A concerning number of younger individuals are moving away from news consumption, according to the findings of the Reuters Digital News Report 2026, which was unveiled at the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn. Despite this shift, the author of the report emphasizes that professional journalism remains essential in today’s society.
The study, conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, represents the most comprehensive annual global survey on how news is consumed. Jim Egan, the report’s lead author, described the current data as unsettling. He noted that the primary purpose of the research is to provide a clear, factual snapshot of the media landscape rather than offer comfort, especially in an ecosystem frequently dominated by opinion rather than concrete facts.
A critical observation from the report is that social media networks and video-sharing platforms are now utilized as primary news sources more often than television broadcasts or the dedicated websites and applications of news organizations. Egan explained that this trend is not necessarily due to a surge in social media usage, but rather a decline in engagement with traditional formats. The shift is most pronounced in younger demographics; for instance, in the United States, more than one-third of respondents under the age of 25 reported that they never watch TV news or use news websites, suggesting they are not just leaving these platforms, but failing to adopt them altogether.
The report also notes an irony in this behavior, as young people are migrating toward platforms where trust in news is statistically at its lowest. Simultaneously, video content is becoming increasingly vital. Approximately 75% of those surveyed report watching news videos on a weekly basis, particularly through TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Global usage for news on TikTok stands at 20%, while 34% rely on YouTube, though these figures vary significantly by region, such as in Kenya, where 66% of consumers utilize YouTube for news.
Contrary to the belief that younger audiences have short attention spans, the report indicates that long-format video content is quite popular, with 20% of respondents regularly watching videos longer than 20 minutes. Additionally, a quarter of global participants noted that they watch news content via platforms like YouTube directly on their television sets.
The rise of artificial intelligence as a news source remains gradual, growing from 7% to 10% in the past year, though trust in these chatbots currently remains low. Furthermore, independent news influencers have not yet established themselves as a replacement for traditional media, with only 10% of users stating these figures satisfy their complete news requirements. With global trust in news falling by at least three percentage points in 29 of the 48 countries surveyed, Egan warned that such volatility in a single year is a significant concern.
Ultimately, the report concludes that journalism maintains its relevance, particularly as a source of orientation during times of fear and uncertainty. The 2026 study interviewed approximately 100,000 people across 48 nations. The German segment of the research was performed by the Leibniz Institute for Media Research in Hamburg, and the Reuters Institute receives funding from entities including Google.
