Tuesday, 23 January 2018

We dont really trust the internet

A survey (admittedly carried out for a national newspaper) shows that most French people distrust the internet as a reliable news source. Apparently young people are more likely to be sceptical, and almost half of over 65s had no opinion.
Radio is thought to be the most reliable, followed by printed media and TV. Overall nearly 75% of readers thought the French newspapers covered the Macron presidential election fairly. Conversely there is less trust in journalists than in the media. Of course thinking a report or outlet is "unbiased" is rather coloured by our tendency to choose the media that agrees with our point of view - Le Figaro if you are right leaning, Le Monde if you prefer left (substitute Telegraph and Guardian for British readers).
Sadly the social media such as Facebook and Twitter have become so tainted with "fake news" and totally biased reporting that a very large dose of salt should be taken with stories "shared" by followers and a majority of French users prefer the items posted by mainstream news providers.
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