popular news sources are the social media services Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X.
Online news sources – and social media platforms in particular – are rated much less favourably than traditional platforms such as TV and radio for accuracy, trust and impartiality.
Six in ten (60%) saw information they felt was false or misleading during the general election period. Of these, one in ten said they saw this kind of content several times a day.
Over half of people (57%) expressed concern about the impact of deepfake content during the general election campaign. More than a quarter (27%) of adults claimed they had encountered a deepfake during the previous week.
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