SBS has been named the most trusted news brand in Australia by the University of Canberra and Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s annual global Digital News Report 2024.

The Digital News Report offers a comparative analysis of media usage across 47 countries, including Australia. The University of Canberra conducts the Australian segment of this global report, which delves into Australians’ perspectives on news and journalism.

The recent findings also highlight a troubling decline in trust, and a surge in misinformation within the news and social media landscapes.

‘As SBS prepares to move into our 50^th year, this report is a strong validation of the work our teams do across all news platforms to provide accurate, impartial and trustworthy news and information to all Australians,’ said SBS News Director Mandi Wicks.

‘With more people consuming their news through social media platforms, the presence of trusted brands in that space is more crucial than ever.’

Beyond SBS World News’ nightly TV bulletins and extensive digital content, SBS Audio reaches millions of Australians with multilingual services across radio and digital platforms, offering content in over 60 languages.

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Acting Director of SBS Audio Pamela Cook emphasized the company’s commitment to trust, noting, ‘Our producers serve communities in more than 60 languages, and that is enabled because of the deep connections and trust we’ve built and nurtured, which often means we tell the stories that others don’t or can’t.’

The Digital News Report noted that audience concern over misinformation rose from 64% in 2022 to 75% in 2024, and that audiences are reporting greater difficulty in identifying untrustworthy information.

‘Trust in news has been declining during the past few years, news avoidance has been increasing, and misinformation and disinformation pervade our social feeds and threaten to undermine our democratic way of life,’ Wicks wrote in the report.

‘Newsrooms grappled with this during the Voice Referendum in 2023, and similar challenges are expected in 2024 as AI has the potential to influence domestic and geopolitical issues, with more than 60 countries and nearly half the world’s population going to the polls.’