Who do you really trust for news?
People have more confidence in professional judgment of journalists, survey finds
KUALA LUMPUR: There has been some concern that people prefer news that only reinforces their beliefs, but it turns out most actually prefer diverse information and viewpoints, and many trust journalists to deliver this.
The terms “echo chamber”, “filter bubble” and “confirmation bias” have been bandied about since Britain voted to leave the European Union (Brexit) and over the course of the US presidential campaign last year.
The concern was that thanks to their social media newsfeeds and timelines, people were only being led to news from their friends who already agreed with them, but one survey turns this prevailing belief on its head.
“People have more confidence in the professional judgment of journalists and editors than they have in the inexpert judgment of their friends,” said Dr Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of research at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
“In fact, we’ve had some rather salty language in some of our focus groups in terms of the rude things people say about their friends and these friends’ ability to identify what is news and what is credible.
“They recognise that sometimes journalists may get things wrong, but they still view them as a more credible source of news than their friends,” he added, referring to findings from the 2016 Digital News Report, an online survey of 50,000 users across 26 countries, as well as research that covered four pilot countries including Malaysia and Singapore.
However, most people would still rather rely on technology that could customise their news sources according to their previous consumption. One part of the research sought to determine if people were really that naïve in how they consume news, and whether they were susceptible to filter bubbles and echo chambers.
“The data we have points to what we would call a ‘healthy scepticism’ – most people are generally sceptical of how they get their news,” Dr Nielsen told a regional press briefing via a video conference hosted at Google Malaysia’s office here.
When asked how they prefer their news to be selected for them, 36% of respondents said they preferred news to be selected based on what they’ve consumed before (using customisation algorithms, for example), while 30% preferred their news be curated by professional reporters and editors.
Only 22% said they would rather their news be selected based on what their friends have consumed.
“Based on these numbers, a lot of people feel that they are the best judges of what is news for them, and they appreciate personalisation based on that,” he added.
And while most people (51%) across all the markets surveyed get their news mainly via social media, 57% said they worry about missing out important information and 55% were concerned that they might miss out on challenging viewpoints if content is personalised based on what they have consumed in the past or based on what their friends have consumed.
So why do people use social media if they have these concerns?
“More than anything, it’s really about convenience of the experience,” said Dr Nielsen, who also serves as editorinchief of the International Journal of Press/ Politics.
“Despite the reservations people have about these platforms, they alert them to stories that they might otherwise miss and provide a good product with a simple way to access a variety of news sources.
“I think it’s very important for news organisations to realise this ... and to ensure that they provide this experience on their apps,” he added.
The online survey for the research was conducted in early 2016, before the Brexit and US presidential campaigns kicked in, which many media observers believe have led to increased polarisation in society and how we consume news.
Dr Nielsen is not quite as pessimistic, based on a finding in the United States, although he was also quick to point out that this may not necessarily apply to other markets.
“Our preliminary analysis suggests that politics is far less important to how people navigate news than those people who have strong feelings about politics might think.
“Most people don’t care all that much about politics, and therefore, they don’t primarily select their news sources based on political grounds.
“On their fear of missing out, in particular on challenging viewpoints, I think it’s very encouraging that people are seeking to get a range of different views and I think this is a real opportunity for news organisations to effectively market themselves.
“To add to that, despite the concerns of some quarters that the rise of social media has led to a homogeneous news diet, our evidence suggests that in fact, people who use social media to search for news get a slightly more diverse diet of news sources than people who don’t.
“So our preliminary analysis indicates that things are not as dark and dire as some people have suggested,” he added.
Our preliminary analysis suggests that politics is far less important to how people navigate news than those people who have strong feelings about politics might think.
Dr Rasmus Kleis Nielsen