A study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism revealed that worries about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in news creation and disinformation are spreading throughout the world, which will make it harder for newsrooms that are already having trouble connecting with viewers.
The annual Digital News Report from the institute, which was released on Monday, provides an overview of the challenges facing news organisations in generating income and maintaining operations. This year's report is based on surveys of around 100,000 individuals in 47 countries.
With the development of tools that can provide information summaries and divert visitors from news websites, tech giants and startups such as Google and OpenAI are posing a new challenge to newsrooms worldwide when it comes to generative artificial intelligence.
However, the study discovered that readers are dubious of artificial intelligence being used to produce news material, especially when it comes to touchy areas like politics.
52% of US respondents and 63% of UK respondents indicated in the study that they would feel uneasy reading news that was mostly generated by artificial intelligence. According to the analysis, which polled 2,000 individuals in each nation, respondents were more at ease with AI being used in the background to improve the productivity of journalists.
Nic Newman, senior research associate at the Reuters Institute and primary author of the Digital News Report, stated, "It was surprising to see the level of suspicion." "People broadly had fears about what might happen to content reliability and trust."
The number of respondents who expressed concern about fake news information on the internet increased by three percentage points from the previous year to 59%. Given that both South Africa and the United States are holding elections this year, the percentages there were higher, at 81% and 72%, respectively, the research stated.
The typical reluctance of viewers to pay for news subscriptions is another difficulty facing news organisations. According to the research, 17% of respondents from 20 nations indicated they paid for internet news, a percentage that has remained constant over the last three years despite modest rise during the epidemic.
With 46% of news customers in the US paying less than the full price of their subscriptions, a sizeable fraction were also probably paying discounted prices as a result of trials or promotions.
Users of well-known online platforms such as TikTok are receiving news from news influencers more so than from traditional media outlets.
More than 5,600 TikTok users who claimed to use the app for news were surveyed. Of these, 57% said they mostly paid attention to particular personalities, while 34% said they primarily followed news brands or journalists.
According to the research, newsrooms must develop a direct rapport with their readers in addition to "strategically using the platforms to connect with people who are trickier to reach, like younger audiences," Newman said.
"We see that these influencers have a bigger role on the platforms."
3.1 million-follower Vitus "V" Spehar is a TikTok creator. This is one news personality that several poll participants mentioned. In contrast to a standard news anchor who sits at a desk, Spehar is well-known for their distinctive delivery of the day's top stories while lying on the floor underneath their desk. They previously told Reuters that their approach is meant to provide a more compassionate take on current events.
In a poll conducted by the Digital News Report, respondents from the US, UK, France, Argentina, and Brazil were asked to list up to three mainstream or alternative news accounts that they follow.
The Americans who ranked the top 10 are mostly recognised for their political commentary, not for their original reporting, according to the report.
Among these figures were progressive talk radio personality David Pakman, Joe Rogan, the host of the most popular podcast on Spotify, and former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.
(Source:www.usnews.com)
The annual Digital News Report from the institute, which was released on Monday, provides an overview of the challenges facing news organisations in generating income and maintaining operations. This year's report is based on surveys of around 100,000 individuals in 47 countries.
With the development of tools that can provide information summaries and divert visitors from news websites, tech giants and startups such as Google and OpenAI are posing a new challenge to newsrooms worldwide when it comes to generative artificial intelligence.
However, the study discovered that readers are dubious of artificial intelligence being used to produce news material, especially when it comes to touchy areas like politics.
52% of US respondents and 63% of UK respondents indicated in the study that they would feel uneasy reading news that was mostly generated by artificial intelligence. According to the analysis, which polled 2,000 individuals in each nation, respondents were more at ease with AI being used in the background to improve the productivity of journalists.
Nic Newman, senior research associate at the Reuters Institute and primary author of the Digital News Report, stated, "It was surprising to see the level of suspicion." "People broadly had fears about what might happen to content reliability and trust."
The number of respondents who expressed concern about fake news information on the internet increased by three percentage points from the previous year to 59%. Given that both South Africa and the United States are holding elections this year, the percentages there were higher, at 81% and 72%, respectively, the research stated.
The typical reluctance of viewers to pay for news subscriptions is another difficulty facing news organisations. According to the research, 17% of respondents from 20 nations indicated they paid for internet news, a percentage that has remained constant over the last three years despite modest rise during the epidemic.
With 46% of news customers in the US paying less than the full price of their subscriptions, a sizeable fraction were also probably paying discounted prices as a result of trials or promotions.
Users of well-known online platforms such as TikTok are receiving news from news influencers more so than from traditional media outlets.
More than 5,600 TikTok users who claimed to use the app for news were surveyed. Of these, 57% said they mostly paid attention to particular personalities, while 34% said they primarily followed news brands or journalists.
According to the research, newsrooms must develop a direct rapport with their readers in addition to "strategically using the platforms to connect with people who are trickier to reach, like younger audiences," Newman said.
"We see that these influencers have a bigger role on the platforms."
3.1 million-follower Vitus "V" Spehar is a TikTok creator. This is one news personality that several poll participants mentioned. In contrast to a standard news anchor who sits at a desk, Spehar is well-known for their distinctive delivery of the day's top stories while lying on the floor underneath their desk. They previously told Reuters that their approach is meant to provide a more compassionate take on current events.
In a poll conducted by the Digital News Report, respondents from the US, UK, France, Argentina, and Brazil were asked to list up to three mainstream or alternative news accounts that they follow.
The Americans who ranked the top 10 are mostly recognised for their political commentary, not for their original reporting, according to the report.
Among these figures were progressive talk radio personality David Pakman, Joe Rogan, the host of the most popular podcast on Spotify, and former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.
(Source:www.usnews.com)
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