(Montreal) Trust in the media continues to decline in Canada. Fewer than two in five Canadians trust journalistic information in 2024, according to a report published by the Center for Media Studies.
According to the document, about 39 per cent of Canadians trust “most news,” a decrease of one percentage point from last year.
The index has been declining for years. This is the “fundamental problem” in the media sector, according to Colette Breen, director of the Center for Media Studies.
This is the lowest percentage since numbers began being collected in 2016. In that year, 55% of citizens surveyed trusted most news.
However, the survey reveals that 73% of Canadians continue to watch the news daily.
The Center for Media Studies report is Canada's version of the Digital News Report, an international survey conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford that collects similar data from 47 countries.
Canada falls below average for the proportion of citizens who trust most news (40%), but remains well above the United States (32%) and France (30%).
In light of this information, M. said:I Trust in the media is a global problem, Breen says. “We can't say: It's the local media's fault because it's a general trend.”
Among French speakers, the confidence rate rises from 49 to 46%. This percentage is still much lower among English speakers at 37%, the same percentage in 2023.
“English speakers are more interested in distinguishing between truth and falsehood in information,” explains Roland-Yves Carignan, a professor at the Faculty of Information in Digital Media and Journalism. Conversely, “there is a stronger group among French speakers. People trust information more. »
Indicators decline
There are still many problems in the media environment, according to MI coast. The issue of financing is one. Another is the huge amount of information published and exchanged, which is becoming increasingly burdensome. “In general, many indicators are declining, and we see that continuing.”
Roland-Yves Carignan agrees. “People complain that the amount of information out there is overwhelming,” he says.
According to him, limiting the circulation of information and regulating this information would help increase the population's confidence in the media. We must therefore “rethink the architecture of digital media, which I agree is a very broad programme.”
Television remains the most popular way to get news in Canada, with 38% of respondents following news this way, down two percentage points from 2023.
In 2024, news websites and apps were used to obtain information more than last year, by 30%, an increase of three percentage points.
The slow decline of television as an information tool continues. “We are moving from information that is read to information that is viewed more and more,” says Mr. Carignan.
Social networks were the main source of access to online news for 23% (down four percentage points) of respondents, and 16% for French speakers (down 7 percentage points), the highest decline since 2018.
Meta News has been blocked for Canadian and foreign news on Facebook and Instagram since August 2023 in response to accreditation Online news law Which would have required her to pay royalties to Canadian media.
Specialized media are not affected by the ban.
Although its effects are difficult to quantify, news blocking has not had a devastating effect. Since the beginning of the block, news sites have noticed an increase in traffic, notes MI coast. But not in a way that compensates for the losses [financières] “Incurred with the blockage.” She adds that the negative effects are stronger on local media and local media. They also make themselves felt more in the French-speaking media.
Interestingly, the proportion of Canadians who get their news on Instagram increased by 3 percentage points compared to 2023, to 13%. Conversely, fewer Canadians get their news through Facebook than last year (25% in 2024 compared to 29% in 2023).
Is it concerning that so many Canadians get their news through platforms where news websites are blocked?
It's difficult to answer this question, says Roland-Yves Carignan, but one thing is certain: the information available on Facebook and Instagram is not necessarily bad. “The media's definition of information may not be the same as the public's definition,” he says.
You still have to make sure it's quality, reliable and verified, he says.
Regarding artificial intelligence, 52% of survey respondents said they were uncomfortable with news produced primarily by artificial intelligence under human supervision. However, only 27% of respondents were uncomfortable with AI assisting a human journalist.
This is a positive thing, according to Colette Breen. “There is a value placed [par le public] As for human editorial work, it's encouraging.
On Monday, the Media Studies Center will hold a panel discussion on the results of its report.
The survey was conducted online by YouGov. A total of 2,014 Canadians, including 430 French-speaking Canadians, were questioned about their consumption and perception of news media. About 1,026 additional French-speaking participants were surveyed in a self-contained sample.
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