Nearly half of Uruguayans trust established media brands despite information overload, study finds
Social Media Leads News Consumption, but Audiences Choose More Cautiously.
A study by the Communication Research Center at the School of Communication of the University of ORT Uruguay revealed the tensions within the country’s information ecosystem. Social media concentrates news consumption but not trust, while traditional media maintain the highest levels of credibility. At the same time, news avoidance affects nearly half of the population, and distrust toward artificial intelligence is growing.
Traditional media in Uruguay continue to maintain high levels of public trust. This was highlighted in the report “Trust in the Media and News Avoidance in Uruguay,” prepared by the Communication Research Center of the School of Communication at ORT University Uruguay. The study showed that nearly 50% of the population trusts information coming from traditional or branded media outlets, a figure that exceeds the international average.
In an interview with CRÓNICAS, Francisco Arri, researcher and lecturer at ORT, explained that this level of trust “is clearly linked to a seal of credibility” and also to “a highly consolidated institutional system.” Although he clarified that the survey does not identify specific causes, he argued that this strength “speaks well of Uruguay” and its democratic framework.
The Journalist’s Reputation as a Core Asset
One of the report’s key findings was that trust is built primarily on the professional capital of journalists. For 49% of respondents, a journalist’s reputation was the main criterion for believing a news story, even above the media brand itself.
According to Arri, this finding reflects the social value placed on the profession. “A journalist’s reputation is built on credibility, experience, and transparency,” he emphasized. From an academic perspective, he added, the result confirms the importance of their educational approach, which focuses on training “high-quality professionals.”
The researcher stressed that reputation is not pursued as an end in itself, but rather as a consequence of rigorous professional practice. “It’s not that we seek reputation, but we do seek for that reputation to be built on ethical and critical journalism,” he stated.
Between Consumption and Credibility
The study also revealed a paradox in current news consumption. While social media serves as the main gateway to news—with nearly 70% usage—only 22% of the population said they trust the information circulating on those platforms. “Entering the information ecosystem is one thing; trusting it is something entirely different,” he explained.
When discussing credibility, other factors come into play: “We’re talking about reputation, context, source citation, and established track records.” In this regard, he maintained that professional media continue to play a central role in an environment dominated by algorithms and the rapid circulation of content.
Between Information Overload and Trust
The report also showed that news avoidance has become widespread in Uruguay. Nearly 45% of the population admitted to frequently or regularly avoiding news, while only 12% said they never do so.
Arri linked this behavior to the emotional burden of certain content and to the information experience during the pandemic. “There was a kind of informational monotony, with news that generated sadness and anxiety, and people didn’t know what they could do about it,” he explained.
Rather than interpreting this as disinterest, he described it as an active audience strategy. “Audiences have strategies for informing themselves—or for not informing themselves—and they are generally active strategies,” he said, associating such behaviors with the need to regulate exposure to emotionally or informationally overwhelming content.
The study reinforced this interpretation by showing that nearly six out of ten people tried to verify a news story when they doubted its accuracy, turning to other sources or professional media. For the expert, these findings reflect a critical citizenry that does not consume information passively.
In a context marked by misinformation and the rise of artificial intelligence—factors that generated distrust among more than half of respondents—the challenge for journalism remains unchanged. “The recipe is the same as it was 60 years ago: do good journalism, check sources, verify facts, and reveal what someone wants to keep hidden,” he said.
“We Must Think of Critical Audiences”
Beyond the statistics, the report raised a deeper debate about the relationship between communication, citizenship, and democracy. For Arri, one of the main risks is continuing to think of audiences as passive. “We must think of critical audiences—audiences that are constantly in motion,” he warned.
In this context, he emphasized the importance of media literacy and communication education. “Education in media, platforms, and social networks enables the construction of citizenship and strengthens democracy,” he stated. Faced with information overload, emotional fatigue, and competition from entertainment formats, professional journalism maintains, according to the researcher, an irreplaceable social function: providing verified, contextualized, and socially relevant information.
Source: cronicas
Author: Redacción