Concerns That 'YouTube Is Fake News'... Highest in Korea

Provided by Reuters Journalism Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Among the people of South Korea, the proportion who view YouTube as a hotbed of fake news exceeds 30%. This contrasts with a global survey where only about 6% expressed concern over fake news on YouTube. This indicates that the YouTube issue in South Korea is particularly severe, highlighting the urgent need for countermeasures.

According to the 'Digital News Report 2020' by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in the UK on the 17th, a survey conducted across 40 countries worldwide on the 'online platforms most concerning for fake and false information' showed that in South Korea, YouTube ranked first at 31%. Following were Facebook (10%), messengers such as KakaoTalk (7%), and Twitter (4%). Across all surveyed countries, the highest concern for fake and false information was for Facebook at 29%, followed by various messengers (14%), search engines like Google (10%), and YouTube (6%).

(Source: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, UK 'Digital News Report 2020')

Among domestic users, the proportion accessing news via YouTube was overwhelming. Those who responded that they access news through YouTube accounted for 45% of the total, an increase of 7% compared to last year. Following YouTube were KakaoTalk (27%), Facebook (19%), Instagram (9%), KakaoStory (8%), and Twitter (6%). In terms of platform usage beyond news, YouTube was dominant at 72%. KakaoTalk (73%), Facebook (43%), Instagram (38%), KakaoStory (26%), and Twitter (17%) followed.

Regarding news access media, the share of print media decreased while online and SNS shares increased significantly. The channels through which domestic users access news were online (83%), TV (63%), SNS (44%), and print media (18%). Compared to 2016, the rate of change was significant. The proportion of domestic respondents accessing news via SNS rose sharply from 32% in 2016 to 44% in 2020. During the same period, TV decreased from 67% to 63%, and print media from 19% to 18%.

The report analyzed, "Viewership of traditional TV news has begun to decline, partly due to intensified competition with online videos," and added, "As YouTube is increasingly used for news, overall SNS usage has also risen." This survey was conducted online from late January to early February this year, targeting 2,304 domestic news users.