Photos used for expression purposes only. | Photo credit: Reuters
Social media platforms and generative AI influencers are “supercharged with fragmented alternative media environments” for news consumption, the 2025 edition of the Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute for Journalism Research states. The report is based on an annual survey of 1 Lark news consumers in 48 countries, including India. Or, of respondents who always “avoid news” are English-speaking Indians with internet access (where the report may not represent the entire population) ranked fourth, with 50% of respondents in the country counting in the group.
Reports have found that broadcast, print media and news websites are declining engagement, reports have found. Influencers in particular have gained a significant audience, especially in the news.
This includes podcaster Joe Rogan, but this trend is also seen in other countries, such as the “young news creator” Hugodécrypte in France.
“In the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya and India, more people say they prefer to watch the news rather than read it, encouraging more to move towards character-driven news creators,” the report said. Globally, trust in the news that was rated in the report remains at the same level as last year. 40%.
Young people are less likely to consume news from publisher websites, with around 41% of respondents aged 18-34 saying they consider social media and YouTube sites as their main sources of news. Only about 24% of this age group view news websites as “the main source of news,” the report said.
“Indian YouTube content has exploded in recent years with many successful talk shows that have been critical and supportive of Narendra Modi's government,” the report said.
“While Ravish Kumar (12m Forers) is a former NDTV anchor and focuses on political commentary and social issues, Dhruv Rathee (25m followers) aims to simplify complex topics for a wide range of audiences by creating educational videos on social, political and environmental issues. Part of India's manosphere includes Ranveer Allahbadia, commonly known as Beerbiceps, covering fitness, lifestyle, fashion and entrepreneurship aimed at young Indians.”
“Messaging apps such as whatsapp are considered most cases [mis- and disinformation] “Threats from respondents,” the report said, “Because discussions tend to be more part of trustworthy groups of friends.”
“One notable exception is India, the largest market for messaging apps. Here, fake news, including videos distributed by large groups, has incited mob violence (and death) in the past. We believe that one in ten (11%) of people (including friends and family) will also play a role in spreading misinformation,” the report states.
The “personalized” news, such as news aggregators provide, “we saw many false dawns,” the report says, but generative AI applications such as ChatGPT and confusing AI have seen an increase in traction to simplify stories and summarise them.
“It's the most popular option in India,” the report said. The “comfort level” of AI among respondents in India is 44%, with almost a fifth of users saying they use chatbots to get news every week.
Published – June 17, 2025 04:16 AM IST
