Filipinos’ trust in news falls to 28% – report

MANILA, Philippines — Trust in news has significantly dropped among Filipinos this year, marking the steepest decline among countries covered in the annual Digital News Report (DNR) of the Reuters Institute.

The report showed that trust in news in the Philippines dropped to just 28 percent this year, 10 points lower than last year’s 38 percent.

It was the biggest drop among the 48 countries covered in this year’s report.

“The fall pulled the Philippines below the global average of 37 percent, itself the lowest level since the DNR began tracking trust in news in 2015,” said journalism professor Yvonne Chua, who wrote the profile on the Philippines.

“It erased recent gains: trust stood at 27 percent in 2020, rose to 38 percent in 2025, then dropped back to 28 percent this year,” it added.

Like in previous years, social media remained the dominant source of news in the Philippines.

Eighty-five percent of the respondents said they use online platforms such as websites, applications, social and video networks, news podcasts and artificial intelligence platforms as news sources, while another 70 percent specifically cited social media platforms.

Filipinos who identified television as a source of news dropped from 46 percent to 42 percent, while newspaper readers dropped from 13 percent to 10 percent.

“Fewer Filipinos now access news directly via TV, radio or websites, while social media use remains stable, suggesting that more people encounter journalism through platform feeds shaped by polarization, political messaging and disinformation,” wrote Chua.

Facebook remains the most popular social media platform, with usage for news among Filipinos increasing by seven points to 72 percent.

It was followed by YouTube (48 percent, down two points), Facebook Messenger (33 percent, up six points), TikTok (33 percent, up four points), Instagram (15 percent, up one point) and X (nine percent, down two points).

According to the report, the decline in trust globally may be attributed to “political instability, divisive elections,” “a noisier and more fragmented information environment” and direct attacks on news outlets and journalists.

“The Philippines fits most of those conditions. From the Duterte years to the Marcos administration, its public sphere has been marked by political polarization, disinformation, especially during elections, alongside red-tagging, lawfare, online harassment, media criticism and killing of journalists,” wrote Chua.

“These pressures now collide with a platform-driven environment where professional reporting competes with partisan and influencer-driven content,” she added.