The story
Trust in news around the world is the lowest it has been since annual reports began in 2015.
The 2026 Digital News Report, published by the Reuters Institute, studied 48 markets, made up of countries and territories, and looked at the habits and attitudes surrounding online news consumption.
For the first time, social media and video networks are, on average, more popular than both TV and news websites and apps as sources of news. The use of AI chatbots for news is also growing quickly.
News headlines
Trust in news hits a new low, research suggests
BBC News
Publishing trends for 2026: Tech platforms overtake publishers as global news source
Press Gazette
‘Unsettled Time’: 2026 Reuters Institute Digital News Report Finds Rise of Social Media, Video Creators, and AI Chatbots Amid Falling News Interest and Audience Trust
Global Investigative Journalism Network
Key words and phrases
a new low
the lowest level something has ever been
- Temperatures overnight fell to a new low.
overtake
move ahead of someone or something that was previously in front
- I used to be better than Georgie at Spanish, but now, because she studies so hard, she’s overtaken me.
unsettled
describes a situation or emotion that is not stable
- The country headed into an unsettled time after the leader was removed.