Reuters study: 44% of Indians are comfortable with AI-generated news

India leads the world when it comes to comfort with AI-generated news—44% of Indian respondents say they are okay with artificial intelligence delivering the headlines, far surpassing markets such as the UK where only 11% say the same. 

This insight comes from the Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2025, a comprehensive annual study that examines how news is consumed across 48 markets and six continents. The report sheds light on how global audiences are adapting to digital formats, shifting trust levels, and the growing role of social media and AI in shaping news habits.

Reuters was founded in 1851 by its namesake, Paul Julius Reuter, as a news agency in London. Over 174 years, the agency’s ability to report immediately and impartially has made it a primary source of news for media outlets worldwide. With an extensive global network of 2,500 journalists and 600 photo-journalists in about 200 locations globally, reporting in 16 languages, Reuters has firmly established itself in the journalism ecosystem.

The Reuters 2025 Digital News Report is a qualitative survey conducted across India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, United States of America, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

India-specific findings in the report

AI Adoption and Comfort: India stands out globally with a 44% comfort level with AI-generated news, significantly higher than the UK's 11%. Consequently, almost a fifth (18%) of Indians use AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Gemini every week for news, a much higher rate than the UK's mere 3%.

Mobile News Consumption: Mobile notifications from AI-driven aggregators are a primary source of breaking news in India, typical of mobile-majority countries, which also includes Kenya. By contrast, BBC News still dominates notifications (reaching 46% of alert recipients, equivalent to 4 million people) in the UK. However, a significant 79% of consumers globally disable alerts due to overload or irrelevance.

YouTube's Influence: YouTube content for news in India has "exploded," featuring a diverse range of prominent creators. Ravish Kumar (12 million followers) provides political commentary, and Dhruv Rathee (25 million followers) creates educational videos on socio-political issues. The Deshbhakt (5.5 million followers) offers satirical takes on Indian politics while Ranveer Allahbadia (BeerBiceps) covers lifestyle and is noted as part of the "Indian manosphere".

Key findings around the world

Traditionally, during times of geopolitical and economic turmoil, “evidence-based and analytical journalism should be thriving with newspapers flying off shelves, broadcast media and web traffic booming”, according to the report. 

However, that is not the case. People are instead now choosing to consume news from social media platforms, podcasters, YouTubers, and TikTokers while traditional news media like TV, print, and news websites struggle with declining patronage. This shift is particularly profound in the USA.

While 11% of Austrians still start their day with a printed newspaper, most are over the age of 45. Mainly, people over the age of 55 drive engagement with legacy formats such as TV, radio, and print; younger generations are "smartphone-first".

Public personalities and influencers are shaping the narrative instead of news agencies, particularly in the USA and Thailand.

News is no longer consumed only on a few big platforms; people are now getting their news from a wider variety of online channels with Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) leading, followed by Instagram (19%), WhatsApp (19%), TikTok (16%), and X (12%) for weekly news content.

On the subject of social media platforms disseminating news, X (formerly Twitter) has seen an uptick in usage for news consumption, with the biggest increment in the United States (+8 points), Australia (+6), and Poland (+6). After Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022, “more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently”. However, rival platforms like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon are barely in the competition, with a reach of 2% or less for news.

People are consuming more videos on social media, and video consumption of any kind has gone up from 67% to 75%. In the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, and India, more people now say they “prefer to watch the news rather than read it”.

Younger and better-educated people are also consuming news on podcasts that they access either on YouTube or TikTok, especially in the USA. While podcast consumption for news has also increased in northern Europe, these podcasts are being made in the original audio-only format by public broadcasters or big legacy media companies.

Along with being the fastest-growing social-video platform, TikTok also grew by 4 points as a source of news, especially in Thailand (49%) and Malaysia (40%). However, people in the same markets also see it as a major source of false or misleading information, along with Facebook.

While Facebook and TikTok are seen as the biggest threats for spreading misleading information in the world, X is also a concern in countries such as Germany, Ireland, and the UK. Messaging apps like WhatsApp are less concerning, except in India.

More than half of the Reuters surveyed population (58%) say they cannot confidently distinguish between authentic news and fake news online. Africa (73%) and the United States (73%) see maximum mistrust in online news, with the lowest levels seen in Western Europe (46%).

Influencers (47%) and national politicians (47%) are considered to be the biggest sources of misinformation or false news. People are more skeptical of influencers in Nigeria (58%) and Kenya (59%) while politicians are considered a bigger threat in the United States (57%), Spain (57%), and Eastern Europe including Serbia (59%), Slovakia (56%), and Hungary (54%).

Despite such scepticism around the globe, the public is divided on how much news should be censored online by social media companies. UK and Germany think more news should be taken down if it is harmful but the USA is divided on the matter, with the right-wing believing there is too much censorship already. The USA left-wing disagrees.

AI chatbots and interfaces are being used for news consumption as search engines integrate real-time updates. While only 7% of people overall use them for news weekly, this number jumps to 15% among those under 25. 

The respondents are divided on the topic of using AI to personalise news content. Some fear missing out on important news stories and only getting a summary, while others think AI will make news more accessible with summaries, translations, recommendations and the provision to ask questions to AI chatbots.

Most people remain sceptical about AI disseminating news and prefer human involvement. While some believe AI will make news cheaper and more up-to-date, a few also expect AI to make news less transparent, less accurate and less trustworthy.

The rise of AI in news and the consequent mistrust in its usage may point towards a surprising increase in the value of human-generated news. 

When checking information, people primarily turn to trusted news outlets (38%), official sources (35%), and fact-checkers (25%), rather than social media (14%). However, younger users are more likely to check social media and AI chatbots.

Independent public media houses such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News in the UK, Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ARD) in Germany, and Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) in Japan are the go-to for checking information, though politically aligned brands such as Cable News Network (CNN) and Fox News are often used in the USA.

Another silver lining for news agencies across the world is that people’s trust in news has remained stable at 40% for three years in a row, just 4 points lower than its peak during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital subscriptions for news, however, are still struggling. Only 18% people even across 20 richer countries, pay for online news, while the rest consume only free news online. Norway (42%), Sweden (31%), Australia (22%) and the USA (20%) are the top payers. In comparison, only 7% pay for online news in Greece and Serbia, with just 6% paying in Croatia.

When it comes to how people prefer consuming their news online, 55% still prefer text (written) news, while 31% and 15% prefer to watch or listen to the news, respectively. Younger respondents (between 18-24) prefer watching or listening instead of reading. Online video consumption has surged in the last two years (the USA went from 55% in 2021 to 72% today), with most video news accessed via third-party platforms (61%) rather than news websites (29%).

40% of respondents across markets say they sometimes or often avoid the news, which is up from 29% in 2017.

Highest avoidance is seen in Bulgaria (63%), Turkey (61%), Croatia (61%), and Greece (60%). Whereas the lowest avoidance was recorded in Nordic countries, Taiwan (21%), and Japan (11%).

Many avoid the news because it feels overwhelming, depressing, and irrelevant, often leading to feelings of powerlessness or toxic arguments. Younger audiences, in particular, also find it difficult to follow or understand the news.

Local news outlets are struggling because people now favour digital platforms like apps for everyday local news like events and transport. While traditional media still covers local politics and crime, they've lost ground on other community needs.

According to the public feedback in the survey, the media houses can boost trust by prioritising impartiality, giving balanced evidence, ensuring accuracy through rigorous fact-checking, avoiding speculation, enhancing transparency by disclosing sources and clearly labelling content. Additionally, they need to focus on better reporting, investigating powerful figures and providing in-depth stories instead of chasing clicks.