They want news to feel more accessible, more understandable, and more relevant
For the first time since records began, fewer than four in ten people worldwide say they trust the news — a quiet but consequential unraveling of the compact between journalism and the publics it was built to serve. The Reuters Institute's 2026 findings, drawn from nearly 100,000 people across 48 countries, reveal not a sudden rupture but the accumulated weight of a decade's worth of disillusionment, sharpest in politically fractured nations like the United States and the United Kingdom. What the numbers describe is not an audience that has stopped caring about truth, but one that has grown exhausted searching for it in places that no longer feel trustworthy — and has not yet found somewhere better to look.
- Global news trust has fallen to 37 percent — its lowest point since tracking began in 2015 — with the United States at 25 percent and the United Kingdom at just 30 percent, a collapse of twenty points over a single decade.
- Audiences are telling researchers they feel unheard: coverage of immigration, inflation, and international conflict strikes many as disconnected from their lived reality, breeding a corrosive mix of anxiety, cynicism, and disengagement.
- More than half of people now consume news through social media and video platforms, yet trust in those channels sits at only 22 percent — a restless migration toward sources people don't fully believe in.
- AI chatbots and online creators are gaining ground, particularly among younger audiences, but function as supplements rather than replacements, pointing to demand for journalism that feels more accessible and relevant rather than demand for something entirely new.
- One stubborn counterweight persists: support for impartial journalism has barely moved since 2020, suggesting audiences haven't abandoned the ideal of fair reporting — they simply doubt it is being delivered.
A decade of slow erosion has brought global news trust to its lowest recorded point. The Reuters Institute, which has tracked public confidence in journalism since 2015, found this week that only 37 percent of people worldwide now trust the news — a three-point drop in a single year. In the United States, that figure stands at 25 percent, falling to just 15 percent among right-leaning Americans. The United Kingdom has shed five points in twelve months and twenty points over the decade, settling at 30 percent.
The institute's researchers found a common thread: audiences feel exhausted and unheard. Coverage of immigration, inflation, and international conflict strikes many as disconnected from their actual concerns, producing a mixture of anxiety, cynicism, and withdrawal. People are not rejecting the idea of news — they are rejecting the way it is currently told.
That distinction matters, because the search for alternatives has not resolved the problem. More than half of respondents now get news from social media and video platforms, yet trust in those sources is even lower, at just 22 percent. Traditional television and dedicated news websites remain more trusted and still command significant audiences, particularly in the UK. The shift is real, but it is not a clean departure.
Online video has become the dominant format globally, surpassing broadcast television in nearly every market, driven by audiences seeking news that feels more accessible and relevant. AI chatbots are used weekly by around one in ten people overall and one in six under the age of 35, though only 20 percent express confidence in them. Creators and influencers fill a niche for about 10 percent of respondents — supplements to established media, not replacements.
Amid the broader gloom, one finding stands apart. Support for impartial journalism has fallen only three points since 2020. Audiences still believe in the principle of fair, unbiased reporting. They simply don't believe they are receiving it — and whether traditional media can adapt quickly enough to close that gap will likely define journalism's next chapter.
A decade of erosion has left global news trust at its lowest point on record. The Reuters Institute, which has been measuring public confidence in journalism since 2015, released findings this week showing that only 37 percent of people worldwide now trust the news—a three-point drop from the previous year and a stark reflection of deepening skepticism about how the world's media covers the stories that matter most.
The decline is sharpest in countries where political polarization runs deepest. In the United States, trust stands at just 25 percent, and among Americans who identify as right-leaning, it plummets to 15 percent. The United Kingdom tells a similar story: trust has fallen to 30 percent, a collapse of five points in a single year and twenty points over the past decade. These numbers suggest something more than routine fluctuation. They point to a fundamental fracture between audiences and the institutions meant to inform them.
The institute's researchers identified a common thread running through the data: audiences are exhausted and skeptical. "Our data points to a mix of anxiety, disengagement and cynicism from audiences, many of whom don't like the way publishers are covering long-running news stories such as immigration, inflation and international conflict," the institute said. People are tired of how these stories are told. They feel unheard. They sense that coverage is disconnected from their actual concerns.
Yet the picture is more complicated than simple rejection. More than half of respondents now get their news from third-party platforms—social media networks, video sites, and other digital channels—but trust in those sources is remarkably low, at just 22 percent. This suggests people are not abandoning news; they are searching for it in places they don't fully believe in. Meanwhile, traditional sources like television and dedicated news websites remain more trusted and still reach substantial audiences, particularly in the UK. The shift is real, but it is not a clean break.
AI chatbots have entered the picture with modest but growing adoption. Only 20 percent of respondents globally express confidence in answers from these systems, yet weekly usage has climbed from 7 percent to 10 percent overall, and reaches 16 percent among people under 35. Creators and influencers, meanwhile, are filling a niche rather than replacing established media. Just 10 percent of survey participants said these sources met most of their news needs, suggesting they function as supplements to traditional outlets, not alternatives.
Online video has become the dominant format. Seventy-seven percent of people globally now watch news video each week, and it has surpassed broadcast television in nearly every market except Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. This shift reflects something the institute's researchers identified as a core audience desire: news that feels more accessible, more understandable, and more relevant to daily life. People are not rejecting journalism itself. They are rejecting how it is currently packaged and presented.
One finding offers a counterweight to the overall gloom. Support for impartial news remains surprisingly robust, having fallen only three points since 2020. This suggests that despite everything—the fragmentation of media consumption, the rise of partisan outlets, the spread of misinformation—audiences still believe in the principle of fair, unbiased reporting. They want it. They just don't think they are getting it.
The survey encompassed nearly 100,000 people across 48 markets, making it one of the most comprehensive snapshots of global media trust available. Some major outlets have taken sharp hits. Both CBS News and Fox News saw trust drop ten points from the previous year, while CNN fell six points. These declines suggest that no outlet, regardless of its size or history, is immune to the broader erosion of confidence.
What comes next remains unclear. The data shows audiences are searching—trying new platforms, experimenting with different formats, looking for news that speaks to them. Whether traditional media can adapt fast enough to meet that demand, or whether the fragmentation will only deepen, will likely define the next chapter of journalism's relationship with the public.
Notable Quotes
Our data points to a mix of anxiety, disengagement and cynicism from audiences, many of whom don't like the way publishers are covering long-running news stories such as immigration, inflation and international conflict— Reuters Institute
The popularity of creators and online video is not evidence that people no longer want news, but it suggests they want news to feel more accessible, more understandable, and more relevant to their lives— Reuters Institute
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When you see trust at 37 percent globally, what does that number actually mean in a person's life?
It means most people are skeptical when they encounter news. They might read a story, but they're reading it with doubt. They're wondering what's being left out, or whether the framing is fair. That skepticism shapes how they engage—or don't engage—with what's happening in the world.
The UK has fallen twenty points in a decade. That's not gradual drift. That's collapse.
It is. And the institute's researchers traced it to specific things: how immigration is covered, how inflation is covered, how conflict is covered. People feel like these stories are being told to them rather than with them. The coverage doesn't match their lived experience.
But people are still watching news video. Seventy-seven percent weekly. So they haven't stopped consuming news.
Right. They've stopped trusting it, but they haven't stopped needing it. That's the tension. They're searching for news in places they don't fully believe in because the alternative—being uninformed—feels worse.
What about the young people using AI chatbots for news? Is that the future?
Not yet. It's 16 percent of under-35s using them weekly, and only 20 percent trust them. They're trying it, but they're not relying on it. It's more like an experiment than a shift.
The data says support for impartial news is still high. How do you square that with everything else?
People still believe in the ideal. They want fair reporting. They just don't think they're getting it. That gap—between what they want and what they think they're receiving—is where all the cynicism lives.