How the new world media of TikTok and Instagram are turning the tide on traditional news consumption
The supply of accurate, reliable, and trustworthy information – it’s the basic principle of news, right?
It should be! But the introduction of AI into newsrooms, the pervasive of creators and news influencers, and the increasing use of different social platforms for consumption and production of news narratives are constantly challenging the credibility of news as we traditionally know it.
For many, the days of waiting for the morning paper for breaking stories, or for tabloid gossip are behind us – it’s all available at our fingertips, just by pushing a button on a social media app. But how have social media apps changed the ways in which we consume news? And where does the B2B world fit into this?
This week, we look into the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024 on the consumption of online news! With results based on a YouGov survey of more than 95,000 people in 47 countries, the survey represents half of the world’s population.
Here are your key takeaways:
News usage of the social media big six
There’s no denying that social media consumption on is at an all-time high. As of July 2024, there were 5.45 billion internet users worldwide, which amounts to 67.1% of the global population.
The convergence of social media and news consumption was inevitable, but interestingly, the report found that news use across online platforms is fragmented with six major networks – Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok – reaching at least 10% of respondents, compared to 2% a decade ago. So on the increase for news consumption. B2B companies should take note.
YouTube is used for news by almost a third (31%) of the global sample each week, WhatsApp by around a fifth (21%), while TikTok (13%) has overtaken Twitter (10%), now known as X, for the first time.
But we mustn’t discount any new platforms. Albeit accounting for just under 1%, Mastodon featured within the report as a platform used for news by respondents. Given TikTok stood at 1% for news consumption back in 2020, a lot can change in four years – so watch this space! For more information, tune in to our new irregular series of Talking Propeller Heads – we talk all things Mastodon!
Video content reigns supreme – a picture – true or false – is worth 1,000 words!
Unsurprisingly, it’s video that has become a more important source of online news, especially with younger audiences. The study found that short news videos are accessed by two-thirds (66%) each week, with longer formats attracting around half (51%). The main locus of news video consumption is online platforms (72%) rather than publisher websites (22%).
But remember – video isn’t reserved for B2C! In the B2B world, multimedia content is more engaging, and encourages interaction from your audience. It’s become a key component for PR and Marketing strategies, as for some keywords, multimedia may even be a requirement for ranking on search pages! Multimedia could also help you rank in image and video searches, which will further increase organic visibility and website traffic.
Sharing news and updates via short-form video content is a method we know well here at IBA – take our sponsored equestrian client, Team Jones whose10 second video of raked in over 120k views via Instagram prior to a big event!
Traditional online news sources – in these we trust?
In a world currently dominated by geopolitical events, the need for trustworthy and credible news has never been so important.
The report found that concern about what is real and what is fake in online news has risen by 3% in the last year with around six in ten (59%) expressing concern. The figure is considerably higher in South Africa (81%) and the United States (72%), both places where countries have been holding elections this year.
In the UK, 70% of respondents hold concern over what is fake and real on the internet, leaving overall trust in news marginally on the rise this year at 36%. This remains around 15% lower than before the Brexit referendum (2016). Extending to other European countries, Hungary and Greece remain the lowest figures in the report, with only 23% trusting the news most of the time.
Newsflash! Social Media users ’like’ #FakeNews!
When it comes to social media, distrust remains high. Worries about how to distinguish between trustworthy and untrustworthy content in online platforms is highest for TikTok and X when compared with other online networks. Seeing is believing, but the camera can always lie – and a deepfake news report, audio, or video can travel fast.
We’ve said it before in a blog we wrote this time last year! “The clickbait technique lives off the premise that humans spread lies, more than they do the truth. In fact, research has found that humans (not bots) are primarily responsible for spreading misinformation – with fake news 70% more likely to be retweeted than true stories.”
AI has a place but not where originally thought!
The blurred lines between real and fake news are no joke, especially when backed the unruly GenAI. Originally there were some news organizations that drew negative attention for their AI use. Take the American sports magazine, Sports Illustrated, scandal. Reports revealed that the magazine published AI-generated articles accompanied with bylines and headshots of fake writers. The “author” Drew Ortiz doesn’t seem to exist, in fact, his headshot is for sale on a website that sells AI-generated headshots!
Earlier, the website CNET published more than 70 articles written using AI tools, some of which contained mistakes and were inadequately labelled.
But the fallout is beginning to happen, with platforms adjusting strategies in the light of GenAI, as they navigate changing consumer behaviour, and the increased regulatory concerns about misinformation and other issues.
Meta in particular has been trying to reduce the role of news across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, and has restricted the algorithmic promotion of political content.
Human content can’t be replaced! Remember the Three Eyes !
It’s a good time to remind ourselves of the three human eyes in content creation – whether its written, video, or on social media. Trustworthy and credible content must be the views of humans, written by humans, and read by humans.
In need of a refresh? Jamie Kightley coined the term PR 5.0 to herald the power of the human touch in the battle of Generative AI technologies – read his article here to learn more!
AI has a place but not where originally thought!
As the Reuters report concludes, AI’s place in the newsroom is not over – but its role is not where some companies first thought! Publishers embracing the use of AI will face widespread suspicion about how it might be used, but there is more comfort with the use of AI in behind-the-scenes tasks such as transcription and translation.
Supporting, not replacing journalists.
Georgia Harris is PR Lead Themes at IBA International
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