Social Media as a News

Outlet
Business English; wintersemester 2023/24
Table of content
01. Social Media as a news source
02. News consumption in Europe and social media getting ahead
03. Reasons for people to avoid the news
04. Advantages of social media as a news source
05. Challenges and concerns
06. Case study
07. Why do people fall for fake news?
08. Tips for critical consumption
09. Questions for discussion Business English; wintersemester 2023/24 |
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Please raise your hand if you
read the newspaper or watch
the news in television

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Social media as a news source

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Social media instead of
mainstream media

• TikTok influencers and celebrities are

increasingly taking over

• 55% of TikTok and Snapchat users and 52%

of Instagram users get their news from
„personalities“

• This is compared to 33-42% who get it from

mainstream media

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News consumption in Europe

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 News consumption in Europe
•72% of internet users in the European Union now get their news
online, according to the latest EU statistics
•While more people are accessing news via social media than through
news websites, finds another survey
•It also found that interest in news has fallen sharply around the world,
from 63% of respondents in 2017 to 51% in 2022

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Data from 2021 shows that 72% of internet
users aged 16-74 in the EU read news sites,
newspapers and news magazines online

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Variations in consuming news

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The decline of print newspapers
• Rise of the internet, which makes it easier for people to
access news and information
• Changing demographics of readership
• Economic impact of digital age
• Cost-cutting measures

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The rise of news apps
• Decline of print newspapers goes along with the rise of news apps
• Provide users with instant access to news and range of sources
• Offer a number of advantages

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The impact of news apps on the
media landscape

• Made news consumption more personalized and interactive

• It is easier for smaller, independent news outlets to reach wider

audiences

• Concerns about the quality of journalism

• More difficult to distinguish between sources

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Social media surging ahead as a news
source

• Global survey reveals over 93,000 online news consumers in 46

markets covering half the world‘s population

• The report says the smartphone continues to be the most important

digital device for accessing news across countries

• Direct access to news apps and websites is in decline

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The report said in 2022, social media preference has surged ahead at
28% compared to 23% for direct access
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• Trust in news providers has also
fallen in almost half of the countries
studied, and risen just in seven
• Partly reversing the gains made at
the hight of the Corona Virus
pandemic
• On average, 42% of repondents say
they trust news most of the time

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Interest in traditional media decreases
• Consumption of traditional media, declined further in the last year
in almost all markets
• While the majority remains engaged, others are turning away from
the news media
• Interest in news has fallen sharply across markets, from 63% in
2017 to 51% in 2022.

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Reasons for people to avoid the
news

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Reasons for people to avoid the
news
• The selective avoidance has doubled in both Brazil (54%) and the
UK (46%), with many respondents saying news has a negative
effect on their mood.
• A significant proportion of younger and less educated people say
they avoid news because it can be hard to follow or understand

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Reasons for people to avoid the
news
• Five countries were surveyed after the war in Ukraine had
begun,
• countries closest to the fighting, such as Germany and
Poland, seeing the biggest increases in consumption
• Selective news avoidance has, if anything, increased further

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Reasons for people to avoid the
news
• Global concerns about false and misleading information
remain stable this year (2022)
• ranging from 72% in Kenya and Nigeria to just 32% in
Germany and 31% in Austria
• People say they have seen more false information about
Coronavirus than about politics in most countries

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Reasons for people to avoid the
news
• TikTok has become the fastest growing network in this year’s survey,
reaching 40% of 18–24s, with 15% using the platform for news
• Usage is much higher in parts of Latin America, Asia, and Africa than
it is in the United States or Northern Europe.
• The smartphone has become the dominant way in which most
people first access news in the morning

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Advantages of social media as a news
source

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Advantages of social media as a
news source
• Convenience
• Breaking news emerge from social media
• Possibility to publish news promptly
• Exposes indivuduals to diverse narratives and perspectives
• Freedom of speech

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Challenges and concerns

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Spread of misinformation
• „outrage is the key to virality“
• Fake news can spread up to 10 times faster
• Their corrections are never as widely viewed or believed
• Arises in unvertain contexts when people are confronted with a
scarcity of information they need

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Filter bubbles

• Refers to the ways in which information is filtered before

reaching an internet user

• Result from the personalization of online content

• Are believed to intellectually isolate internet users

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Filter bubbles
• New media algorithms are thus able to recommend
increasingly personalized content to users of digital platforms
• Personalization of information on the Internet is harmful for
Internet users
• they are no longer confronted with information that could
broaden their interests or challenge their beliefs or opinions

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Echo chambers

• radicalization of opinions on the Internet is largely due to so-

called echo chambers

• On the Internet, individuals seem to preferentially interact

with people who are interested in the same topics and who
share similar opinions

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Case Study

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Teens in the UK

•Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are the most popular sites in the
UK for 12- to 15-year-olds to get their news

•Social media is still the least trusted amongst young people

•News from family and radio and TV is more trusted

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• Teenagers today are
increasingly unlikely to
pick up a newspaper or
tune into TV News
• they rate these services
more highly for serving
up a range of opinions on
the day’s topical stories

Jahresbericht 3. September 20xx 35

Why do people fall for fake news?

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Why do people fall for fake news?
• Lack of deliberation
• Repeated exposure
• Novelty

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Tips for critical consumption

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Tips for critical consumption
• Check the facts
• Assess media bias
• Recognize sponsored content
• Avoid emotionally charged and
divisive headlines

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 Sources
https://profiletree.com/journalism-social-media-primary-news-source/
https://libguides.uvic.ca/fakenews/how-it-spreads
https://www.nais.org/learn/independent-ideas/april-2022/addressing-russia-i
nvasion-of-ukraine-and-misinformation-on-social-media/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/01/29/russia-ukraine-crisis-w
ill-first-tiktok-war/
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/the-top-10-fake-news-articles-on-f
acebook-in-2018-infographic/545165/

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 Sources
https://medium.com/@nitesh.sakpal/from-print-to-pixels-the-evolution-of-ne
ws-consumption-1da5ab4c526f

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-media-news-source-its-impact-journa
lism-kristen-mckenzie
https://yaledailynews.com/sjp/2020/08/30/social-media-as-a-news-source-th
e-pitfalls-and-positives/
https://pandologic.com/publishers/broadcast-media/pros-cons-breaking-new
s-social-media/
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Thank you for
listening!

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Questions for discussion
1. Do you prefer to get news from traditional news sources or
social media and why?
2. Did you experience fake news at any time?
3. In what ways do you think social media can regulate the
information spread on their platforms?
4. How did you experience the reporting of the war in Ukraine for
example?
5. How do you protect yourself from fake news?
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