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News24 continues to lead with the top trust score among SA news brands in the annual Reuters Institute Digital News Report.
Graphic: Sharlene Rood/News24. Credits: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach; Hannah Peters/Getty Images; Yeshiel Panchia/News24; Netwerk24/Deaan Vivier; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret
- An annual report has again put News24 in the leading spot of trusted news brands in South Africa.
- The publication has maintained this position in the Digital News Report since 2018.
Findings show that South Africa has one of the highest overall trust scores for news at 55%, ranking fifth out of 48 countries surveyed.
News24 has again scored the highest trust levels among South African news brands featured in the annual Reuters Institute Digital News Report, maintaining the leading position for seven consecutive years.
The report, commissioned by Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, measures trust in media, among other key news consumption insights.
It surveyed more than 100 000 online respondents across 48 countries to provide an overview on the state of news publishing worldwide.
The report found that South Africa has one of the highest overall trust scores for news at 55%, ranking fifth out of all countries surveyed.
South African respondents scored News24 81% on the trust barometer, followed by eNCA at 80%. Other publications in South Africa’s top 10 trusted news brands include BBC News, SABC News, Sunday Times, The Citizen, Mail & Guardian, TimesLIVE, City Press and a category for regional or local newspapers.
News24 has maintained the highest trust levels of SA brands ranked in the Reuters Institute Digital News Report.
News24 is South Africa’s largest subscription publication with over 110 000 monthly subscribers. According to Google Analytics, 6.6 million users visit News24 per month.
Editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson celebrated the continued recognition of News24 as the steward of trusted journalism in South Africa. He stressed that trust remains a golden metric for credible news platforms in a climate of disinformation and skepticism.
“Being regarded as South Africa’s most trusted news brand for seven years straight is an incredible honour. It is a testament to our newsroom’s unwavering commitment to truth and serving our readers and subscribers with integrity. It’s also a vote of confidence in the calibre of journalism that we produce daily.”
While South Africa remains well ahead of the global media trust average of 40%, there has been a decline in the country’s overall trust score, which previously reached a high of 61% in 2022.
The report said:
The fact that almost all news brands have suffered a decline in trust is also a disturbing sign, signalling that the industry will have to actively work to reverse this trend.
The report acknowledged News24’s efforts in combatting the rise of disinformation with establishment of a dedicated fact-checking desk earlier this year.
“We are proud to see that our work calling out falsehoods does not go unnoticed. We remain committed to discerning the facts and defending the truth every single day,” Basson added.
The Disinformation Desk is one of several newsroom initiatives launched this year in response to the evolving needs and interests of News24’s audience. The publication also appointed a Good News editor, unveiled a schools hub and added The Lead podcast to its arsenal of trusted journalism content.
