Reuters Institute: Trust in news is at a record low, with access dominated by platforms

This year’s Reuters Institute Digital News Report, based on responses from nearly 100,000 news consumers across 48 countries, offers insights into how audiences around the world consume and engage with the news. 

Amid the turbulence in global affairs, trust in news today is at the lowest level measured since 2015.  

For the first time, social media and video platforms have overtaken news websites and apps, the culmination of a years-long shift away from traditional news sources. The use of AI chatbots for news has also seen an increase in 2026.  

As the rise of news creators persists, the report notes that traditional media remain the dominant source of news for audiences. 

Trust reaches a record low 

Trust in news globally is now at 37% — the lowest level recorded since the Reuters Institute started measuring trust in 2015.  

In 19 out of the 48 markets surveyed the fall in trust levels was particularly sharp, dropping by five percentage points or more. The Philippines saw the largest fall in trust since last year, with a decrease of ten percentage points. This was followed by Ireland, which saw a nine-percentage-point decrease.

Hungary recorded the lowest level of trust in news among the 48 markets, at 17%, followed closely by Greece at 18%.  

Broader concerns about the information environment, rather than loss of trust in specific news brands, offer a likely explanation for this drop, according to the report. General distrust of social and political institutions also seems to play a role in the decrease.  

As the use of social media, video platforms and AI chatbots for news increases, so does distrust in news, as consumers tend to trust these platforms less than traditional media. This lack of trust in social media can be partially attributed to audiences’ concerns around fake news, the report notes, which affect 62 percent of participants.  

Social and video platforms leave news websites and apps behind 

Despite being less trusted, social media and video platforms have, for the first time in 2026, overtaken news organizations’ websites and apps as a way to access online news.  

54% of audiences globally are now using third-party platforms to access news online, as opposed to 51% who rely on news websites and apps, while 52% cite the TV as their main source of news.  

Importantly, this shift towards social media and video networks is observed in all age groups, while their usage as a main source of news is most popular among 18–24-year-olds at 52 percent and 25–34-year-olds at 44 percent. 

Audiences tend to prefer these platforms in part because they are more convenient than other news sources, according to the report. The decreased use of other sources, such as the TV and owned news websites and apps, presents another important factor in this shift.  

Implications extend to the political sphere as well with “politicians going direct to audiences as news creators,” the report notes, pointing to the case of former Polish president Andrzej Duda who, in 2025, launched his show on Kanał Zero, a Polish YouTube channel.  

AI chatbots’ growth is fast, but not yet “explosive” 

10% of all audiences are now using AI chatbots for news, an increase of three percentage points since last year. While a significant trend, the increase in AI adoption has not, so far, been as quick in news consumption as it has been in other fields, according to the report.   

AI chatbots are most popular among younger audiences, with usage among 18-24 years olds at 17%. Audiences using chatbots for news also tend to be a highly engaged part of the news audience. 

Geographically, usage varies widely, with more than 10% of people using them for news in countries including South Korea, Brazil and Greece. In many European countries, however, they are less common, as is the case in the USA with usage standing at six percent.  

“One factor likely to be affecting adoption of AI chatbots for news is perceived trustworthiness,” the report notes, as only 20% of respondents trust AI-derived answers, compared to 37% trust in news globally.  

The explanatory depth, speed and simplicity offered by AI chatbots — allowing consumers to ask follow-up questions, get the news quickly and summarize news stories — are among the main features that attract audiences to them.  

Amid growing concerns about the AI-driven disruption in referral traffic, the report finds that, across 27 markets, only four percent of respondents say they always or often click through to news sources cited by AI chatbots, as opposed to a 19 and 17 percent click-through rate from search engines and social media respectively.  

News influencers: complementing, not replacing traditional media 

While 27% of audiences get some news from news influencers and 46% from creators producing a wider – ranging content, 13% use them as their main source of news and only three percent of respondents say they rely solely on creators for news, suggesting those influencers supplement rather than substitute for traditional news providers.  

What draws audiences to creators? They are more entertaining and easier to understand, respondents say, but are also seen as less impartial and trustworthy than traditional media.   

The rise of news influencers can also be understood as part of a broader trend concerning the increasing consumption of news on third-party video platforms, where these creators are prominent.  

77% of audiences say they watch online news videos every week, according to the report. YouTube is still the most popular video network for news globally, while Instagram is now the most important social platform for news among 18–24-year-olds, used by 42 percent of this group.  

Greece: low trust deepens, chatbots gain ground 

“Greeks overwhelmingly believe that the country’s media are subject to undue political and business influence,” the report notes, as trust in news now stands at 18 percent, having fallen four percentage points since last year and reaching an eleven-year low.  

60% of Greek respondents say they sometimes or often avoid the news, a percentage matched by Turkey and Bulgaria and surpassed only by Croatia among the 48 countries surveyed. In comparison, the global average for news avoidance stands at 42%. 

At 64 percent, social media remains a leading source of news for Greek audiences. AI chatbots also saw a significant rise, with 12 percent of Greek consumers now using them for news, double the figure recorded in 2025. The use of AI chatbots in Greece surpasses both the corresponding percentage globally, as well as that of most European countries. 

While the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers, has adopted an AI code of ethics since 2025, according to the report “disclosure of AI involvement in Greek journalism remains the exception, and there have already been instances where unverified or erroneous AI-generated content has made its way into published stories.” 

The Digital News Report 2026, authored by Jim Egan, Craig T. Robertson, Amy Ross Arguedas, Nic Newman, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Mitali Mukherjee, and Richard Fletcher was released on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.