Filipinos have become very news-conscious amidst the pandemic while expressing concern over fake news and online misinformation, especially by the government and politicians.
This was revealed in the 10th edition of Digital News Report (DNR 2021) — on June 23 by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism – which highlights an online poll of 92,000 people in 46 media markets.
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Around 2,209 Filipino internet users aged 18 years and above were contacted in the survey held late January to early February by the international market research agency YouGov.
The number of Filipinos – trusting “most news most of the time” – increased to 32 percent from 27 percent in 2020, while trust in news from social media dropped from 22 percent to 20 percent, the report state, adding that media brands like GMA News remained trustable, except for ABS-CBN and Rappler (each shedding 4 points in their trust scores) and the tabloids Abante and Bulgar (each losing 3 points).
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Facing repeated threats of closure by President Rodrigo Duterte, ABS-CBN had closed down its free-to-air stations — following the expiry of its operating franchise in May 2020 and the House of Representatives’ refusal for renewing it in July. Another mediahouse Rappler—which has also been threatened by Duterte – is fighting against lawsuits.
