Research reveals online search engines have, for the first time, overtaken traditional media as the most trusted source for news and information, particularly among Millennials.
A global survey of 33,000 people by public relations firm Edelman found that the trust gap between traditional media and search engines is growing. The ‘2015 Edelman Trust Barometer’ found that 64% of Internet users now trust search engines the most, up from 63% last year, compared with 62% who trust traditional media the most (down from 65% last year). Among Millennials, 72% say they find online search engines a trustworthy source of general news and information, while only 64% feel the same way about traditional media.
In third place is hybrid media – a blend of traditional and digital – with 53% of Internet users saying they trust this format the most.
Even for business information, search engines have the edge, found the survey. Thirty-one percent of respondents said search engines were the most popular source of business information, up from 29% last year, while just 20% said newspapers, down 4% on last year.
“Today’s media landscape is vastly different compared to 15 years ago, when the Trust Barometer was first fielded,” says Tonia Ries on the Edelman blog. “For the first time in 2015, search engines are now the most trusted source for general news and information among the informed public, surpassing traditional media by two percentage points among the global informed public, and by eight percentage points among Millennials.”