Writing for The Media Leader following the publication of Reuters’ latest Digital News Report, Newsworks research and insight director Heather Dansie explores what ‘trust in news’ means in 2026
With the report’s conclusion again pointing to a global decline in trust in news, Dansie points to the rise in “direct attacks on news outlets and individual journalists” for undermining confidence overall. She also highlights an increasing amount of popular creators worldwide who do not produce fact-based journalism.
However, she also encourages the advertising industry to understand the UK’s specific perspective versus the global outlook. Reuters found Brits distrust news on social media, are concerned about fake news, and are unlikely to turn to content creators or AI chatbots for news.
Meanwhile, UK news websites received the highest proportion of news readership across all surveyed media, with trust in individual established news brands higher than trust in news overall.
Dansie writes: “We know that the loyalty people have with their own news source, which aligns to their values, matters hugely. In fact, the Reuters report finds that, among those who pay for news, the UK has the highest percentage of all markets (66%) paying via ongoing subscriptions or memberships. People care about their news brand.”
With audiences being discerning about the sources they use for news and distrusting the wider media ecosystem, Dansie believes the implications for advertisers are clear.
Encouraging brands to consider the impact of high spend in unregulated platforms, she argues: “As trust fragments across platforms, the value of credible, accountable environments becomes even more important. UK news brands are one of the few places where scale, attention and trust meaningfully intersect.
“For advertisers, it is simple: in a low-trust landscape, where you show up matters as much as what you say.”
Read Heather Dansie’s full piece for The Media Leader.
