trust in media 2020 - horizont.net

TRUST IN MEDIA 2020

CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

METHODOLOGY

KEY FINDINGS

TRUST IN MEDIA ACROSS EUROPE

TRUST IN NEWS

TRUST IN NEWS AND COVID-19

TRUST IN RADIO

TRUST IN TV

TRUST IN THE WRITTEN PRESS

TRUST IN THE INTERNET

TRUST IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

TRUST – IT’S COMPLICATED

APPENDIX: COUNTRY CODES

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54

T

METHODOLOGY

Eurobarometer

Net Trust Index

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

What is trust?•

•

•

•

How is it measured?

•

•

•

•

•

Net Trust Index = ‘Tend to trust’ – ‘Tend not to trust’

KEY FINDINGS

The trust gap between

broadcast and online

media persists

Radio and TV continue to be

the most trusted media

throughout Europe. Radio is

most trusted in 73% of

European countries surveyed,

TV in another 9%.

By contrast, social networks

are least trusted in 85% of the

countries. The internet and

social networks continue to

receive much lower trust

levels than traditional media.

Low perceived pressure

on PSM goes along with

trust in news

The more citizens perceive

PSM in their country to be free

from political pressure, the

higher the level of trust in the

information provided by

national media. Independent

PSM are a key element of a

credible news media

landscapes.

High trust in PSM news

during times of crisis

Scoring as most trusted news

brand in 17 European markets,

PSM rank among the most

trustworthy sources of COVID-

19 information, too.

In general, news organizations

along with governments

received considerable trust

during the peak of the

lockdown. However, trust

levels will likely drop again

with the return of political

debates and polarization after

the initial shock of the crisis.

Press freedom correlates

with trust in radio and TV

The higher the level of trust in

a country's radio and TV, the

higher press freedom tends to

be in that country.

The strong correlation

suggests that in the European

context, citizens' trust in

broadcast media is closely

connected with a free and

independent media landscape.

vs.

NEWS

PSM

KEY FINDINGS

Social networks are

trusted the least

Social networks are by far the

least trusted media across

Europe. In 28 of 33 countries,

social networks are the media

that people trust the least.

Only in five South Eastern

European countries, other

media are even less trusted.

While social networks are

widely used to get information

about COVID-19, the gap

between usage and the trust

expressed is particularly high.

Trust is complicated

The questions used in trust

surveys differ considerably,

partly explaining

contradictory results on

whether trust in media is

shrinking or on the rise – and

highlighting how

multidimensional “trust” is.

Investigating on, investing in

and renegotiating trust are

key performance markers for

quality media such as PSM.

Traditional media receive

more trust than politics

EU citizens only trust their

national army and police more

than radio. TV and the written

press rank in the middle third,

slightly less trusted than the

legal system or public

administration.

The internet scores just

slightly better than national

governments and parliaments,

whereas only political parties

are less trusted than social

networks.

Trusted news means less

concern about

misinformation

PRESS

In countries with high levels of

trust in national news, citizens

are less likely to perceive false

information as a problem.

There is a strong negative

correlation between the

perceived trustworthiness of

information provided by

national media and the

perception of misinformation

as a problem within the

country.

TRUST IN MEDIA

ACROSS EUROPE

LEVELS OF

TRUST IN MEDIA

VARY

SIGNIFICANTLY

ACROSS EUROPE

TRUST IN MEDIA

••

RADIO IS THE

MOST TRUSTED

MEDIUM IN

EUROPE

MOST TRUSTED MEDIA

••

SOCIAL

NETWORKS ARE

LEAST TRUSTED

IN ALMOST ALL

OF EUROPE

LEAST TRUSTED MEDIA

••

AT EU LEVEL,

TRADITIONAL

MEDIA ENJOY

HIGHER TRUST

LEVELS

TRUST IN MEDIA IN THE EU

••

•

PRESS

BROADCAST

MEDIA ARE MOST

TRUSTED IN THE

EU

2019 NET TRUST INDEX IN THE EU

•

•

NET TRUST INDEX = ‘% of people who tend to trust’ – ‘% of people who tend not to trust’

AVERAGE NET TRUST IN THE MEDIA = -9

PRESS

EVOLUTION OF THE NET TRUST

INDEX IN THE EU

NET TRUST INDEX = ‘% of people who tend to trust’ – ‘% of people who tend not to trust’

•

•

THE TRUST GAP

BETWEEN

TRADITIONAL

AND ONLINE

MEDIA

PERSISTS

PRESS

TRADITIONAL

MEDIA ARE MORE

TRUSTED THAN

POLITICAL

INSTITUTIONS

TRUST IN MEDIA VS. TRUST IN OTHER

INSTITUTIONS (EU Net Trust Index, 2019)

NET TRUST INDEX = ‘% of people who tend to trust’ – ‘% of people who tend not to trust’

AVERAGE NET TRUST ACROSS THESE INSTITUTIONS = -4

•••

Strong positive correlation

•

•

TRUST IN

RADIO AND TV

COMES ALONG

WITH PRESS

FREEDOM

PRESS FREEDOM vs. TRUST IN

BROADCAST MEDIA

TRUST IN NEWS

•

•

TRUST IN NEWS

IS IN DECLINE

TRUST IN NEWS WORLDWIDE

PSM NEWS ARE

MOST TRUSTED

IN 65% OF

MARKETS

MOST TRUSTED NEWS BRANDS

•••

•

•

EUROPEAN

CITIZENS TEND

TO TRUST PSM

NEWS THE MOST

TRUST IN NEWS: RANKING OF

MOST TRUSTED PSM BRAND (2019)

≥

TRUST IN NEWS

IS HIGHEST IN

THE NORDICS

TRUST IN NATIONAL NEWS

•

•

≥

EU28

Strong negative correlation

•

•

HIGH TRUST IN

NEWS MEANS

THAT CITIZENS

ARE LESS LIKELY

TO PERCEIVE

FAKE NEWS

AS A PROBLEM

TRUST IN NATIONAL NEWS vs.

CONCERN ABOUT MISINFORMATION

PERCEIVED

POLITICAL

PRESSURE ON

PSM IS LOWEST

IN THE NORDICS

PERCEIVED POLITICAL PRESSURE ON PSM

•

•

≥ ≤

•

•

POLITICAL PRESSURE ON NATIONAL

PSM vs. TRUST IN NATIONAL NEWS

LOW PERCEIVED

PRESSURE

ON PSM

MEANS MORE

TRUST IN

NATIONAL NEWSStrong positive correlation

TRUST IN NEWS

AND COVID-19

•

•

THE TRUST GAP

IS PARTICULARLY

HIGH FOR

SOCIAL

NETWORKS

NEWS SOURCES WORLDWIDE: THE

USE-TRUST-GAP (April 2020)

•

••

TV IS

CONSIDERED

A TRUSTWORTHY

SOURCE FOR

NEWS ABOUT

THE VIRUS

TRUSTED SOURCES DURING

THE COVID-19 CRISIS (European markets, April 2020)

•

•

NEWS

ORGANIZATIONS

ARE MORE

TRUSTED THAN

ONLINE

PLATFORMS

TRUST IN COVID-19 NEWS SOURCES (April 2020)

••

TRUST IN THE

GOVERNMENT

AND NEWS

ORGANIZATIONS

HAS DECLINED

OVER TIME

FOCUS ON THE UK:

TRUST IN COVID-19 SOURCES

CITIZENS TURN TO

PSM FOR

RELIABLE

INFORMATION

TRUST IN PSM DURING THE CRISIS

PSM ARE SEEN AS

TRUSTWORTHY

SOURCES OF

INFORMATION

ABOUT THE

OUTBREAK

TRUST IN PSM DURING THE CRISIS

TRUST IN RADIO

TRUST IN RADIO

79% OF

EUROPEAN

COUNTRIES

TRUST RADIO

•

•

TRUST IN RADIO1-year evolution

(2018-2019)

TRUST IN RADIO

IS HIGHEST IN

NORTHERN AND

CENTRAL EUROPE

•

•

Net Trust

TRUST IN RADIO

TRUST IN RADIO

SHOWS A

POSITIVE TREND

•

•

TRUST IN TV

TWO THIRDS OF

EUROPEAN

COUNTRIES

TRUST TV

•

•

TRUST IN TV

TRUST IN TV IS

HIGHEST IN THE

NORDICS

•

•

1-year evolution

(2018-2019)

TRUST IN TVNet Trust

TRUST IN TV

TRUST IN TV

REMAINS RATHER

STABLE

•

•

TRUST IN THE

WRITTEN PRESS

TRUST IN THE WRITTEN PRESS

MOST EUROPEAN

COUNTRIES TEND

TO TRUST THE

PRESS

•

•

TRUST IN THE

WRITTEN PRESS

IS LOWEST IN THE

UK

•

•

1-year evolution

(2018-2019)

TRUST IN THE WRITTEN PRESSNet Trust

TRUST IN THE WRITTEN PRESS

TRUST IN THE

WRITTEN PRESS

INCREASED IN

MORE THAN HALF

OF EUROPEAN

COUNTRIES

•

•

TRUST IN THE

INTERNET

TRUST IN THE INTERNET

ONLY 9

EUROPEAN

COUNTRIES

TEND TO TRUST

THE INTERNET

•

•

TRUST IN THE INTERNET

EASTERN

EUROPEANS

TRUST THE

INTERNET THE

MOST

•

•

Net Trust1-year evolution

(2018-2019)

TRUST IN THE INTERNET

TRUST IN THE

INTERNET

DECLINED IN 91%

COUNTRIES

•

•

TRUST IN SOCIAL

NETWORKS

TRUST IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

97% OF

COUNTRIES

DO NOT TRUST

SOCIAL

NETWORKS

•

•

TRUST IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

ONLY A FIFTH OF

EU CITIZENS

TRUST SOCIAL

NETWORKS

•

•

Net Trust 1-year evolution

(2018-2019)

TRUST IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

TRUST IN SOCIAL

NETWORKS HAS

DIMINISHED

IN MOST OF

EUROPE

•

•

TRUST: IT’S

COMPLICATED

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION

Reuters Digital News Report Eurobarometer

Ipsos Global AdvisorReuters Digital News Report

Edelman Trust Barometer

Förtroendebarometern (Swedish Trust Barometer)

Ipsos (2019): In Media We Trust? How our views of the media are changing

Edelman (2020): 20 Years of Trust

Knight Foundation (2018): Social and Political Trust: Concepts, Causes and Consequences

Reuters Institute (2019): Old, Educated, and Politically Diverse: The Audience of Public Service News

WHO TRUSTS?

Richard Fletcher (2020): Trust will get worse before it gets better

Kevin Vallier (2018): Is Trust possible in a Polarized Age?

Ipsos (2019): Trust – the Truth?

Ipsos (2019): In Media We Trust? How our viewsof the media are changing

!A CRISIS OF TRUST?

Reuters Digital News Report 2020

AL

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

ES

FI

FR

GR

HR

HU

IE

IT

LT

LU

LV

ME

MK

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

RS

SE

SI

SK

TR

UK

APPENDIX: COUNTRY CODES

OTHER MATERIAL ON TRUST IN MEDIA

TRUST IN MEDIA 2020 DATASETTRUST IN MEDIA INFOGRAPHIC

TRUST IN MEDIA 2020

TRUST IN MEDIA 2020 SLIDE DECK

PUBLICATION

Produced by:

Dominik Speck

speck@ebu.ch

April 2020

Updated in June 2020

DISTRIBUTION / CONFIDENTIALITY

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distribution. The information may be

freely quoted if the source is clearlystated.

For detailed guidelines about how you may use this document and the data

contained in it, please refer to our

EBU-MIS Data Use Policy (available at

www.ebu.ch/mis).

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the EBU is not liable

for any errors or inaccuracies in data

provided by third parties

Photo credits: Unsplash

MEDIA INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

Ver.2

This publication is available to download at www.ebu.ch/mis

This report is published by the

European Broadcasting Union’s Media Intelligence Service (MIS).

MIS provides Member broadcasting

organizations with the latest market data, research and analysis needed to

plan their future strategies and stay

ahead of the game.

Our experts cover a broad range of

topics, including TV and radio trends,

new media developments, market

structure and concentration, funding and public policy issues.

mis@ebu.ch