ANALYSIS: Local News, AI, and the Preponderance of Social Media
A new poll shows that local media is highly trusted; it also shows that the relationship among news, social media, and the rise of AI are more complicated than they appear. That's a good thing ...
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Every week, the Advance numerous receives messages like the following:
“Independent local journalism is important.”
“Appreciate you working so diligently to cover local news. … Drew Gallagher has made me laugh for 35 years!”
“Thank you for local news and bringing Donnie Johnston back.”
The throughline in the majority of messages we receive is the same — a deep appreciation for local news.
A new survey out today by Emerson College Polling expresses what the Advance has come to appreciate these past three years — people trust local coverage more than any other news source. But the Emerson College Poll adds some interesting wrinkles to what we’ve been observing.
Local News on the Rise
The survey shows that “U.S. adults have the most trust in local news (72% great deal / fair amount of trust),” and the least amount of trust in social media.
Yet …
“‘social media or YouTube is the main news source for 37% of Americans—and 64% of those under 30,’ Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said.”
It’s a predicament that hit home last year when teaching journalism at the University of Mary Washington.
Of the 20-plus students in my class at the beginning of the semester, none of them regularly read a daily newspaper, be it in print or online. Instead, they overwhelmingly got their news from TikTok.
Not surprising, therefore, that when the Emerson College pollsters asked what social media platforms people trust the most for news, TikTok sits near the top.
Further weakening the case for relying on social media for news was the finding that most people believe social media is responsible for “fake news” and disinformation.
Again, these findings reflect what I found in my class, which spent an entire three-hour lecture/discussion analyzing the quality of a well-crafted news story or opinion piece. Students came to the following conclusions. Such pieces in newspapers (in print or online) are better researched, more nuanced, and more thoughtful than what’s on social media.
However, when asked if they would change their news consumption habits, the answer was a resounding no.
Why Are People Going Social?
If the trust levels aren’t there for social media, then why are people flocking to it for information?
My class at UMW would suggest that the real issue is generational — a professor who was over 60; no student who was over 35, and most were in their early 20s or younger. Older people trust more-traditional news, younger people do not.
Again, the Emerson College Polling group tends to agree. But it’s more nuanced that young vs. old.
One would think, for example, that the emergence of AI in online news would be embraced by the young and rejected by the old. Well, sort of.
“Older and younger [emphasis added] Americans,” the poll finds, “are more likely to say AI-generated fact-checking services are not trustworthy, at 38% of respondents over the age of 60 and 35% of those under 25.”
By comparison, “More than half (53%) of respondents in their late 20s say the fact-checking services are trustworthy.”
Among all people polled, fully 41% said they are unsure about the trustworthiness of AI-generated fact-checking.
In short, the jury is out, and the youngest, newest adopters of AI aren’t convinced.
Another common misperception is that people who are on social media are engaging with so-called influencers (Seth Rogan, Rachael Maddow, and similar individuals). But the Emerson College poll finds this overstating things.
“Most social media users (61%) say they do not follow any influencers who discuss current events or news.”
Among those who do follow influencers, they share one trait — they tend to buy products suggested by social media — 70%, according to the survey. Among those who don’t follow influencers? 56% have not made a purchase based on social media suggestion.
It seems that we have a complicated relationship with our phones and the social apps that we load them up with. Trustworthiness as it relates to news and how it’s delivered is, apparently, less about age or political persuasion, and more about our connection to the larger world.
May the Silent Center Hold
What seems to be confounding us all is not the question of trustworthiness of news, per se.
Scanning the polling results, one could reasonably conclude that whether people trust news has less to do with how it’s delivered, and more to do with familiarity. The news source’s proximity to readers, or an established history covering news, are favored over overtly political sources or the Wild West that is social media.
That’s what makes this poll so intriguing. It runs against the grain of what we think we know. So why do we perceive the opposite to be true?
Perhaps its because we’re surrounded by noise — lots of it.
Those who have not fallen victim to it now make up a silent, but powerful, center.
And therein lies cause for hope.
A question that is being asked openly in both Democratic and Republican circles these days is this: “Can the reasonable center hold?”
If this polling is accurate, there is reason to believe the center is holding. Though the ground is shifting quickly, and will certainly continue to do so in the future, for now, we may not be as gullible when it comes to consuming news as many wish to believe.
The majority of us — a “silent center” — want information from sources that we trust. Whether it be someone in our community, or some organization with a long track record of trustworthiness.
And local news is the anchor.
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