REUTERS INSTITUTE DIGITAL NEWS REPORT, 2025 

The Asian College of Journalism collaborated with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), on the Digital News Report, 2025. The 14th edition of the report released on June 17, 2025 (Tuesday) features India for the fifth successive year.

This year’s report looks at, among other topics, the rapid shift in news consumption from traditional news sources to social media and video-led platforms, and the rise of an alternative media environment that includes content creators such as YouTubers. The report also looks at the role of AI to access information, in newsrooms, and concerns over misinformation, along with news consumption habits of consumers across 48 markets. 

The Asian College of Journalism provided support in identifying news brands and other specific details relevant for the Indian market in the survey questionnaire, verifying Hindi translation of the questionnaire, and contextualising the main findings for India in its country profile.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF FINDINGS: INDIA

In India, access to news is popular through online sources with 76% of the survey respondents noting they access news from news websites, apps, and social/video networks among others. Among social media platforms, YouTube continues to be popular for accessing news, with 55% of our respondents using it. It also emphasises the reach of video-based platforms for news. WhatsApp (46%), Instagram (37%), and Facebook (36%) are the other popular social media platforms for news. 

Overall trust in news increased slightly to 43% (41% in 2024) among our respondents, and remains largely stable across the years. India ranked 17th among the 48 countries in the survey. Nigeria and Finland have the highest levels of trust in news (68% and 67% respectively), while Greece and Hungary have the lowest levels of trust (22% each) in the survey. 

Around 44% of our survey respondents share news online (via social media, messaging, or email). Legacy media such as newspapers and public broadcasters retain high levels of trust among our respondents in India. 

The respondents for India are mainly English-speaking, online news users - a small portion of a diverse and vibrant media market in the country. Therefore, the findings should not be taken to be nationally representative.

For more details, read the full report here.
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2025