A new global report assessing current media trends highlights significant public apprehension regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism, alongside alarming rates of news avoidance and general fatigue.
Concerns Over Artificial Intelligence in Journalism
According to the Digital News Report, issued by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, surveys reveal that the public views the integration of AI into news production with suspicion. When asked about their comfort level, only 36 per cent of respondents reported feeling secure using news content that is human-assisted by AI. Furthermore, a smaller group, making up just 19 per cent, felt comfortable consuming news that was primarily generated by AI, even if overseen by humans.
The report advises news organizations to proceed with extreme caution as publishers experiment with AI. Experts suggest that while AI is highly valuable for supporting roles, such as translation and transcription, it should not replace journalists entirely. The report stated:
As publishers rapidly adopt AI to make their businesses more efficient and to personalise content, our research suggests they need to proceed with caution, as the public generally wants humans in the driving seat at all times.
There is more comfort with the use of AI in behind-the-scenes tasks such as transcription and translation, in supporting rather than replacing journalists.
Rising News Avoidance and Consumption Challenges
The report also documented a worrying trend of news avoidance. Approximately 39 per cent of those surveyed admitted to selectively or sometimes avoiding news coverage, citing reasons like it being “relentless” or “depressing.” This figure represents a substantial increase of 10 percentage points compared to 2019, marking the highest level of news avoidance recorded since the report’s inception in 2012.
Potential contributors to this fatigue include the widespread use of smartphones, the constant stream of push notifications from multiple applications, and algorithm-driven platform feeds. Economically, news organizations face resistance, as only 17 per cent of people surveyed from a basket of 20 wealthier nations confirmed they paid for any online news within the last year. This continued reluctance to pay for news is linked to the abundance of free information sources and general low interest.
Shifting Consumption Habits and Fake News Worries
News consumption is increasingly fragmented, driven by a strong migration toward video-based platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, which have gained prominence since the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, YouTube is utilized for news by nearly 31 per cent of audiences weekly, and WhatsApp by about 21 per cent. Notably, TikTok accounted for 13 per cent of news usage, surpassing Twitter (now X) at 10 per cent for the first time.
Consumer concerns regarding misinformation have also risen, with the percentage of people worried about fake news increasing by 3 percentage points to 59 per cent. The most significant concerns about false or misleading data were related to politics, economics, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the war in Ukraine. While overall trust in the news remained steady at 40 per cent, this figure is still 4 percentage points lower than its peak recorded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Singaporean Media Trust and Local Trends
In Singapore, the local data showed that trust in the general news media rose to 47 per cent in 2024, up from 45 per cent the previous year. The Straits Times (73 per cent) and CNA (74 per cent) were cited as the most trusted news brands by the public.
Regarding online reach, Mothership and CNA were tied as the most frequently used online news websites, each reaching 46 per cent of users weekly. The Straits Times website followed at 41 per cent. Online and social media remained the predominant channels for accessing news in Singapore, accounting for 82 per cent and 63 per cent respectively, while traditional sources like TV and print were accessed by 46 per cent and 13 per cent.
Commenting on the local findings, Professor Edson C. Tandoc Jr, who is a co-author of the country page for Singapore, observed that readers prioritize institutional credibility. He stated:
Whether it’s generated by AI or not, we find that people trust the story if it’s by one of the legacy brands like ST or CNA.
Professor Edson added that while parts of the news process are becoming automated, the human authorship remains critical, noting:
Some parts of the news process are being automated, but the ownership of the article is still by the human author.
