Public Broadcasters , such as DD India, All India Radio and BBC News retained high level of trust among survey respondent in India.
News jungal desk: YouTube was the most preferred social media platform for news with 56% respondents accessing it.
Whatsapp(47%) and Facebook(39%) were the next two preferred online platforms for news in India.
Recently, Reuters institute has published Digital News Report, 2023.
It has unveiled sinificant shifts in online news consumption patterns across the globe.
Reuters institute for the study of journalism is dedicated, exploring the future of journalism worldwide through debate, engagement and research.
What are the Key Highlights of the Report?
Online news consumption in India:
The news channel Aaj Tak and CNN news18 emerged on the top with the largest share of viewership in the Hindi and the English speaking markets, respectively.
Indians are increasingly turning to search engines and mobile news aggregators (43%)(online platforms that collect news stories) as their primary sources of online news, moving away from traditional news websites.
Only 12% prefer reading news from direct sources(news papers), while 28% prefer reading news from social media.
They prefer watching or listening news content over reading it.
Asia, Latin America and Africa heavily rely on social media for news.
Diverse preferences across countries:
In Finland and UK(80%) reading dominates.
In India and Thailand, they prefer watching news online(40%)
Philippines prefer video news(52%).
covid-19 impact on news consumption:
There are alarming declines in both the reading and sharing of news in India.Also access to online news has sharply fallen by 12% points between 2022 to 2023.
Television viewership, especially among younger and urban individuals, has also decreased by 10%.
Trust in News:
India has remained stagnant at 38% in ,trust in news between2012 to 2023, ranking among lowest in Asia Pacific region.
In Finland(69%) and Portugal(58%), trust levels are higher.
While, countries with higher degrees of political polarisation, such as US(32%), Greece(19%) have lower trust levels.
What are the challenges faced by India due to change in online news consumption?
Misinformation and Fake news:
Tha shift away from traditional news sources and increased reliance on search engines and social media may contribute to the spread of misinformation and fake news.This can lead to public confusion, false beliefs and even social unrest.
Quality of journalism:
A decreased preference for traditional news websites and newspapers could impact the quality of journalism.
Independent and credible journalism may face financial challenges, potentuially leading to a decline in investigative reporting and in-depth analysis.
Democracy and Polarisation:
The influence of social media asa anews source can contribute to political polarisation.People may be exposed to biased information, which can ultimately affect the democratic governance.
Media Trust:
India’s persistently low trust in news is concerning for healthy democracy.
Rebuilding trust in media is essential for informed citizenship.
Youth Disconnect:
The drop in television viewership among younger generation shows the disconnection between traditional news mediums.Engaging and informing the younger people through reliable news sources is essential for their civic education.
Dependence on Algorithmic feeds:
Relying on search engiones and social media for news means individual are exposed to content determind by algorithms.This may limit exposure to diverse perspectives and important news stories.
What Initiatives have been taken to curtail fake news in India?
Information Tecnology(Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code):
It suggests that social media platforms must delete the content labeled False by Press Information Bureau’s fact check unit.
These rules aim to curb the spread of misinformation and fake news on social media platforms.
IT Act 2008:
According to section 66 (A) of IT Act 2008, it punishes the individuals who send offensive messages through social media platforms.
Indian Penal Code 1860:
It regulates news that causes riots and defamation.
Related Authorities:
It is a statutory body established under the Press Council Act of 1978.
It also issues guidelines and codes of conduct for the print media.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting(MIB):
It grants licenses and permissions to private broadcasters and monitor their content and performance.
News Broadcasting Standards Authority(NBSA):
It is an independent body that serves as a representative of private television news and digital broadcasters.
It’s purp[ose is to set high standards, ethics and practices for news broadcasting.
It also considers the complaints against broadcasters related to their content.
Way Forward:
Promote media literacy programs in school and communities to help individuals critically evaluate news sources and identify fake news and misinformation.
Encourage partnership between fact checking organizations, government agencies and social media platforms to identify false information and correct them.
Australia mandates digital platforms to pay local media outlets for using their content.
This can support struggling news industry and ensure fair compensation for content creators and encourage then to provide authentic and original informations.
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