Despite years of educating people on the dangers of fake news and encouraging them to seek out accurate stories, a third of Americans are still willingly relying on sources that they know are less than trustworthy, such as social media and peers, for their news.
That’s the key takeaway from a RAND Corporation report meant to explore the factors impacting the choices people make about the news they consume. It draws from a national survey of 2,543 Americans.
Judging by the findings, many Americans are prioritizing the ease of access and simplicity of their news over its validity. So, for journalists and media companies, this proves that writing accurate, compelling stories isn’t enough.
“A lack of time and competing demands may explain why a third of Americans turn to news sources they deem less reliable, which suggests improving the quality of news content or teaching people how to ‘better consume’ news isn’t enough to address Truth Decay,” Jennifer Kavanagh, senior political scientist and co-author of the report, said in a news release.
“Media companies and other news providers may need to provide more easily accessible and digestible ways for individuals to consume high quality investigative journalism,” she added.
Other findings
The report identified the four most common news media types consumed by Americans to be print publications and broadcast television, online, radio, and social media and peers.
Altogether, 44 percent of survey respondents believe news is just as reliable now as it was in the past, 41 percent said news has become less reliable, and 15 percent — mostly women and minorities — are more optimistic, saying it has become more trustworthy than it used to be.
Moreover, respondents who said they consume their news by reading newspapers and watching TV broadcasts were more likely to say that news is trustworthy. On the other hand, respondents who relied more heavily on online, radio and social media platforms to get their news admitted they don’t always see them as reliable sources, but that doesn’t stop them from getting their news through those funnels.
“Our findings suggest that perceived reliability is not the only factor that drives what Americans choose as their go-to news sources,” Michael Pollard, a sociologist and lead author of the report, said in a news release. “Despite acknowledging that there are more reliable sources for news, people with demands on their time may be limited to using less reliable platforms.”
Perhaps not that surprisingly, age also plays a factor in where consumers choose to get their news. Younger people tend to turn more frequently to social media and peers to get their news, while older people still rely heavily on print publications and broadcast television.
Education level, too, plays a role, as those who are college-educated are less likely to get their news from social media and peers and, instead, mostly opt for radio and online sources.
And when survey-takers were asked whether they ever seek out alternative viewpoints in their news, 54 percent said “sometimes,” 20 percent said “always or almost always,” 17 percent said “infrequently” and 9 percent said “never or almost never.”
Political partisanship was also tied to whether people seek out alternative news sources, as those who self-identify as liberals were less likely than those who self-identify as conservatives to report consuming news that doesn’t necessarily align with their beliefs.
