Canadians’ Consumption and Trust of Traditional, Online and Social Media Sources Policy & Research, February 2018 Contents Canadians’ Consumption of Traditional, Online and Social Media Sources...................... 2 Canadians’ Sources of Information and News ..................................................................................................2 Canadians’ Overall Media Consumption Habits ................................................................................................4 Canadian and International Trust in Traditional, Online and Social Media Sources ......... 6 Canadian Studies ..................................................................................................................................................6 International Studies.............................................................................................................................................7 elections.ca Page 1 Canadians’ Consumption of Traditional, Online and Social Media Sources Canadians’ Sources of Information and News 1. Abacus Data (February 7, 2017). “Matters of Opinion 2017: 8 Things We Learned About Politics, The News, and The Internet”. In August 2016, Abacus Data conducted a survey on how Canadians use the internet to discuss and debate politics, get their news, and what role Facebook plays in news habits, opinions, and participation in public affairs and public policy. Findings and figures from the survey include: • “Social media’s status as a primary source of news and information for Canadians has more than doubled in two years. In fact, Facebook is closing in on television as the breaking news source for Canadians and is already the leading source among those under 45 years of age.” Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) – February 2018 Page 2 • More than half of Canadians (61%) check Facebook at least once a day. An additional 13% check at least once a week. 49% of those 60 and older check Facebook daily. That share increases for younger generations with 75% of 18 to 29-year-olds checking Facebook daily. • In contrast, 56% watch news on TV daily, 44% visit a news website daily, and 21% read a printed newspaper daily. 14% of Canadians check Twitter at least once a day. • While 40% of those aged 60 and over read a printed newspaper each day, that number falls to just 10% of those aged 18 to 29.” 2. Elections Canada (February 20, 2016). Survey of Electors Following the 42nd General Election. The 2015 Survey of Electors asked from which sources Canadian electors recalled hearing information about the nd 42 GE. Findings include: • “Traditional media (i.e., television, radio and newspaper) were the most common sources of information on the election. Television was the most frequently cited, with seventy-seven percent (77%) of respondents identifying it as a source of information.” • “The proportion of electors who recall hearing about the election from newspapers and television decreased from 2011 to 2015 (…) This may be the result of a shift in media consumption habits from traditional media to digital media.” • “The proportions of electors who recall hearing about the election from websites other than Elections Canada increased from thirteen percent (13%) in 2011 to seventeen percent (17%) in 2015. Furthermore, social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) now ranks fourth as the main source of information (20%).” • “Traditional media … were less likely to be cited as sources of information on the election by young adults aged 18 to 34 (66% television; 22% newspapers; 30% radio) compared with adults aged 35 and older (82% television; 47% newspapers; 46% radio). Alternatively, older adults were less likely to cite social media (16%, compared with 35% for young adults) or word of mouth (15%, compared with 33% for young adults) as a source of information.” Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) – February 2018 Page 3 3. Fournier, Patrick et al (2015). The 2015 Canadian Election Study. [dataset] The 2015 Canadian Election Study asked Canadian electors how many days in a week they consumed the news from various media sources, and how often they used social media. Results from the CES include: • 47% of respondents said they watch the news on TV every day, compared to 14% who said they never do; • 22% read the newspaper every day; 30% never do; • 36% read the news on the internet every day; 20% never do; • 38% use social media every day; 33% never do. Canadians’ Overall Media Consumption Habits 4. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (2017) Communications Monitoring Report 2017. This CRTC report surveys Canada’s communications industry as a whole, and provides information on specific markets including radio, television and broadcasting distribution markets, as well as Canada’s telecommunications sector including retail and wholesale Internet, wireline telephone, wireless, and data and private line services. The report shows: • Traditional TV viewing time remained relatively stable, decreasing by 0.6 hours from 2015 to 2016. Canadians (aged 2 and over) watched, on average, 26.6 hours of traditional television per week during the 2015-2016 broadcast year, compared to 27.2 hours in 2014-2015, and 28.2 hours in 2011-2012. • Internet TV viewing (watching or streaming television programs or clips over the Internet) continued to increase in 2016. Weekly users 18 years of age and older watched 6.4 hours of Internet TV on a weekly basis, compared to 1.5 hours in 2008. • In 2016, 10% of Canadians aged 18 and older exclusively watched TV online, up from 8% in 2015. • Canadians aged 12 and older listened to an average of 14.5 hour of radio per week, down from 15.6 hours per week in 2015. Canadians aged 65 and over listened to the most radio at 18 hours per week. • From 2015 to 2016, Canadians data consumption continued to grow and reached an average of 128.3 gigabytes (GB) transferred per month on their home Internet connection, and 1,225 megabytes (MB, around 1 GB) per month on their mobile phones, representing increases of 23.4% and 24.9%, respectively. 5. Gruzd, Jacobson, Mai, & Dubois. (2018). The State of Social Media in Canada 2017. Ryerson University Social Media Lab. DOI:10.5683/SP/AL8Z6R This report provides a snapshot of the social media usage trends and patterns amongst online Canadian adults based on an online survey of 1,500 participants conducted between June 1–July 15, 2017. Highlights include: • Facebook is the most popular social media platform in Canada; 84% of online Canadian adults report having a Facebook account, followed by YouTube (59%) and LinkedIn (46%)—See pp. 7–9. • Facebook also has the highest percentage of daily users (79%), followed by Instagram (61%) and Snapchat (60%)—See p. 6. • Facebook is the only social media platform where the oldest generation (55+) crosses the 50% adoption mark (75%)—See p. 7. Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) – February 2018 Page 4 • Young people aged 18–24 are the largest adopters of social media (except for LinkedIn and Pinterest)—See pp. 7–15. • Women have adopted most social media platforms in higher proportions than men (except for YouTube, LinkedIn, and Reddit)—See pp. 7–15. 6. Insights West (October 2017). 2017 Canadian Social Media Monitor. Insights West’s Canadian Social Media Monitor highlights key trends in the social media landscape for Canadian marketers. The 2017 study aimed to uncover trends in usage, momentum, demographics and interactions on social media platforms, by conducting two online surveys: the first in March 2016 of 1,048 Canadians, the second in July 2017 of 816 Canadians. The following shows change from 2016 to 2017 in how often Canadians used various social media platforms: Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) – February 2018 Page 5 Canadian and International Trust in Traditional, Online and Social Media Sources Canadian Studies 7. Nanos Research (February 21, 2017). “Fretting over fake news”, Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail reports the results of a poll of 1,000 Canadians conducted by Nanos Research on fake news and the impact of social media on the news. Findings reported in the story include: • 52% said they are worried about the rise of “fake news”; • 68% said social media has a negative or somewhat negative impact on the news; • 78% said social media can do harm to a person’s or an organization’s public image, compared to 59% who said TV and online news. 8. Abacus Data (April 29, 2017). “Canadian News Media and ‘Fake News’ Under a Microscope”; Abacus Data conducted on online survey with 1,500 Canadians in April 2017 to examine a range of questions about how Canadians see the media today and their exposure to “fake news”. Findings include: • “People are twice as likely to say the quality of journalism is declining (26%) as improving (13%). However, this is significantly affected by the views of Conservative voters, who are far more likely to say journalism is deteriorating (42%)” • “85% say they have been exposed to “fake news stories” including 47% who say “quite a few” stories. Most (57%) of those who’ve been exposed to fake news said they read the stories. Among those who read fake news stories half said their views were affected and they were misled.” • “On the question of media bias, 58% think “the news media generally favour one political party over another, with Conservative voters 15 points more likely to feel this way than Liberal voters (69% versus 54%). Millennials were also far more likely than average to perceive a bias, as are residents of Alberta.” 9. Environics Communications (April 2017) CanTrust Index 2017 Report. Environics Communications’ CanTrust Index surveyed 1,500 Canadians in January 2017 to measure and track Canadians’ trust in leaders, industries and information sources, in comparison to the 2016 CanTrust Index. Findings from the 21-page report highlights include: • “Editorial content, or stories in media like newspapers, TV, radio or online news sites, is the third most trusted source of information, with a trust score of 57%.” • “(While) preference for editorial content from newspapers, TV or radio as a source of information for current events remains high (at 62%), it has decreased from 69% in 2016. Word-of-mouth is growing in popularity as a preferred information source for news at 67% (compared to 58% in 2016).” • “When looking at preferences related to online news sources only, (…) search engines (…) ranked as the most preferred source of news about current events at 71% (even higher than word-of-mouth). The second most preferred online news source at 67% is websites of traditional news outlets such as CTV, CBC or the Globe and Mail – although this declined from 82% in 2016.” • “Only 27% of respondents indicate that they trust information shared by a company or organization on social media, but we see a different story when it comes to information shared on social by a friend or family Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) – February 2018 Page 6 member. Forty-two per cent of Canadians trust information shared on social media by friends or family members”. • “Significantly fewer respondents say that their Facebook news feed is their preferred information source (19% in 2017 versus 31% in 2016), with similar trends for Twitter and LinkedIn (both at 6% in 2017 from 10% in 2016). This suggests Canadians are skeptical about the information they receive on these social channels with the amplification of fake news and reviews, and are using their friends and family – trusted sources – as information vetters and filters.” International Studies 10. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2017). Digital News Report 2017. For its 2017 Digital News Report, the Reuters Institute conducted an online survey of 70,000 people in 36 countries, including 2,000 Canadians, to study online news consumption and trust in media in the world. Findings on Canada from the 136-page report include: “Canadians are concerned about unreliable information and fake news, especially since the US election campaign where such content was widely circulated (…) But their level of trust in the media remains relatively strong in comparison to other countries.” • 49% of Canadians tend to trust the news overall, compared to 57% who trust the news they use. Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) – February 2018 Page 7 11. Edelman (2018). 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer: Canada. The Edelman Trust Barometer is an annual global study which aims to calculate a Trust Index from the average of a country’s trust in the institutions of government, business, media and NGOs. The 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer was an online survey conducted in late 2017, of 33,000 respondents from 28 countries, 1,500 of whom were Canadian. Figures from the 27-page report on Canada include: Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) – February 2018 Page 8 Canadians Worried About Fake News as a Weapon Per cent who worry about false information or fake news being used as a weapon - 55-60 51-65 55-70 71-75 76-30 France Canada Italy Brazil Mexico Sweden Ireland Singapore India Argentina Nethetlaiids Japan 5. Africa Colombia Spain Germany AE Malaysia Indonesia S. Korea Australia Investigation into Russian meddling and in?uence in 2017 election Hona Kong China Poland Russia Tuiltey 65% in Canada worry about false information or fake news being used as a weapon Trust in Journalism Rebounds, but Trust in Social Media Remains Low Per cent trust in general news and information sources, 2012 to 2018, in Canada Pope criticizes spread of fake news Germany passes a law that tines social media companies for failing to delete fake news Singapore announces plans to introduce laws designed to fight fake news Fake news disrupts elections in South Africa I?l'l +10 Journalism -1 Average trust in traditional and online-orily media Trust in search engines Search Trust in social media 58\2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) February 2018 Page 9 12. Pew Research Center (January 11, 2018). “Publics Globally Want Unbiased News Coverage, but Are Divided on Whether Their News Media Deliver”. In its Spring 2017 Global Attitudes Study, the Pew Research Center conducted telephone and face-to-face interviews in 38 countries, including Canada, on how they get their news and for opinions on the quality of their news media. Findings from the 55-page report include: • 73% of Canadians say their news media are doing very/somewhat well at reporting political issues fairly, versus a median of 52% across the 38 countries; • 78% of Canadians say the media is doing well at reporting news accurately (versus a median of 62%) • 82% of Canadians say the media is doing well at reporting the most important news events (versus a median of 73%) Figures of interest from the report include the following on the next page. Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) – February 2018 Page 10 Getting news online dailylr more common in advanced economies than in emerging and developing ones How often do you use the internetto get news? Several limes a day Advanced South Korea Sweden Israel Netheriands Australia US. Canada Japan Poland UK Spain Frame 1 Germany.f Italy.f 1 Russia Hungary.f Greene MEDIAN Emerging-?Dem Vietnam Lebanon Turk-er.r Brazil areerrtina Venezuela Mexim [holornbia Peru Chile South Africa Ghana Nigeria Philippines Senegal Tunis'a Indonesia Kerry-a Jordan India Tanzania MEDIAN GLDBAL MEDIAN ixote: Peroentages based ontotal sample. Souroe: Spring 231? Global Attitudes Survey. 2559. 41 People in emerging, developing economies as likelv to use social media for news as those in advanced ones How often do you use social nemroritt'ng sites to get news? Several limes Once a a day day South Korea [Mada Australia Simian US. Spa in Israel Russia Frame UK Netherlands Italy Pul?nd Greene Hurts?rrf lEermany Japan MEDMN ii Lebanon arsentina Vietnam Turkey 1 Ghile 1 Brazil 1! Maxim Jurdan GC-l?mhi? Verve-Ewe Peru South Africa Philippines Ghana Kern-*6 Nigeria Tunisia Indonesia Senegal India Tanzania IE. GLDBAL MEDIAN hote: Peroentages based on total sample. Souroe: Spring 231? Global Attitudes Survey. 3T2. F'E'lr'rl' RESEARCH-I CENTER Prepared by Policy and Research (PPA) February 2018 Page 11