June 8, 2017

Tomorrow’s News 2017 survey finds fake news can damage brands as well as media organizations, but brands which partner with trusted news brands can benefit

New York - Reuters, the world’s largest international multimedia news provider, today announced the findings of the Tomorrow’s News 2017 survey, which show that – in the year the media became the headline – while fake news can be damaging for both news brands and advertisers, brands which advertise on trusted news sites can benefit.

Tomorrow’s News 2017, a global survey conducted in April and May 2017 among 1,711 Reuters.com users, found that advertising on trusted news sites can help build awareness, influence perception and ultimately create a positive response to advertising.

This is the second year that Reuters has conducted the Tomorrow’s News survey and the findings show that news consumers are becoming increasingly savvy and more wary of sensationalism, and they are more likely to fact check their news with other providers.

The survey findings include:

  • 83% tend to trust well-known news brands and always check the accuracy of shared news from other sources (up 6% on 2016).
  • Trustworthy content is the number one factor that makes online news brands appealing (57% agreed).
  • 87% agree that it is damaging for a brand to advertise on a news site associated with a fake news story.
  • 54% believe they are more likely to notice an advertiser if it appears on a trusted news site.
  • 57% agree that they have a more favourable opinion of a brand if it advertises on a trusted news site (rising to 60% among those in director level positions).
  • 54% believe they are more likely to respond to an advert if it appears on a trusted news site.  
  • 74% strongly agree they often turn to news brands they trust to verify the source of a breaking story (up 8% on 2016).

The findings will be debated at panel discussions in New York and London on June 8th and 14th, where industry experts will discuss the changing news landscape portrayed by the survey findings and what the future holds for the media industry. Panellists at the events are set out below:

New York, June 8th (Moderated by Axel Threlfall, Reuters Editor-at-Large)

  • Edward Roussel – Chief Innovation Officer, The Wall Street Journal & Dow Jones
  • Brian Braiker – Editor of Advertising Age
  • Cory Haik – Publisher of Mic
  • Christopher Graves – President of Ogilvy Center for Behavioral Science.

London, June 14th (Moderated by John Pullman, Reuters Global Head of Video and Pictures)

  • Ben de Pear – Editor of Channel 4 News
  • Madhav Chinnappa – Director of Strategic Relations for News and Publishers at Google
  • Maisie McCabe – Deputy Editor of Campaign
  • Nic Newman – Research Associate at Reuters Institute.

During the event, Reuters will also be unveiling Reuters Plus, it’s award-winning full-service custom content studio that builds on 165 years of Reuters expertise and news infrastructure to deliver world-class content to brands and agencies.

Notes to editors

Journalists are welcome to attend the events, which will take place at:

  • The Andaz Hotel, 485 5th Avenue, New York on June 8th 
  • One Marylebone, One Marylebone Road, London, NW1 4AQ on June 14th 

Both events will start at 6.30pm, with the panel discussion at 7pm and a drinks reception from 8pm.

Follow the event on Twitter using the hashag #tomorrowsnews

Reuters

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Follow news about Reuters at @ReutersPR.