MEDIA REPORT | Despite higher trust, many Filipinos have tendency to avoid news, says study

June 15, 2022 , 11:25 AM

By Beatrice Puente

(June 15, 2022) – More Filipinos have expressed trust in the news but many of them tend to limit their exposure to it due to various concerns, a study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) showed on Wednesday.

According to the Digital News Report 2022, some 37% of over 2,000 adult Filipinos said they can trust most news most of the time, jumping by five points from last year. But despite this improvement, around 47% of the surveyed population admitted that they often or sometimes avoid the news.

“Many respondents say they are put off by the repetitiveness of the news agenda, especially around politics or COVID-19, or that they often feel worn out by the news,” read the report. “A significant proportion say they avoid the news because they think it can’t be trusted.”

RISJ noted that selective news avoidance doubled in Brazil and the United Kingdom since 2017, tallying 54% and 46%, respectively. Such avoidance was not seen much in countries in Northern Europe.

Some also said the news negatively affects their mood. At least 17% of the respondents said “news leads to arguments they would rather avoid” while around 16% raised that news “leads to feelings of powerlessness.” Others said they don’t have enough time for the news or it’s difficult to understand.

News outlets, especially those more critical of the government, were constantly attacked under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. ABS-CBN was shut down, with Duterte’s allies in the House of Representatives targeting the allegedly biased news coverage of the media giant. The populist leader also succeeded in discrediting the news, with his rabid supporters following his tenor on social media.

Among the news outlets, GMA Network remains the most trusted firm at around 70%. Manila Bulletin retained the second spot at 66% while the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), Super Radyo DZBB, and the Philippine Star completed the top four. PDI and Super Radyo DZBB are tied on the third spot.

The study revealed that the people’s interest in the news became way lower globally. In the Philippines, only around 55% expressed interest in the news which decreased by around 10 points, according to University of the Philippines associate professor Yvonne Chua, who wrote the country’s profile in the report.

“Filipinos express the greatest interest in local news (59%), followed by the news about the coronavirus (53%), climate change and the environment (52%), and politics (51%). By age groups, however, social natives are most interested in education (8%) and culture (37%),” wrote Chua.

She added that 73% of Filipinos depend on social media to get the news. Facebook is still the country’s most widely used source, but TikTok also emerged as a new player.

“Concerns over online misinformation has eased somewhat among Filipinos: 56% say they worry about identifying what is real and fake news online, down from 59% from a year ago,” said Chua, noting that “political misinformation is more widely seen than doubtful claims around COVID-19.”

(PM)

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