Australians are using social media as their main news source more than online news websites, even though they see influencers as a major misinformation threat.
Though television remains the most popular source of news for Australians, social media platforms have overtaken online news for the first time in the 11-year history of the University of Canberra’s Digital News Report.
More than one in four Australians have turned to Facebook, TikTok and other sites as people across the world – particularly Americans – lose trust in mainstream media.
While Americans were likely to see politicians as a threat of misinformation, Australians had the highest global mistrust of influencers, making traditional news brands the most popular source of news on social media.
More than half of Australians are most likely to consider online personalities as a major threat of misinformation, followed by 51 per cent who point to activists, 49 per cent who say it is foreign governments, 48 per cent pinning blame on Australian political actors and 43 per cent pointing the finger at news media.
New audiences in Australia are more clustered towards the centre of politics, report author and University of Canberra professor Sora Park said.
“We are still open to getting exposed to views that you don’t agree with, which is quite promising,” she told AAP.
“Trust is more based on the quality and transparency of news rather than political views.”
This could contribute to regional Australians’ falling confidence in the news.
In recent years, there has been an increase in syndicated content and a reduction in original reporting, particularly within regional areas where local news outlets have closed or contracted.
Social media has filled the void, and less than half of Australians in regional areas now say they trust the news.
News avoidance also remains high across the country, particularly among regional Australians, women and young people.
Trust, relevance, accessibility and a perception of negativity are the biggest determinants of avoidance, with many under-35s dodging the news because they may not have the context to understand a story.
Young people were more likely to turn to social media for news, especially short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram, but they also tended to fact check more often.
Older people were found to be more at risk of falling prey to fake news.
