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A large majority of users in the UAE and Saudi Arabia consume news via social media, but only a fraction of them trust this as a news source, a report said on Tuesday.
Not only that, just under half believed there was still an element of truth, or indicated not trusting the person/brand going forward even though the story had been proved false, the report added.
The findings are part of data collected online by YouGov Omnibus from 2,022 respondents in GCC countries between September 24 and October 1, 2018.
In surveying respondents across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, it was found that nearly 80 per cent of respondents claimed to be keeping themselves up to date with news via social media channels, with over a third of the population believing it delivers stories in a short and timely summary.
Half of the people consume news more traditionally through newspapers and news sites, with just under a third of all respondents feeling these traditional sources provide a more in-depth, long form of reporting.
Most of the people stated international and national news as the most significant news pieces to them, and 53 per cent also indicated their interest in current affairs. However, there are more specific areas of interest across the different genders. While men are more interested in tech news, women are more inclined towards news about health & education.
Taking into account how people are consuming and sharing news, it is interesting to see that while the majority of people get their news from social media, only 14 per cent trust the news from their social feeds. Although 42 per cent clearly display more resounding trust among traditional news outlets, the balance changes across the generations. Those aged 40+ place the least trust in social media sites, in comparison to the younger generation, between 18-24 years of age, who feel this towards more traditional news sources.
The majority of people (86 per cent) identify the power of the media in general perception, with the same proportion of people voicing concern as to whether what they are reading is factual or fake.
Seventy-eight per cent of respondents stated knowing what fake news is and believe it is predominately used through online means to confuse people (51 per cent) or advance a specific agenda (47 per cent), or in the case of traditional news outlets to sensationalise a subject (45 per cent).
One-third respondents overall are unsure of identifying fake news
More than half (55 per cent) claimed to be able to know when they are reading fake news, with a lesser number of females (49 per cent) being able to identify this when compared to males (58 per cent).
After finding out about fake news, just under half (46 per cent) believe there is still an element of truth or indicated not trusting the person/brand going forward even though the story has been proved false.
Kerry McLaren, head of Omnibus, MENA, said, "I feel there are a number of contradictions present with respondents when looking into how they consume and relate to news. In today's society everyone is looking for the quicker ways to digest information which is why more recent sources such as social media have become such a popular way to keep up to date with the world. Although social media provides a solution, there are clear flaws taking into account the low percentages of those who trust it as a valuable source of news."
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