Quino Petit – El País, Madrid
Four out of ten surveyed in their annual report on digital news say they frequently avoid them, while in Spain the detachment increases eight points compared to 2023 and a general concern about misinformation predominates.
In the middle of an electoral super year that is advancing in half the planet and spreading its havoc throughout the European Union while the wars in Ukraine and Gaza persist, the lack of interest in information reaches a global historical record. This is reflected in the new annual report on digital news prepared by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. According to the study that this entity from the University of Oxford made public in the early hours of this Monday, four out of ten respondents avoid the news frequently. The figure reaches 39% and exceeds by one percentage point the previous record of aversion registered by this analysis in 2022. In addition, it represents a growth of three points compared to the previous year and ten more than the 29% that manifested the same trend in 2017. In Spain, detachment grows eight points during the last twelve months and reaches 37%. The latent problem of misinformation is one of the causes of widespread disinterest.
Six out of ten respondents doubt the veracity of online content, a proportion that in Spain reaches seven out of ten. This is also the case in the United States, where 72% show concern about it, and the figure shoots up in South Africa to 81%, both countries with elections this year. Among platforms, TikTok and In countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Mexico, there is growing concern about “photorealistic” images generated by Artificial Intelligence and deepfake videos. The Reuters Institute’s annual report on digital news brings together almost 100,000 interviews in 47 countries (about 2,000 per country), carried out between the end of last January and the beginning of February through the market research company YouGov. Researchers from the University of Navarra participated in the preparation of the Spanish sampling.
In a Spain subjected to incessant political tension, the study frames the situation of information fatigue in 44% of those surveyed, above the 37% who avoid news consumption. Although both phenomena appear related: 58% of those disaffected feel media overexposure. On the contrary, half of those surveyed maintain a high interest in the news. This represents a slight increase compared to the previous year’s report and points to a slowdown in the loss of interest registered in these studies since 2015. 85% then showed great interest in the information, a figure that progressively fell to 52% in 2023. By age group, the percentage of disconnection reaches 44% among young people and 35% among those over 35 years of age. Among its causes lies a perception that certain critical issues do not receive sufficient journalistic coverage. Although the majority envision an abundant media offering in sports, politics, international affairs and entertainment, only half consider sufficient coverage on crime and security, education or social justice, while younger audiences show an increase in interest in areas such as mental health and the environment. But if something triggers the numbers in Spain, it is hoaxes.
In line with this context, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has just announced a “package of regenerative measures” that provides for regulations against disinformation in accordance with the European media freedom law. In parallel, research by the Reuters Institute places 87% concerned in the Spanish context about fake news, a figure that complements the seven out of ten who express doubts about the veracity of online content. Politics is the star field of misinformation in Spain for those surveyed, 37% of whom have identified hoaxes related to the subject. The rest of the issues that cause the most concern focus on the spread of lies about the pandemic (29%) and the economy (28%). Regarding international coverage, Spaniards identify more falsehoods about the war in Gaza (24%) than about the conflict in Ukraine (16%).
The general trend of increasing disinterest in information does not only affect Spain. It is also reflected in other countries such as Brazil, Germany and Finland. And although the electoral calls spur attention in places like the United States (where 52% of those surveyed declare their willingness to follow the news), this figure has plummeted in Argentina – from 77% in 2017 to 45% today – and in the United Kingdom, where it has been reduced by almost half since 2015 (38%). Regarding trust in the news, the global figure of 40% of respondents has remained stable over the last year, although it remains four points below the hardest moments of the pandemic. The highest loyalty rates are recorded in Finland (69%) and the lowest in Greece and Hungary, countries where only 23% trust the information and worry about both political and business influence on the media. Among the factors to follow are maintaining high standards, transparency, lack of bias and equity in terms of representation.
The reverse of the media is in the transformation of digital platforms and changes in consumer habits. In Spain, where the rise of informative videos and podcasts continues, more than 40% of those who use social networks for information preferentially follow journalistic brands and informants and ordinary people, rather than politicians (20%) or influencers (25% ). ). But globally, just one-fifth identify media websites or apps as their main source of news, down ten points from 2018. And younger audiences show a weaker connection to news organization brands. . than they did in the past.
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute and editor of the report, concludes: “The end of massive traffic from traditional social networks and the increasing competition for attention means that journalists and editors will have to work much, much harder to earn “the public’s attention, not to mention convincing them to pay for the news.” Regarding editorial content and beyond technology (a field in which Facebook deepens its decline in news consumption compared to the growth of alternatives such as WhatsApp and video networks such as YouTube and TikTok), Rasmus Kleis Nielsen and his researchers warn of the lack of diverse perspectives and stories “that can provide some basis for occasional optimism.”
……………….
Google Auto-Translation