Trust in news in Turkey remains at 35 pct

Trust in the news in Turkey remained at 35 percent in 2024, with many pro-government news organizations and the state broadcaster TRT among the most distrusted sources, according to the Reuters Instıtute’s report.

Monday June 17 2024 01:34 pm

Duvar English

Trust in news sources in Turkey remained unchanged compared to last year with 35 percent, according to the 2024 Digital News Report prepared by the Reuters Institute.

The report highlighted the state of the media in Turkey by emphasizing the 2023 general elections. It noted the disproportionate airtime given to government officials by pro-government media outlets and the state broadcaster TRT during the election period.

In the survey organized with 2,082 people from Turkey, the pro-government news outlet A Haber became the most distrusted media outlet in the country with 48 percent not-trusted score. It was followed by other pro-government outlets ATV with 45 percent, Sabah with 40 percent, and TRT with 37 percent.

NOW TV News (formerly Fox) became the most trusted outlet with 60 percent trust score, followed by Cumhuriyet with 54 percent, Sözcü with 53 percent, and Halkt TV with 52 percent.

The report stated, “most brands that still carry critical voices of the government have seen a slight increase in their trust scores this year.”

The emergence of independent news sources such as those run by journalists on platforms like YouTube also mentioned in the report with an emphasize on “Disinformation Law” that have been used to target these alternative sources.

Nonetheless, television continued to be the most dominant news medium in Turkey, alongside the online platforms of major national publishers. NOW TV News, Sözcü, CNN Türk, Show TV, and Habertürk TV was the top brands by weekly usage on television.

Now TV News online, Sondakika.com, Sözcü online, Habertürk online, CNN Türk online dominated the online news platforms.

In contrast, the reach of printed newspapers has significantly diminished, with weekly readership now less than half of what it was in 2015.