As audiences have stepped away from traditional news outlets, they’ve embraced a news ecosystem driven by creators, platforms, video, and AI.

During the INMA Asia-Pacific News Media Summit, Amy Ross Arguedas — a senior research fellow at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and co-author of the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026 — explained that if 2026 feels different, it’s not your imagination.

“After several years of overall stability, 2026 proved to be very different.”

The data didn’t just show change; it accelerated. She outlined the key areas impacted by the shifts.

The social shift

The biggest shift is seen in discovery, as social and video platforms have officially overtaken television and news Web sites as the primary source of news. In some places, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, this happened years ago. But now the rest of the world has caught up.

“At the same time, we see some differences within the Asia-Pacific region,” Arguedas said. “In markets like Japan and Taiwan, television and news Web sites are still stronger than social and video networks. So again, it’s not 100% even in all of the markets.”

Even people in their 30s and 40s — once dependent on news apps and Web sites — now turn to social platforms for information. The pivot is no longer generational; it’s universal.

“What we’ve seen here is basically a growth across the board, across all age groups in terms of social media and video networks as the main source of news,” she said. “We see this growth happening across all age groups; it’s not only among young people.”

YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram have all experienced rapid growth, and WhatsApp is surging as well: “Globally, 20% say that they use TikTok for news, but we see higher levels in some of the Asian markets like Indonesia and Malaysia. Thailand is among the highest in the world, with 55% using TikTok for news in the past week. So it is really explosive growth.”

Surprisingly, Facebook is also riding this wave. Although it began to decline as a news source in 2016, that flattened last year, and this year it saw an uptick that is worth noting: “For now, it looks like things have turned around a little bit for Facebook in terms of being a source of news.”

Chatbots rise, trust declines

Arguedas also noted the rise of AI chatbots. Only 10% of people use them for news, but the growth is fast and concentrated in markets already accustomed to platform-led news.

At the same time, trust in news continued to decline, dropping to its lowest level since the report began. People feel increasingly sceptical of the information ecosystem, although trust in individual news brands remains stable. Even in countries with steep declines in overall trust, many outlets maintained or even grew their credibility.

Journalism, Arguedas said, “is not irrelevant.”

And even though creators and influencers are now part of the news habit for more than a quarter of global audiences, they’re viewed as less trustworthy and less knowledgeable. For now, they supplement rather than replace traditional outlets; only 3% of people say creators meet all their news needs.

Finally, when it comes to paying for news, most payments still go to traditional news organisations, but other sources — including digital-only outlets — are gaining traction. The most common reason people pay is to get information they can’t find elsewhere, but the second-most common motivation should encourage publishers everywhere: “To support journalism because they think it’s important to society.”

Banner photo: Adobe Stock by InfiniteFlow.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .