Online mediums face 'trust deficit' on veracity of news

 Three in 10 Indians doubt the veracity of news provided by online news platforms, while the most trusted source of news are newspapers and news magazines, followed by TV and radio, a survey has revealed.

According to a survey by Ipsos titled Trust in Media -- the media sources trusted most are newspapers and magazines (77 per cent), followed by television and radio (71 per cent), and online news websites and platforms (66 per cent). Online platforms were found to have some bit of trust deficit, with at least 3 in 10 Indians (32 per cent) doubting the efficacy of the news, it said. 

The survey said that 67 per cent people believe that there is prevalence of fake news in news and information provided by online news websites and platforms.

It also said that 63 per cent people feel that people they know predominantly through the Internet are the purveyors of fake news in the news and information they share, while 59 per cent feel television and radio have fake news in their content. The survey found that 55 per cent people feel newspapers and magazines have "prevalence of fake news" and 51 per cent feel people known personally also provide fake news in the information they share. 

A majority of people surveyed -- 65 per cent - said they had more faith in the state-run broadcasters.

While 78 per cent urban Indians said they trust people they know personally, as the most reliable source of news, ahead of all forms of formal media sources, trust was found to be the lowest as a new source, for people-known-predominantly-through-the-Internet (53 per cent). Four in 10 Indians were mistrustful of this news source, it said. 

These are the findings of Ipsos' Global Advisor survey, an online survey conducted between January 25 and February 8 this year.  IANS