17 June 2024: Australians are much less comfortable with AI-generated news than the rest of the world; one quarter of Australians now rely on social media as their main source of news; concern about misinformation has skyrocketed; the gap in news interest between Gen Z women and men continues to widen; and the proportion of Australians paying for news remains steady despite cost-of-living pressures. These are some of the key findings from Digital News Report (DNR): Australia 2024, released today by the University of Canberra’s News and Media Research Centre (N&MRC).
YOUNG PEOPLE INCREASINGLY TURN TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEWS
While television remains the most popular news source in 2024, its dominance is declining, and social media is quickly filling the gap.
This year’s Digital News Report: Australia shows that half of Australians are using social media as a source of news. In fact, one quarter now rely on it as their main news source, including nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of Gen Z, which is a 17 percentage point increase since last year. Instagram is now the top social media platform for news for this generation at 32 per cent.
There has been a notable rise in news consumption among Gen Z and women (+5pp) who are now accessing news more than once a day, and among these demographics, there is a rising interest in international affairs, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the gap in news interest between Gen Z men and women has grown by 24 percentage points over the past ten years, a sign that young women continue to be underserved by mainstream news.
FACT OR FICTION? MISINFORMATION ABOUNDS
When it comes to sorting fact from fiction, audiences find it hardest to identify misinformation on platforms such as TikTok and X, but easier on Google, Facebook and YouTube.
“Mainstream news brands and journalists continue to be the most popular source of news for people on social media,” said lead DNR author, Professor Sora Park, from the University of Canberra’s N&MRC.
“It’s notable that audiences say it is easier to identify trustworthy news on platforms with an established presence of news brands and clear labelling.”
“However, for some groups, there has been a rise in the use of ordinary people as a source of news. This is particularly the case for young people on TikTok and Instagram.”
With the proliferation of social media, concern about misinformation skyrocketed to 75 per cent, up 11 percentage points since 2022. Australians encountered most cases of misinformation on topics such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, national politics, and climate change.
META’S NEWS BAN AND IMPLICATIONS FOR AUSTRALIA
Globally, the use of Facebook for news has fallen nine (9) percentage points since 2021, from 41 per cent to 32 per cent. In Australia, the use of Facebook for news remains close to the global average, but this could soon shift.
“Meta’s closure of its News Tab and the deprioritisation of political content on Instagram will reduce the visibility of news on these social media platforms,” Professor Park said.
“We can look to other countries to understand how this ban may impact Australia. In Canada, which introduced the Online News Act in June last year, we have seen a dramatic fall in the use of Facebook for news, down from 41 to 25 per cent in that period.”
“Interestingly, 25 per cent of Canadian news consumers say they are still accessing some type of news via the app. While links to Canadian news sites cannot be posted, their work is still being shared informally. We’re seeing workarounds pop up, including screenshots from news articles.”
AI CAUSES TRUST TO WAIVER, PAYING FOR NEWS HOLDS STEADY
Generative AI products such as ChatGPT are increasingly being used in the production of journalism, raising concerns about the origins and veracity of information produced by these algorithmic programs.
Data shows that Australians are much less comfortable with AI-generated news (59 per cent) than audiences in other parts of the world (45 per cent). Importantly, there is nuance in their response. People are more at ease with journalism produced mainly by humans with AI assistance, than journalism primarily created by AI with human oversight.
“Audiences want news organisations to be transparent about how they produce news and the role that AI plays in this,” Professor Park said.
“People are particularly uncomfortable about AI being used to produce news about politics, but more relaxed about its use for sport and lifestyle news.”
In a positive light, due to these uncertainties, more Australians have been turning to traditional news and consuming more of it. Despite financial pressures, the proportion of Australians paying for news remained steady at 21 per cent – higher than the global average.
“The data confirms that quality journalism and transparency are the most important trust factors, and these affect people’s willingness to pay for journalism,” Professor Park said.
“We know from previous studies that trust in news is also linked to representation of diverse views and backgrounds. There is an opportunity for news outlets to do more of this.”
NEW MODES OF CONSUMPTION ARE RISING
Over the past two years, podcast listening has increased among Gen Z women to 61 per cent (+14pp) and Baby Boomers+ to 18 per cent (+4pp). In general, men (44 per cent) are still more likely than women (35 per cent) to have listened to a podcast in the last month, and younger audiences are also much more likely to be listening than Baby Boomers and older.
Reflecting the growth of TikTok and Instagram Reels, video news consumption is becoming increasingly popular, especially short form news videos.
“Online news video users are generally more satisfied with the news that is on offer. Providing audiences with clear and accessible visual stories can help them understand complex events,” Professor Park said.
While traditional methods of news consumption, such as television and newspapers are seeing a decline, they still have a place in catering to the diverse needs of the Australian public’s news appetite.
Television remains the most popular news source, though its popularity declined to 56 per cent in 2024.
Newspapers remain an important source of news, but only among those who are highly educated. Since 2016, print news consumption has fallen significantly (-21pp) and now only 17 per cent of people say they read newspapers. However, almost one in four people with university education continue to access news via print media, comprising the core readership of newspapers.
Other key findings include:
- Mainstream news is the most popular news source on Facebook (56per cent), YouTube (48 per cent) and Instagram (46 per cent).
- The use of mainstream news on X (formerly Twitter) has fallen to 49 per cent (-13pp), and news from ordinary people has risen (47 per cent, +10pp).
- Podcast use among Gen Z women has increased to 61 per cent (+14pp) since 2022.
- Facebook (32 per cent), YouTube (26 per cent) and Instagram (16 per cent) are the top social media platforms for news among Australians.
- TV has fallen as a main source of news (36 per cent, -4pp) while social media has gone up (25 per cent, +3pp).
You can access the Digital News Report: Australia 2024 here.
The News and Media Research Centre have released a series of podcasts, providing a deep dive into the findings of DNR: Australia 2024. You can access the podcasts here.