More Australians get their news via social media than traditional sources for first time, report finds
More Australians now access their news via social media than traditional news outlets and young Australians are increasingly drawn to video news on TikTok and Instagram, according to the 2025 Digital News Report.
The University of Canberra's News and Media Research Centre found television (37%) remains the most popular source of news (up 1% from 2024) but more consumers now go to Facebook, X, YouTube and other platforms than to a legacy news outlet.
The number of people reporting they use online news as their main source of news has dropped dramatically – from 28% in 2024 to 23% in 2025 – while social media as a main source of news has risen one percentage point from 25% to 26%.
More than one in 20 respondents (6%) said they had asked artificial intelligence chatbots for news in the week prior, the report said.
The Australian study is part of an international survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, which canvassed almost 100,000 news consumers worldwide, including a statistical sample of 2,006 people in Australia.
Australia is part of an international trend away from traditional news organisations towards podcasters, YouTubers and TikTokers.
The recent Australian election saw politicians turning to independent commentators and journalists on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok to spread their message.
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The University of Canberra survey shows social media is a popular place for poeple aged 18 to 24 to watch news videos, with more than one-third watching them on TikTok (37%) and Instagram (34%).
A video posted on Anthony Albanese's TikTok account at the weekend, where the prime minister speaks about paid practical for 'nurses, teachers, midwives and social workers', had garnered 1.7m views as of Tuesday afternoon.
However, news consumers in Australia who are highly interested in news and politics are more likely to rely on online news as their main source, the report found.
Channel Seven is the most watched television news brand (34%), followed by ABC (31%). While there was a drop in viewership of the top three TV news brands, Sky News Australia's reach increased by four percentage points (17%) over the past 12 months, the survey found, as did The Australian newspaper (13%).
Only 7% of respondents say they rely mainly on radio and 5% on print. Podcasts and AI chatbots are relatively minor: 2% report podcasts as their main news source and 1% are using AI chatbots as their main news source.
Prof Sora Park, the lead author at UC's News and Media Research Centre, said trust in news has risen slightly this year and is highest among people who have undertaken news literacy education.
'In fact, these consumers have higher interest in news and are more likely to pay for it,' she said.
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'This suggests that increasing media literacy across the population could not only help boost trust in news but also be part of the economic solution in the years to come.'
ABC News (60%) is the most trusted news outlet, followed by SBS News (59%), local newspapers (58%), BBC News (57%) and Channel Seven News (55%).
Australia's news media are not as polarised as those in the UK and US. 'Audience levels of trust remain steady,' the report found. 'The main public broadcasters ABC and SBS continue to attract the most trust, though popular commercial television and national newspapers are only slightly behind.'
Consumers in Australia are more likely to pay for news, with 22% being above the average of 18% in a group of 20 countries where publishers push subscriptions.
The figure is highest in Norway (42%), followed by Sweden (31%). The US is behind Australia with 20%.
Globally, overall trust in the news (43%) has remained stable for the third year in a row, but was four points lower overall than it was at the height of the pandemic.
Researchers are also tracking news avoidance, with 69% of people saying they avoid news because it has a negative impact on their mood, or is untrustworthy or biased.
Interest in news has been gradually falling since 2016, particularly among women.
This 14th edition of Digital News Report is based on data from six continents and 48 markets.
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