Trust in news organisations has fallen to an all-time low, according to a new study from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. The annual Digital News Report, released today, shows that only 34 per cent of British respondents now say they trust most news most of the time, a decline of three percentage points from last year and the lowest figure since tracking began.
The BBC, long considered a pillar of British public life, has been particularly hard hit. Trust in the corporation has fallen to 49 per cent, down from 55 per cent in 2020. The decline is most pronounced among younger audiences: only 29 per cent of 18-24 year olds say they trust BBC News, compared to 64 per cent of those over 55.
Commercial news brands have fared no better. The Guardian, The Times, and The Daily Telegraph all saw trust scores slip below 40 per cent. The report attributes the erosion to a combination of political polarisation, accusations of bias, and the proliferation of unverified information on social media platforms.
The crisis extends beyond trust metrics. News consumption habits are shifting dramatically. For the first time, social media (notably TikTok and Instagram) has overtaken television as the primary source of news for 18-24 year olds in Britain. Among this demographic, traditional broadcast news now accounts for only 18 per cent of daily consumption.
Published by the Reuters Institute and the University of Oxford, the report draws on survey data from 93,000 respondents across 46 markets. It concludes that news organisations face a structural challenge: the public increasingly views them as out of touch and serving a political agenda.
Lord Grade, a former BBC chairman, described the findings as a wake-up call. In a statement, he said: 'The BBC and the wider news industry must urgently re-examine their relationship with the public. This is not just a reputation problem. It is an existential threat.'
Director-General Tim Davie, in a memo to staff, acknowledged the trend. 'We must act decisively to rebuild trust,' he wrote. 'That means being transparent about our editorial decisions, engaging with audiences who feel unheard, and tackling misinformation head-on.'
The report also highlights the rise of alternative news sources, including 'news influencers' on YouTube and TikTok. One in five British respondents said they now get news from such personalities, many of whom hold explicitly partisan views. The report warns that this fragmentation undermines the shared factual basis necessary for democratic discourse.
The implications are stark. As trust declines, so does the willingness of the public to pay for news. This puts further pressure on business models that are already struggling. The report notes that only 8 per cent of British adults now pay for online news, a figure that has barely moved in five years.
Commenting on the findings, Dr. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, one of the report's authors, said: 'The era of mass trust in news is over. Journalists and editors need to accept that they are no longer automatic authorities. They have to earn attention and credibility every day, in a highly contested information environment.'
For the BBC, the challenge is acute. As a publicly funded institution, its legitimacy depends on public trust. Without it, the licence fee model comes under renewed threat. The government has already signalled its intention to review the BBC's funding and governance. This report will likely intensify those calls.
In response, the BBC has announced a series of 'listening exercises' and a new editorial advisory group. But critics say these gestures are insufficient. 'The BBC needs a fundamental cultural change, not a public relations campaign,' said Emily Maitlis, a former presenter of the BBC's Newsnight programme.
The crisis is not confined to Britain. Across Europe and North America, trust in news media has declined steadily for a decade. But the British case is particularly acute, given the BBC's central role in national life.
As the report concludes: 'The news industry cannot survive on the assumption that audiences have no choice. They do. And increasingly, they are choosing to walk away.'
