Cause and effectiveness: Trust in news media climbs as misinformation fears spike

Published Mi3

Latest data shows misinformation fears soaring in Australia as tech firms pull checks – and that’s bad news for brands, says ThinkNewsBrands CEO Vanessa Lyons. But there is upside as consumption of trusted news grows in response. IPG Mediabrands CEO Mark Coad and Affinity CEO Angela Smith agree that creates a halo effect for marketers.

We live in an era of misinformation and disinformation, causing people to distrust what they engage with in media and on the internet.

The 2024 University of Canberra Digital News Report indicates 75 per cent of Australians are worried about misinformation, an 11-percentage point increase since 2022. Local concerns are notably higher than the global average of 54 per cent and could increase as our public landscape becomes more divisive and with Meta winding back content moderation across its platforms.

Against this tide, Australian news publishing stands as a beacon of trust in the media landscape. Fact-checked articles developed by journalists with integrity are a buttress against the less rigorous and sometimes malicious content found elsewhere.