Most Cypriots get news from social media — Cyprus Mail
Most residents of Cyprus get their news from social media, and its use in the country continues to grow. This is evidenced by a study by the Cyprus Union of Journalists published on September 8, Cyprus Mail reports.
The study consisted of two parts: a survey of 1,000 media users and a smaller-scale survey of journalists. Comparing data from different periods showed a steady increase in social media use alongside a relative decline in television use.
Social media outpaces other sources
According to the union's findings, people most often get news from social media, which is the clear leader, as well as from television and web portals. Overall, the most commonly used types of media are social media, web portals, television and radio.
At the same time, respondents rated television and radio highest in terms of the combined indicators of objectivity, reliability and quality. Survey data also showed that 49% of Cypriots do not trust the media, while 40% expressed trust in them.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Distrust and disinformation
The prevalence of fake news in Cyprus was rated as “very high” by 61% of respondents. Disinformation was most often associated with social media — 73% — as well as online portals — 42%.
Another 86% of respondents believe that public opinion is manipulated in the context of investigations into scandals, primarily by the government, political parties and media owners. Among those whom respondents consider responsible for such manipulation, 75% named state bodies, 67% media owners, and 39% journalists.
Almost half of respondents — 49% — also do not believe that Cypriot journalists have freedom of speech. The Cyprus Union of Journalists called the results of the survey of media workers particularly alarming: only one in four journalists wants to work in the profession for life, and the number of those who consider working conditions worse than they expected before starting their careers is growing every year.
