Trust in Established News Sources and Its Influence on Digital Information Choices

The project examines the relationship between the news sources people use and the trust people place in news. It is based on data from the Reuters Institute Digital News Survey.

A well-informed population is an elementary prerequisite for the functioning of a democracy. In digital media environments, in addition to established news offerings, users have access to numerous other actors and offerings that provide information about current events in Germany and the world. Increasingly personalised digital information offerings further complicate the notion of a divided public, which makes trust in news sources a decisive factor for the formation of opinions and the information behaviour of citizens.

If we want to find out how the population informs itself and what conditions this creates for the formation of social opinion and will, we need to conduct in-depth studies that cover the entirety of the media and communication channels that can be used for news, based on the current state of technical development.

This is where the project “Trust in Established News Sources and its Influence on Digital Information Choices – A Study Based on the Reuters Institute Digital News Report” comes in. It examines the connections between the news sources people use and the trust they have in news.

Research Questions

The key questions of the analysis are:

  1. Levels of trust in established news sources: How has trust in established news sources developed in Germany over the long term and to what extent does this development differ from other selected countries?
  2. Use of digital news sources: Which news repertoires does the adult online population in Germany use to inform themselves about current local, national and international events?
  3. Connection between trust and use: To what extent is trust in a source connected to the use of this source? What influence do different news repertoires have on trust in news in general and in the news that are used?
  4. Influence of socio-demographic factors: Which socio-demographic factors influence trust in established news sources and to what extent do these influences differ between different selected countries?

The Reuters Institute Digital News Report, a comprehensive survey coordinated by the Oxford-based Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and conducted in 46 countries since 2012, provides the data for the analysis. It is an annually updated inventory of news usage across different platforms and services. The surveys are conducted every year at the same time with over 90,000 respondents, allowing for the observation of general trends over time, national specifics as well as differences between different countries and media systems. The sample is based on an online survey of adults and is representative of internet users in the respective countries aged 18 and older.

Logo sponsored Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Project details

Overview

Start of the term: 2023; End of term: 2023

Research programme: RP 1 Transformation of Public Communication

Contact person

Sascha Hölig

Dr. Sascha Hölig

Senior Researcher Media Usage

Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI)
Rothenbaumchaussee 36
20148 Hamburg
Germany

Similar projects & publications

Cover of the Oxford Handbook
Publikation Digital Orders of the Future

Digital Constitutionalism Rethought

In a chapter of the Oxford Handbook of Digital Constitutionalism, Matthias C. Kettemann and Anna Sophia Tiedeke explore digital constitutionalism from the perspective of various normativities. These are the diverse rules, values, and organizing principles that shape the digital space.

Eine hübsche junge Familie aus Vater, Mutter Kind blicken strahlend in die Kamera, im Vordergrund links ein Ringlicht
Projekt Project for State Media Authorities

Babies and Toddlers as Family Influencers

The HBI is conducting a qualitative and quantitative study to examine how babies and young children under the age of five are portrayed on commercial German-language 'family influencing' profiles on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. A team led by Dr. Claudia Lampert and Dr. Stephan Dreyer is discussing the findings in relation to the existing legal framework and media ethics considerations.

Cover des Buchs "Recht der Digitalisierung"
Publikation Available Open Access

Law of Digitalization

Can the right legal framework meet the central challenges of digitization? This volume, edited by Prof. Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann, explores important new areas of law, the regulation of AI, the role of digital services, and the characteristics of effective technology policy and sensible innovation law.

Screenshot der ersten "Seite" des Artikels auf dem Verfassungsblog
Publikation Article on Verfassungsblog

DSA Enforcement by the EU Commission

The problematic role of the European Commission in enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA) and possible alternatives are the focus of a blog post published by Jan-Ole Harfst, Dr. Tobias Mast, and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz on 16 July 2025 on the Verfassungblog.

Cover der Zeitschrift
Publikation Recently Published

Community Data Trust for Sensitive Data

Jan Rau, Moritz Fürneisen, and Gregor Wiedemann co-developed the concept of community data stewardship to facilitate the collaborative creation and utilization of sensitive data in communication science. By using the example of research into right-wing extremist online communication, they demonstrate how community data stewardship can be structured.

Cover der Zeitschrift UFITA
Publikation Recently Published

On the Public Value of Public Service Media

"What Can Audience Research findings tell us about the public value of public service media?" This question explored by Prof. Dr. Uwe Hasebrink and PD Dr. Jan-Hinrik Schmidt, who published their insights in the issue 2/2024 of the journal UFITA.

Cover der Broschüre zum 75. Geburtstag
Publikation Brochure Available for Download

Facets of 75 Years Hans-Bredow-Institut

With this brochure. we take a look at the institute's development since 1950. While we do not claim to provide a complete history, we aim to highlight some of the institute's unique characteristics, showcasing moments in the past when these features were particularly evident.

Cover von Heft 2/2025 M&K
Publikation Recently Published

M&K 2/2025 Special Issue “Media Structures Revisited”

Issue 2/2025 of Media & Communication Science has been published as a special issue entitled “Media Structures Revisited,” edited by Josef Seethaler, Marlis Prinzing, Petra Herczeg, and Mark Eisenegger. The entire issue is available open access via the Nomos eLibrary.

Cover der Publikation "
Publikation Research Project on Misinformation and Disinformation

Destructive Discourses

The final research report, jointly written as part of the NOTORIOUS research project, looks at how climate-related misinformation and disinformation spreads across different platforms. At the HBI, Philipp Keßling, Dr. Felix Victor Münch, Dr. Gregor Wiedemann, and Mattes Ruckdeschel worked on the report.

Bild des 1600 Seiten starken Kommnatrs
Publikation The most comprehensive HBI publication ever!

DSA DMA Commentary

It is the most extensive publication the HBI has ever produced: the 1600-page commentary on the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), edited by Tobias Mast, Matthias C. Kettemann, Stephan Dreyer and Wolfgang Schulz. In addition to several current and former researchers from the institute, almost 30 other experts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were recruited for the commentary project.

1 2 3 9

Page 1 from 9

Newsletter

Information about current projects, events and publications of the institute.

Subscribe now