Key Findings from the Reuters Institute Digital News Report – DNR 2025
Executive Summary
Authors: Nic Newman with Amy Ross Arguedas, Craig T. Robertson, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, and Richard Fletcher
The Reuters Institute Digital News Report – DNR 2025 is a comprehensive annual survey that analyzes global news consumption habits, focusing on digital platforms, trust in media, and challenges faced by the news industry. Based on data from nearly 100,000 survey respondents across 48 diverse markets, it details how economic pressures, political influences, and the rise of AI and social media influencers are reshaping the landscape of news dissemination and reception, while also examining trends in news avoidance, digital subscriptions, and verification of information.
The report uses survey data to illustrate these shifts and provide a market-based view of findings across various regions like Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Africa. This year, it highlights a deepening crisis for traditional news media amidst pervasive political and economic uncertainty.
The report documents a continued decline in engagement with traditional news sources (TV, print, news websites) while dependence on social media, video platforms, and online aggregators grows. A significant theme is the rise of an “alternative media ecosystem” comprising YouTubers, TikTokers, and podcasters, whose influence, particularly among younger audiences, challenges traditional journalistic norms and raises concerns about misinformation.
While overall trust in news remains stable at 40%, public concern about distinguishing truth from falsehood online persists, especially regarding content from online influencers and national politicians.
The emergence of AI chatbots as a news source, though nascent, suggests further disruption, prompting mixed audience views on AI personalization. Publishers face ongoing struggles with digital subscriptions and local news viability, yet trusted brands continue to be the primary recourse for verifying information.
The report underscores the need for news organizations to adapt to these new realities, embracing technology while upholding journalistic values.
Key Themes and Most Important Ideas/Facts
1. Declining Engagement with Traditional Media & Rise of Alternative Ecosystems:
- Shift in Consumption: “Engagement with traditional media sources such as TV, print, and news websites continues to fall, while dependence on social media, video platforms, and online aggregators grows.” This is particularly pronounced in the US, where social media news usage sharply increased.
- Influence of Personalities & Creators: Online personalities and influencers are increasingly shaping public debates. Examples include Joe Rogan in the US (22% of US sample came across his news/commentary), Hugo Travers (HugoDécrypte) in France (reaches 22% of under-35s), and figures like Anuwat Noom and Phakkawat Rattanasiriampai in Thailand. This “personality-driven alternative media sector…often sets out its stall in opposition to traditional news organisations.”
- Fragmentation of Platforms: News consumption across online platforms continues to fragment, with six networks now reaching over 10% weekly with news, compared to just two a decade ago. Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) remain dominant, but Instagram (19%), WhatsApp (19%), and TikTok (16%) are significant.
- Video Dominance: The importance of video as a news source is growing. “Across all markets the proportion consuming social video has grown from 52% in 2020 to 65% in 2025 and any video from 67% to 75%.” Countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, and India show a preference for watching news over reading.
- TikTok’s Rapid Growth: “TikTok is the fastest growing social and video network, adding a further 4pp across markets for news and reaching 49% of our online sample in Thailand (+10pp) and 40% in Malaysia (+9pp).”
- Age-Based Consumption: Dependence on social media and video networks for news is highest among younger demographics (44% of 18–24s, 38% of 25–34s). These groups also show a reluctance to visit news websites or apps.
2. Trust, Misinformation, and Verification:
- Stable Overall Trust: “Overall trust in the news (40%) has remained stable for the third year in a row, even if it is still four points lower overall than it was at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.”
- High Concern about Misinformation: “Over half our sample (58%) say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online.” Concern is highest in Africa (73%) and the United States (73%).
- Sources of Misinformation: “Online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest threat worldwide (47%), along with national politicians (47%).” Facebook and TikTok are perceived as the platforms where misleading information poses the biggest threat.
- Verification Habits: When checking information, “the biggest proportion of respondents say they would first look to news outlets they trust (38%), official sources (35%), and fact-checkers (25%) rather than sources such as social media (14%).” Younger users are more likely to use social media and AI chatbots for verification.
- Role of Public Service Media (PSM): Trusted news brands, especially public service news brands (e.g., BBC News, ARD, NHK), are “still the most frequently named place people say they go when they want to check whether something is true or false online.” This is true “even if people don’t use them as often as they once did.”
- Content Moderation Divide: The public is divided on content moderation. “Respondents in the UK and Germany are most likely to say too little is being removed, while those in the United States are split, with those on the right believing far too much is already taken down and those on the left saying the opposite.”
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in News:
- Emerging AI News Sources: “AI chatbots and interfaces emerging as a source of news as search engines and other platforms integrate real-time news.” While only 7% use AI for news weekly overall, this rises to 15% for under-25s.
- Mixed Views on AI Personalization: Audiences have “mixed views from audiences, some of whom worry about missing out on important stories.” There is enthusiasm for AI making news more accessible or relevant, such as summarization (27%), translation (24%), and better recommendations (21%).
- Skepticism towards AI-Generated News: “Audiences in most countries remain sceptical about the use of AI in the news and are more comfortable with use cases where humans remain in the loop.” They expect AI to make news cheaper and more up-to-date, but “less transparent (-8), less accurate (-8), and less trustworthy (-18).”
- Regional Differences in AI Comfort: Comfort with AI in news is higher in Asia and Africa (e.g., India 44%, Thailand 39%) compared to Europe (e.g., UK 11%, Denmark 10%), suggesting different adoption rates globally.
4. Business Models and Local News Challenges:
- Stagnating Digital Subscriptions: “The proportion paying for any online news remains stable at 18% across a basket of 20 richer countries.” Norway (42%) and Sweden (31%) have the highest proportion paying, while Greece, Serbia (7%), and Croatia (6%) are lowest.
- “Winner Takes Most” Market: In most countries, “upmarket national newspapers scooping up a big proportion of users.” The New York Times, with its successful “all-access subscription that includes games, recipes, audio sport, and product reviews,” is a prime example.
- Local News Under Pressure: Local news faces “deepening concerns about the future.” While people are interested in local news, news media are perceived as best for “local politics (+16), news (+13) and notices (+10),” but platforms are preferred for “local activities and culture (-6), local services (-11), and local buying and selling (-23).” This highlights the commoditization of certain local information.
- Bundling as a Strategy: Some publishers are experimenting with bundled “all access” subscriptions that include various titles, formats, and even lifestyle content, aiming to attract more customers.
5. News Avoidance and Engagement Strategies:
- High News Avoidance: “Four in ten (40%) say they sometimes or often avoid the news, up from 29% in 2017 and the joint highest figure we’ve ever recorded.”
- Reasons for Avoidance: Common reasons include negative impact on mood (39%), feeling worn out by the amount of news (31%), too much coverage of conflict/war (30%) and politics (29%), and feeling powerless.
- Accessibility Concerns: “Under-35s are much more likely to say the news is too hard to follow or understand,” suggesting a need for more accessible formats.
- Notifications as Engagement Tools: Mobile notifications are a key way publishers build direct relationships, with weekly usage tripling in many countries. However, 79% of respondents either don’t receive or have disabled alerts due to overload or irrelevance. Publishers face a “tightrope” between informing and irritating users.
- Podcasting’s Role: News podcasts are important for reaching “younger, better-educated audiences.” While generally complementary to news diets, there is a “relatively high willingness-to-pay figure” (42% across 20 countries) for news podcasts, largely due to the “deep connection to the host and a considerable amount of time spent listening.”
6. Evolving Platform Dynamics:
- X’s Audience Shift: Since Elon Musk’s takeover, X (formerly Twitter) has seen its audience shift rightwards, particularly in the US and UK. “Many more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently.”
- Smartphone-First Consumption: The smartphone’s impact is undiminished, becoming the “first device people come across in the morning” for news for many, especially younger individuals, eclipsing TV and radio. This drives changes in how news is accessed and consumed, making it harder for individual publisher apps to cut through.
Conclusion
The 2025 Digital News Report paints a complex picture of a news industry grappling with profound shifts. Traditional models are under immense pressure from evolving audience habits, the ascendance of digital platforms, and the disruptive potential of AI.
While challenges like misinformation, declining trust, and news avoidance persist, opportunities exist for news organizations willing to innovate, embrace new formats (especially video and audio), and deliver content in ways that are more engaging and relevant.
The report emphasizes the continued importance of trusted news brands as anchors in a fragmented information landscape and highlights the need for publishers to prioritize impartiality, accuracy, transparency, and original reporting to rebuild connection and demonstrate value to audiences.
