Platforms become top online news sources while trust in news falls to a record low – Digital News Report 2026
The annual report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism tends to make for a sobering read, and this year is no exception.
From elusive young audiences and stagnating willingness to pay for news, to third-party platforms pushing news publishers further and further onto the digital sidelines, the report paints a picture of market conditions laden with challenges.
It’s not all bad news – there are positive developments and reasons for cautious optimism. But also, some very worrying developments.
In that spirit, we highlight a few key findings grouped as “The Good,” “The Bad,” and – unfortunately – “The Ugly.” You can download the full report from the Reuters Institute.
See also: Our upcoming Member-exclusive webinar with the DNR 2026 lead author Jim Egan.
The Good
Creators are adding to, rather than replacing, traditional journalism: Although a significant and growing share of audiences are turning to individual creators or influencers for news content, the data suggests that this form of news consumption is mostly complementary to traditional news media. Only a small minority of audiences say that creator-led content meets all (3%) or most (11%) of their news needs.
The report also examines how audiences view creators compared to traditional news publishers. The key finding: people turn to creators for news content mostly because they want it in a format that feels more accessible and entertaining – not because they are no longer interested in news content overall.
Brand trust holds strong despite broader challenges: Trust in news generally is falling (more on that below), but the report finds that trust in most news brands is proving resilient. Audiences are also mostly still in favour of impartial news: almost half (45%) prefer news that does not take sides.
“People still believe in what news at its best can be and continue largely to trust news providers they are most familiar with – the mandate for news remains, even as the context of the news and information environment becomes more challenging,” said Jim Egan, the report’s lead author.
The Bad
Third-party platforms are now the main entry point for news content: For the first time, social and video networks have become the primary pathway through which audiences access news. This is mainly because of the decline of traditional news sources: in 2021, 63% of respondents said they use news websites and apps to access news, but that figure has now declined to 51%.
Moreover, fewer people across all age groups, except those over 55, cite news websites and apps as their main source of news than five years ago. This trend speaks to a weakening direct relationship between publishers and audiences, presenting obvious challenges for monetisation and distribution control.
Younger audiences are unlikely to acquire their parents’ news habits: With more than half (56%) of 18–24-year-olds saying they have never regularly read a newspaper, and their news habits differing radically from traditional news production cycles, “there seems to be little reason to expect younger adults will gradually adopt the habits of older generations as they age,” the report notes. It is rather the older generations whose news consumption habits are more and more starting to resemble those of the young.
Audiences increasingly favour video content, but mainly on video-first platforms: More than three quarters (77%) of audiences now watch news video weekly. However, this trend mainly benefits third-party video platforms (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook), as video consumption on news organisations’ websites and apps continues to decline.
Payment for news stagnates: While many publishers are betting on growing digital reader revenues, the proportion of audiences paying for news remains at 17%.
In a context where platform domination reduces publishers’ ability to control distribution and makes it harder to build direct relationships, and where declining trust in news shows no sign of recovery (more on that just below), convincing larger groups of people to become paying news consumers is not likely to become easier.
…and the Ugly
Trust in news reaches a new low: Audiences’ trust in news fell in the majority of tracked markets, overall reaching the lowest level (37%) since the report started measuring trust in 2015. Biggest declines took place in the Philippines (-10 percentage points), Ireland (-9), and Thailand, Peru and Poland (all -8).
In the United States, trust in news has declined by 5 percentage points since last year. Only 25% now say they trust most news most of the time, a figure that drops further to 15% among right-leaning Americans. Some major US brands have seen particularly steep declines in audience trust: CBS News and Fox News both fell 10 points from last year, while CNN fell by 6.
There is wide audience dissatisfaction on how news media covers major stories: Audiences are highly critical of the news media coverage of massive global events, particularly on issues such as inflation, climate change, conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and US politics. Immigration, in particular, emerges as a topic where a large part of the audience feels that the news media is doing a bad job in covering it.
You can download the full Digital News Report 2026 from the Reuters Institute.
