Trust in news among Filipinos drop in 2026 — Reuters report

Trust in news in the Philippines dropped significantly by 10 percentage points (pp) in 2026, making it the country with the biggest decline out of 48 markets, the latest Reuters Digital News Report showed.

The Reuters report noted that the Philippines led 28 other markets that recorded a dip in trust in news rating this year, citing various factors such as political instability as well as attacks on news outlets.

“In countries with some of the biggest drops in trust such as the Philippines, Thailand, Peru, and Poland, recent events point to a likely sense of deterioration in the broader information environment. Political instability, divisive elections, and a noisier and more fragmented information environment seem to be shared characteristics of markets where trust in news has fallen most,” the report said.

“Some of the reductions are almost certainly a consequence of direct attacks on news outlets and individual journalists, with a cumulative effect of undermining confidence in journalism overall,” it added.

The report pointed out that “increasing concerns about the information environment overall are more likely this year to explain the fall in trust.”

“Looking at the five countries where trust in news fell the most this year, the reductions in overall trust are much larger than change in trust ratings for any individual news brand,” it said.

The percentage of people globally saying they trust news overall dropped to 37%, the lowest figure since trust was measured in 2015, said Reuters.

The report further suggested that audience concerns are less about individual news brands and more about the trustworthiness of the news media sector generally. With that, 26 markets surveyed said that media owners and politicians, both at 70%, have significant influence on news coverage.

“Unsurprisingly, politicians and government officials are the group most thought to have influence on the news, but the owners of news media companies themselves are also considered to have a significant bearing on news output,” it said.

Respondents also believe that advertisers (59%), experts (57%), activists/advocacy groups (50%), and criminal groups (44%) have an impact on the news. — BAP, GMA News