Research says that 8 of 10 Pinoys rely on Facebook for news

The Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) discovered from a study that 79 percent of Filipinos said they often get their news from their Facebook feed.

File photo: Facebook

The authors of this research are encouraging the public to actively seek news stories from diverse and credible news sources, especially this election season...

The survey was conducted in cooperation with Rakuten Insight, a Singapore-based independent research firm. The team also had researchers from the University of the Philippines. 

Ateneo School of Government asked 2,000 respondents through an online survey last Oct. 27 to Nov. 12, 2021. The 2,000 respondents were chosen using random sampling among 315,000 individuals who took part in a survey using Rakuten Insight’s online panel. The sample distribution was based on the 2015 national census.

Based on the results, said 79 percent of Filipinos often get their news from random feeds on the social network. Television was their second source of news at 66 percent. This was followed by YouTube at 57 percent and other news websites at 54 percent.

According to the Project Research Manager and Ateneo Communication Research professor Ma. Rosel San Pascual, most respondents indicated multiple sources of news and that the results do not "necessarily mean that Facebook is their only source of news". 

The results also showed that two in every three respondents or about 71 percent said that they pay attention to posts about government and politics on their Facebook feed.

The study also noted that those who do not rely solely on their Facebook feed for political information perceive that they have a better understanding of politics and are more confident in participating in political discussions, compared to those who were reliant on their Facebook feed for news and information about politics.

The study also found that individuals who rely on random news exposure on Facebook are more cynical about politics than those who are not Facebook-reliant for news.

Despite actively consuming news from Facebook, the majority of respondents said that they still trust legacy or traditional media when it comes to providing accurate information about politics and political personalities.

San Pascual also explained the importance of reading the entire story or watching the full video. She added,

Being properly informed will give you that feeling of empowerment, that reinforcement that you actually have the capacity to create the change that you want. Not just when you cast your vote on your ballot, but in the everyday practice of being involved in political affairs.

The authors of this research are encouraging the public to actively seek news stories from diverse and credible news sources, especially this election season. They also emphasized the need to always check the credibility of the source of news stories, as well as to fact-check the information that they see online.

Source: Business Mirror