Singaporeans Trust the News More Than Most
In the 2026 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, 46 percent of people in Singapore said they trust most news most of the time, well above the global average of 37 percent.
Topics: society and culture, politics
Example
What happened: The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026, published on 16 June 2026, found that 46 percent of people surveyed in Singapore trust most news most of the time, up from 45 percent in 2025 and above the global average of 37 percent. CNA (78 percent) and The Straits Times (77 percent) were the most trusted brands. 59 percent used social media for news and 11 percent used AI chatbots for news.
Use it for: trust in mainstream news can stay relatively high even as people get more of their news from social media, so the rise of new media does not automatically destroy trust in traditional media.
Why it matters: Singaporeans meet much of their news on social media, but they still rate established brands like CNA and The Straits Times far above alternative sites, which suggests they separate where they find news from whom they believe.
Limit: Fewer than half still trust most news, and a survey of stated trust cannot show whether people actually check sources; some critics also link high trust in mainstream outlets to their close ties with the state rather than to their quality alone.
Key facts
- In the Digital News Report 2026, 46 percent of Singapore respondents said they trust most news most of the time, against a global average of 37 percent.
- Singapore's overall trust in news was 45 percent in the 2025 report.
- CNA (78 percent) and The Straits Times (77 percent) were the most trusted news brands in Singapore in 2026; The Online Citizen scored 41 percent.
How to use this example in a GP essay
How far do people in your society trust the news media?
Claim
trust in mainstream news can stay relatively high even as people get more of their news from social media, so the rise of new media does not automatically destroy trust in traditional media
How the evidence supports it
Singaporeans meet much of their news on social media, but they still rate established brands like CNA and The Straits Times far above alternative sites, which suggests they separate where they find news from whom they believe
Limitation
Fewer than half still trust most news, and a survey of stated trust cannot show whether people actually check sources; some critics also link high trust in mainstream outlets to their close ties with the state rather than to their quality alone.
Relevance
It gives a "your society" media essay a current, dated figure with an international comparison, and a clear contrast between mainstream and alternative outlets.
Limitations
- Fewer than half still trust most news, and a survey of stated trust cannot show whether people actually check sources; some critics also link high trust in mainstream outlets to their close ties with the state rather than to their quality alone.
Evaluations
society and culture evaluation
Support
Most Singaporeans get news on social media yet still trust CNA and The Straits Times far more than alternative sites, which shows that platforms change the route to news more than the choice of whom to believe.
Counterargument
Trust at 46 percent still means most people do not trust most news, so "high trust" is only high compared with countries where trust has collapsed.
Rebuttal
The useful comparison is with other societies under the same pressures from social media; against a 37 percent global average, Singapore has held trust better than most.
Additional support
One in nine respondents already used AI chatbots for news in 2026, a new route to news that bypasses news brands altogether and may test that trust in coming years.
politics evaluation
Support
Trust in mainstream outlets gives a government a shared set of facts to work from in a crisis, which matters most in a crisis such as a pandemic, when public health messages must be believed quickly.
Counterargument
Singapore's main outlets receive public funding or are state-linked, so high trust may partly reflect deference to authority rather than confidence in independent journalism.
Rebuttal
Trust and independence are separate questions: the survey shows audiences find these outlets reliable on facts, while debates on press freedom concern which stories are covered and how critically.
Additional support
The Online Citizen, a critical alternative site, scored 41 percent trust, far below mainstream brands, which shows how differently audiences rate outlets with different relationships to the state.
Sources
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2026-06-16): Digital News Report 2026: Singapore
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2025-06-17): Digital News Report 2025