An Analysis of the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026
Artificial intelligence can be described as the “fast fashion” of today’s digital landscape. While the term traditionally refers to clothing and accessories, in this context it reflects the rapidly expanding range of AI-powered services available to consumers. News is one of those services.
The internet became an important source, and in many cases the primary source, of media and news content at the beginning of the 21st century. Its influence has continued to grow exponentially alongside the rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
The Timeline
According to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026, the decline in the use of traditional media as a news source is no longer as steep as in previous years and is beginning to stabilize. The trend became particularly visible around 2020 and 2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One important distinction should be made. In countries that were formerly part of the Eastern Bloc, public trust in the media has historically been lower because of the region’s media landscape and political history. Following the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, however, Western countries have also experienced declining trust in the news.
The report describes this development as follows:
“News audiences around the world are responding with growing concern to a series of political, economic, and technological disruptions. Assumptions about how the world works are being challenged as long-standing international alliances shift, the global trading system comes under pressure, and the foundations of the post-war international order appear increasingly uncertain. At the same time, people are adapting to the rapid spread of artificial intelligence across many aspects of everyday life, while for many, the practical consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent.”
The launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI in late 2022, followed by competitors such as Gemini and Grok, gave consumers a new way of accessing information.
The reason is straightforward. Artificial intelligence allows users to choose and personalize the content they receive. This effectively creates an echo chamber in which users are less likely to encounter opinions or information that challenge their existing beliefs.
The Trend
Influencers have become part of this same ecosystem. Much like AI systems, they allow audiences to consume content that closely aligns with their own views. Users increasingly prefer content that reinforces their existing opinions rather than challenges them.
The Reuters study also found that many respondents prefer their opinions to be confirmed by more than one source.
At the same time, 45 percent of respondents prefer news to remain neutral, while 46 percent believe neutral journalism is more beneficial for society.
Audiences have also become more visually oriented and spend less time reading.
This shift further strengthens the relationship between artificial intelligence and social media.
A significant proportion of content published across social platforms, including news content, is now created with the assistance of AI because it enables faster production and lower production costs.
Each platform encourages different viewing habits.
YouTube continues to favor longer-form videos, typically lasting more than ten minutes.
Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook focus primarily on shorter, high-impact videos designed to capture attention quickly.
The Reuters report also highlights significant regional differences:
“The highest levels of news video consumption are found in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. However, news video is also widely consumed across Europe and North America. More than half of respondents in Africa (54 percent) and Asia (47 percent) watch news videos on YouTube, compared with only 24 percent in Europe.”
Trust remains a challenge.
Only 20 percent of respondents trust news content generated by artificial intelligence.
By comparison, 37 percent say they trust the news they consume most of the time.
The Statistics
The growing popularity of artificial intelligence has also changed how people search for news.
Compared with 2025, the share of users relying on AI chatbots for news has increased by 3 percentage points, reaching 10 percent overall.
Among respondents under the age of 35, including Millennials and Generation Z, 16 percent use chatbots as a source of news.
Social media remains the leading source of news for 54 percent of users.
Traditional news websites and mobile applications follow closely at 51 percent.
Short-form video formats such as Reels have also become one of the primary ways audiences consume news.
Researchers behind the Reuters report argue that journalism is currently experiencing its second major wave of digital transformation.
Following newspapers, television is now undergoing the same transition, while social media has established itself as the central platform for news distribution.
Consumption of AI-assisted news content across platforms is distributed as follows:
Share of Users Consuming News Content
TikTok – 20%
Instagram – 26%
YouTube – 34%
Facebook – 43%
The role of influencers as a new generation of news creators should also not be underestimated.
According to the report, 27 percent of users receive news from creators who focus exclusively on producing news content.
Meanwhile, 46 percent trust the creators they already follow.
Conclusion
Video consumption has increased significantly over the past several years.
Artificial intelligence has contributed to this shift by enabling larger volumes of information to reach wider audiences. It has also made content more accessible and easier to understand across different age groups and educational backgrounds.
Artificial intelligence is undoubtedly a powerful technology.
However, as Uncle Ben famously says in Spider-Man, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
That principle applies equally to journalism.
As AI continues to reshape how news is produced and consumed, the responsibility to verify information, provide context, and maintain public trust remains firmly in human hands.
Source of data and statistics
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026
