The use of social media for news has started to fall in a number of key markets after years of continuous growth, according to the 2018 Digital News Report. The report, which covers 37 countries in five continents, reveals that usage is down six percentage points in the United States, and is also down in the UK and France.
Almost all of the decline is due to a decrease in the discovery, posting, and sharing of news in Facebook. At the same time, there has been a rise in the use of messaging apps for news as consumers look for more private (and less confrontational) spaces to communicate.
WhatsApp is now used for news by around half of the sample of online users in Malaysia (54%) and Brazil (48%) and by around third in Spain (36%) and Turkey (30%).
The 2018 Digital News Report, which is based on an online survey of 74,000 people, includes findings on trust, misinformation - or so-called ‘fake news’ - television viewing trends, podcasting, adblockers and voice-activated assistants. For the first time the report also includes news literacy, and brand trust.
1. #DNR18
Reuters Institute
Digital News
Report 2018You are welcome to use the data and slides in this
report for any purpose (commercial or non-
commercial) in return for simple attribution under
a Creative Commons license
We welcome feedback and questions at
info@digitalnewsreport.org
3. RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Methodology
RESEARCH CONDUCTED ONLINE IN JANUARY/EARLY FEBRUARY 2018
3
Country Sample Size
Internet
penetration
USA 2401 96%
UK 2117 95%
Germany 2038 90%
France 2006 87%
Italy 2040 87%
Spain 2023 87%
Portugal 2008 72%
Ireland 2007 94%
Norway 2027 100%
Sweden 2016 93%
Finland 2012 93%
Denmark 2025 97%
Country Sample Size
Internet
penetration
Belgium 2006 88%
Netherlands 2010 95%
Switzerland 2120 89%
Austria 2010 85%
Hungary 2005 81%
Slovakia 2006 85%
Czech Republic 2020 88%
Poland 2005 73%
Romania 2048 63%
Bulgaria 2021 60%
Croatia 2010 74%
Greece 2014 69%
Country Sample Size
Internet
penetration
Turkey* 2019 70%
Japan 2033 93%
Korea, South 2010 93%
Taiwan 1008 88%
Hong Kong 2016 87%
Malaysia 2013 78%
Singapore 2018 84%
Australia 2026 88%
Canada 2022 90%
Brazil* 2007 66%
Argentina 2012 79%
Chile 2008 77%
Mexico* 2007 65%
Polling by Supported by
4. Key findings
Use of news in
social media goes
into reverse
Heightened
concern over
‘fake’ and
unreliable news –
with implications
for tech platforms
and journalism
Some countries
leaping
ahead with
subscription, but
donation models
also look
interesting
Brand level trust
scores in 37
countries for the
first time
Voice helping
new wave of
innovation
around audio
(podcasts)
5. Social media DOWN for news…
Q3. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week as a source of news? (Please select all that apply)/Q10 Thinking about how you
FIND news online, which are the main ways that you come across news stories? - Used social media and came across news that way. Base:
45%
39%
52% (-2) AVERAGE ACROSS ALL COUNTRIES, BIGGER DROPS IN SOME COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY FAKE NEWS
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
36%
31%
USA
UK
FRANCE
GER
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 5
6. Facebook, Twitter stagnate, others grow
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 6
WEEKLY USE OF NETWORKS FOR NEWS 2014-18, 12 COUNTRY AVERAGE
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
36%
15%
6%
11%
3%
3 REASONS
FOR SHIFT
- Changes to algorithms
- Boredom with Facebook
- More interesting
alternatives
Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2014-18, Q12b Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week for news?
Base: Total sample in 12 countries (UK, US, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Brazil), 10 country average for 2014 excl Australia and Ireland
7. Young attracted by newer
networks
7
“ What I’ve noticed was
Facebook was everything to
me but now Snapchat and
Instagram are making
things more convenient”
(US young)
Source: Snap and BBC/Instagram
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
8. Discussion of news is moving to messaging…
8
CONTEXT COLLAPSE KICKING IN?
“These friends on Facebook are not important
for me any more. With my inner circle of friends
I communicate via WhatsApp”
(M, 20-29, DE)
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
“ I’ve actually pulled back from using Facebook a
lot since the whole political landscape changed
over the last few years because I just find
everyone’s got an opinion”
(F, 30-45, UK)
9. 9
Use of social networks and messaging apps in the last
week
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q12A/B. Which, if any, of the following have you used for any purpose/news in the last week? Base: Total sample in all markets. Note: Also showing
change from 2017.
10. 10
Use of Facebook and messaging apps for news in the last
week by age - US
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week for news? Base: 18–24/25– 34/35–
44/45–54/55+: 2016 = 175/329/377/300/1016, 2018 = 232/386/441/355/987.
11. 11
Proportion that use WhatsApp and Facebook for each
purpose – All markets
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q12_2018_FB/WA. Thinking about the news
you get via Facebook/WhatsApp, which of
the following have you done in the last
week? Base: All that used
Facebook/WhatsApp for news in the last
week. All markets = 34014/11660.
12. 12
Overlap in use of Facebook and messaging apps for news
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week for news? Base: Total
sample in each market.
13. 13
Use of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp for news
SELECTED MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week for news? Base: Total sample in each market.
14. 14
Expression on social media and authorities
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used for finding, reading, watching, sharing or discussing news in the last week? Q13a_2018_1. Please indicate your level of
agreement with the following statements. I tend to think carefully about expressing my political views openly on the internet because this could get me into trouble with the
authorities. Base: Total sample in each market.
16. 16
Smartphone use for news over time (2013-18)
SELECTED MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q8B. Which, if any, of the following devices
have you used to access news in the last
week? Base: Total 2013-18 sample in each
market.
17. 17
Main news device in the UK over time 2013-18
UK
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
UK8b6_5. You’ve said you use the following
devices to access news in the last week, which is
your MAIN way of accessing online news? Base:
All in 2013–2018 who used a device for news in
the last week: UK =
1638/1598/1795/1691/1733/1816.
19. 19
MAIN Gateways to news
ALL MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q10a_new2017_rc.
Which of these was
the MAIN way in
which you came
across news in the last
week? Base: All/under
35s that used a
gateway to news in
the last week: All
markets =
69246/19755.
23. 23
More or fewer alerts?
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q10b_2018_2. Thinking about the news notifications you currently receive, which of the following statements do you most agree with? I get too many news notifications/I
get the right number of new snotifications/I’d be happy getting more news notifications. Base: All who received a news alert in the last week in each/all markets: Taiwan =
350, US = 448, Sweden = 447, France = 299, Germany = 202, UK = 314, Selected markets = 7494
24. 24
What would encourage news users get news alerts?
SELECTED MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q10b_2018_4. You use a mobile device but said you have not received a mobile notification in the last week, which of the following features would encourage you to use or
install alerts/notifications for news? Base: All that use a smartphone or tablet but did not receive a news alert in the last week: Selected markets = 44746. Note: This question
was not asked in Greece, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile.
25. 25
Reach of Public Service Broadcasters online and offline
SELECTED MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q5A. Which of the following brands have you used to access news offline in the last week (via TV, radio, print, and other traditional media)? Q5B. Which of the following
brands have you used to access news online in the last week (via websites, apps, social media, and other forms of Internet acc3es1s)? Base: Total sample in each market.
26. 26
Weekly online reach of global news brands
SELECTED MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q5B. Which of the following brands have you used to access news online in the last week (via websites, apps, social media, and other forms of internet access)? Base: Total sample in each
market. Note: Weighted average calculated using population data from Internet World Stats and the World Bank: weighted = (country population * percentage adults * internet penetration *
percentage accessed)/total population of all countries surveyed. Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey are not included due to the absence of reliable data about their urban population. Bulgaria is not
included to maintain comparability with last year. Figures for NYT are based on data from 15 countries.
28. Different types of trust
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 28
ALL 37 MARKETS
Uncertainty in distributed environments, information
unchecked, hard to distinguish news from rumour...
Mostly this about trust in mainstream media
and in the sources that people use
Trust news
overall
44%
Trust news
I use
51%
Trust news
in search
34%
Trust news
in social
23%
29. 29
Proportion that agree you can trust most news most of
the time- ALL MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q6_2016_1. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. I think you can trust most news most of the time. Base: Total sample
in each market. Note: Also showing change from 2017.
30. 30
Trust in the US by political orientation
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q1F. Some people talk about ‘left’, ‘right’ and
‘centre’ to describe parties and politicians. With
mind, where would you place yourself on the
following scale? Q6_2018_1. Please indicate your
level of agreement with the following statements. I
think you can trust most news most of the tim2e3.
Base: Left/right: 2016 = 476/591, 2017 = 530/533,
2018 = 567/550.
31. Brand level trust – United Kingdom
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 31
• Broadcast most trusted
• Quality news brands next
• Tabloids, digital born trusted less
• Partisan brands more trusted by users
10 POINT SCALE (0 IS UNTRUSTWORTHY, 10 COMPLETELY TRUSTWORTHY
Q6_2018. How trustworthy would you say news from the following
brands is? Use the scale below, where 0 is ‘not at all trustworthy’ and
10 is ‘completely trustworthy’.
Base: Total sample/all who used each brand in the last week.
32. Brand level trust – United States
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 32
• Local news and broadcast most trusted
• Quality newspapers next
• Digital born trusted less
• Partisan brands more trusted by users
10 POINT SCALE (0 IS UNTRUSTWORTHY, 10 COMPLETELY TRUSTWORTHY
Q6_2018. How trustworthy would you say news from the following
brands is? Use the scale below, where 0 is ‘not at all trustworthy’ and
10 is ‘completely trustworthy’.
Base: Total sample/all who used each brand in the last week.
33. 33
News brand trust varies in different countries
Finland and Spain
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q6_2018. How trustworthy would you say news
from the following brands is? Use the scale
below, where 0 is ‘not at all trustworthy’ and 10
is ‘completely trustworthy’.
Base: Total sample/all who used each brand in
the last week.
34. 34
News brand trust by political orientation in different
countries
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
35. 35
News brand trust by political orientation in different
countries
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
37. 37
News brand trust in different public service broadcasters
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
38. 38
Average news brand trust in different types of news
outlets
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q6_2018. How trustworthy would you say news from the following brands is? Use the scale below, where 0 is ‘not at all trustworthy’ and 10 is ‘completely trustworthy’.
Base: Total sample/all who used each brand in the last week
40. 85%
71% 69% 66% 66% 66% 65% 64% 63% 63% 62% 61% 60% 60% 60% 60% 58% 57% 55% 53% 51% 50% 50% 49% 49% 48% 47% 46% 44% 43% 42% 41% 38% 37% 36% 36%
30%
54%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Varied concern about whether online news
is real or fake
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 40
Q_FAKE_NEWS_1. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statement. “Thinking about online news, I am concerned about what is real and what is fake on the
internet.” Base: Total sample in each market
Brazil
Issue in upcoming
elections
Spain
Catalan independence
a flashpoint
Germany
Low level concern
post election
USA
Popularised by Trump
and the media itself
41. Rhetoric is fanning the flames
41
In the USA 49%
came across this
in the past week
31% in UK
‘YOU’RE
FAKE
NEWS’
% CAME ACROSS POLITICIANS ETC USING FAKE NEWS TO DISCREDIT MEDIA THEY DON’T LIKE
42. Audience definitions of news are much wider
42
What type of ‘fake news’ are people EXPOSED to?
ALL MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
see poor
journalism,
mistakes and
clickbait every
week
42% complain about
spin and agenda-
filled news
39% say they have
been exposed to
completely made
up news
26%
Only
43. Who bears biggest responsibility to fix the problem?
43
3. GOVERNMENT
61%
1. PUBLISHERS
75%
2. PLATFORMS
71%
41%60%
“It’s free speech right?
(F, 20-29, USA)
“content is now removed
within a few hours.”
(M, 30–45, Germany)
45. 45
Proportion that agree each should do more to separate
what is real and fake on the internet – by news literacy
SELECTED MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q14_2018a_combined2. News literacy scale.
Q_FAKE_NEWS_4_2_1-3. Please indicate your
agreement with the following statements. Technology
companies/media companies/the government should
do more to make it easier to separate what is real and
fake on the internet. Base: All with very
low/low/high/very high news literacy: Selected markets
= 11149/11898/8069/3790.
55. All over the globe
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 55
MORE PEOPLE ARE REALISING THAT QUALITY COSTS
22%Average in Nordic
countries pay
16%Now pay for
online news in
the US
7%In the UK
But only
20%in Australia
THE ‘TRUMP BUMP’ HAS
BEEN MAINTAINED
Q7a. Have you paid for ONLINE news content, or accessed a paid for ONLINE news service in the last year? (This could be a digital subscription,
combined digital/print subscription or one off payment for an article or app or e-edition). Base: Total sample in each market.
FASTEST GROWING IN
NORDIC COUNTRIES
56. Proportion that have paid for online news in the last
year – all markets
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 56
Q7a. Have you paid for ONLINE news content, or accessed a paid for ONLINE news service in the last year? (This could be a digital subscription,
combined digital/print subscription or one off payment for an article or app or e-edition). Base: Total sample in each market.
57. Payment for online news by political orientation
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 57
58. Payment for news in selected markets (2014-2018)
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 58
Q7a. Have you paid for ONLINE news content,
or accessed a paid for ONLINE news service in
the last year? (This could be a digital
subscription, combined digital/print
subscription or one off payment for an article
or app or e-edition). Base: Total sample in each
market.
59. Reasons for Nordic success
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 59
STRONG READING TRADITIONS, AUDIENCE FOCUS, DATA DRIVEN
NORWAY
AFTENPOSTEN
100,000 Digital Subscribers
Meter + Premium
Cost / Month: €21
FINLAND
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
70,000 Digital Subscribers
Meter + Premium
Cost / Month: €17.50
SWEDEN
DAGENS NYHETER
70,000 Digital Subscribers
Meter + Premium
Cost / Month: €10
60. Donations/Membership –
an emerging opportunity
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 60
• Guardian has 600,000 donations or cause focused
memberships
• Partisan websites like the Canary are also asking
supporters to support them
• Platforms starting to support donation models
22%say they might in
the future*
But
1%Make a donation today
Only
62. Reasons for donations
62
“They asked for it, I use them so I should donate”
2. GUILT
1. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT MEDIA
“It is the only way to maintain free media that is
independent of political power.”
(M, 45, Spain)
3. PART OF A CAUSE
“It is important that the Guardian continues to be
available to counter nearly all the other
newspapers which are right wing”
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
63. 63
Proportion who paid for online news via donation by age
ALL MARKETS
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
64. Awareness of financial difficulties low
64
unaware of the problems of the news industry or believe that
most news organisations are making a profit from digital news.
Likely to pay for online news in the future
Would consider donating in the future
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
68%
When news literacy is higher,
people are more likely to pay
67. 1%
2%
4%
5%
6%
7%
9%
Korea
Germany
UK
US
2018
2017
Smart speakers – next big thing?
Voice activated speakers growing quickly from a low base
SELECTED COUNTRIES
Q8a. Which, if any, of the following devices do you ever use (for any purpose)? Please select all that apply. Showing smart speaker code. Base: All
68. 13%
15%
44%
47%
59%
65%
75%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Access podcasts
Shopping (ordering goods, saving lists)
Access latest News
Set alarms
Ask questions to get facts or info
Access latest weather
Listen to music
Smart Speaker – uses
Uses for news/information Other uses
SELECTED COUNTRIES
Q8. New You say you have a smart speaker (e.g. Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod) which of the following do you do regularly? Percents do not add to 100 due to multiple response. N=609
69. UK 18%
Podcasting is on the up – driven by young
69
PODCASTS VS RADIO NEWS BY AGE – ALL MARKETS
0%
20%
40%
60%
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+
Podcasts (monthly) Radio News (weekly)
5
X
% ACCESS AT LEAST MONTHLY
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
76. 76
News literacy and news consumption
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q14_2018a_combined2. News literacy scale.
Q4. You say you’ve used these sources of news
in the last week, which would you say is your
MAIN source of news? Base: All with very
low/low/ high/very high news literacy who
used a source of news in the last week:
Selected markets = 11032/12383/8453/3882.
78. 78
News literacy and news consumption
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q14_2018a_combined2. News literacy scale.
Q12C_2018_1-4. Please indicate your level of
agreement with the following statements.
When looking at stories in social media, the
news brand/ headline or picture/person who
shared the story/number of comments or
shares is very important in helping me decide
whether information is likely to be worth my
time. Base: All with very low/ low/high/very
high news literacy who used a social network in
the last week: Selected markets =
10274/11529/8027/3802.
81. 81
Use of online news video by country
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
82. 82
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
Q11_VIDEO_2018a. Thinking about
consuming online news video (of any
kind) over the last week, which of the
following did you do? Base: Total
sample in all markets.
207. More at : digitalnewsreport.org
@risj_oxford | #DNR18
Reuters Institute
Digital News
Report 2018
Editor's Notes
Delighte to present this year’s report
We don’t have much time so I’m going to focus on five themes coming out of our research.
Firstly I’ll talk about the increasing importance of platforms (and social media in particular) for news discovery and consumption
Secondly the rise of the smartphone – which we increasingly see as the defining device of digital age and is particularly important in Switzerland
I’ll talk about online video, how fast growing and why the type of online video that works is very different from TV
Generational splits in behaviour – particularly the very different behaviour we see with younger groups bit also in attitudes to brands
I’ll talk about trust in news, news organisations and journalists which of course is being impacted by all the above