Journalism Today. 28 Nov 2024

By Eduardo Suárez

We've just published a report on the role of digital platforms in today’s media environment. The report is based on fresh survey data from Spain, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US. It is authored by our colleagues Waqas Ejaz, Richard Fletcher, Rasmus Nielsen and Shannon McGregor, and it is funded by the Knight Foundation, which published a similar report in 2022, focusing only on the United States. Here are seven things you need to know from the report: 

1. Most people see good and bad things about platforms

Many people use platforms for news about politics, while also remaining sceptical and concerned about misinformation, bias, privacy, freedom of expression, and tech power. People also appreciate the benefits of platforms. This kind of ambivalence is perhaps the most important takeaway from the report, and is similar across the eight countries we cover.

As the chart below shows, most people think digital platforms make it easier to connect with family and friends, find the information they need, participate in politics, and stay engaged with their local community. But many also think they make it easier to threaten people, spread misinformation or extreme views, and interfere with elections.

2. Most people use both news sites and platforms to follow politics

Our figures show that search engines are the most used platform for news about politics (45%), followed by social media (41%) and video networks (30%). News sites (59%) and TV (57%) are still more widely used than any platform type. But it’s important to stress that news use is highly intertwined: most respondents get their political news from both platforms and news outlets.

Amongst the eight countries covered, those who use platforms for news about politics are more likely to be young and male. They tend to have higher interest in politics, and be more comfortable with technology. Differences by ideology are very small. 

People who use platforms for news and information about politics are also more likely to use online news from legacy brands. As the chart below shows, 22% of those who do not use social media for news about politics also use a newspaper website. This rises to 39% among those that do use social media. 

3. Most people are sceptical of platforms as a source of news about politics

Only 30% trust social media for news about politics, 31% trust messaging apps and 37% trust video networks. Generative AI (30%) is much less trusted than search engines (55%), which are very trusted in all the countries covered by the report. Trust in news on social media is higher in Brazil (43%) and Argentina (45%), and especially low in Japan (25%) and South Korea (18%). 

Platforms tend to be more trusted as a source of political news by younger people and, to a lesser extent, by men and by those on the political right. But these patterns can vary by country. As the chart below shows, search engines are more trusted by those on the left in Germany, Brazil, and the US. Social media is less trusted by the left in the UK, the US and Germany. 

4. Perceptions of social media bias are tied to polarisation

Less than half of our respondents think digital platforms are systematically biased towards certain political views – but many people (up to 30%) are uncertain. Social media is the type of platform they are most likely to be seen as systematically biased, with 47% seeing it as such. Both video networks and generative AI are almost as likely to be seen as biased, whereas search engines and messaging apps are less likely to be seen as biased. Only 34% view messaging apps as systematically biased towards certain political views.

However, these perceptions vary by country and are tied to polarisation in some of the countries included in the report. For example, most of the people on the right in the United States (69%) and on the left in Argentina (71%) are much more likely to think that social media is biased. Centrist audiences tend to perceive less bias than partisans on both sides. 

5. Most people think news media are more divisive than platforms 

We asked our respondents whether they thought different actors bring people together or drive them apart. Net scores were positive for messaging apps (+19) and search engines (+12), and negative for social media (-13). But journalists (-29), news media (-27) and politicians (-55) were perceived as more divisive than any type of platforms. 

This pattern is quite consistent across countries. The only exception is Germany, where social media (-38) is seen as more divisive than the news media (-18). But even here people still see the news media as something that divides society rather than brings people together.

6. Many people think platforms have a positive impact 

Despite the generally low trust and concern over issues related to politics, many people judge platforms to have a net positive impact both for them and for society. However, our respondents in Germany, the UK, the US, and South Korea think social media has a net negative effect on society. Interestingly, though, they don’t think social media has a negative effect on them personally.

Search engines and video networks are perceived more positively than social media and generative AI across countries. Messaging apps are viewed very positively in Argentina and Brazil, and more negatively in Japan and South Korea. 

7. Most people think platforms should be held accountable for falsehoods

Asked whether they believe platforms should be held responsible for false information, a majority in each country believe that they should. Support for holding platforms responsible is especially high in South Korea (77% for social media and 79% for video networks) and Japan (73% for both social media and video networks). 

In the UK and the USA, views are also strong, but show slightly more ambivalence. In the UK, for instance, 75% think social media should be responsible, while 16% disagree and 9% are undecided. Similarly, in the USA, 65% support responsibility for social media platforms, with a higher proportion (24%) believing that they should not be held accountable. 

🛵 Before you go…

We remind you that the report includes many more insights on how audiences use platforms, how they think they should be regulated, and what they think about their impact on their daily lives. You can read the report in full here, and you can download a PDF version in this link. The Institute produces more pieces of research on journalism every year. You can find them all in this link.

📬 Sign up for our newsletter now

More than 23,000 people receive our newsletter on Tuesdays and Fridays. To ensure you get news about everything we do, sign up now to receive it. It includes original reporting, evidence-based insights, online seminars and readings, and much more. |Sign up now