More than half of French people do not trust the media on current affairs, according to the new “La Croix” barometer

The latest edition of the “La Croix”-Kantar Public barometer on media confidence was published Wednesday on the occasion of the Médias en Seine festival, co-organized by franceinfo.

Some 57% of French people consider that it is necessary “be wary of what the media say on major current affairs issues”, according to the 37th edition of the barometer The cross-Kantar Public on the confidence of the French in the media, published this Wednesday on the occasion of the Médias en Seine festival, i.e. three points more compared to the 2022 barometer.

Among the objects of distrust, we can cite the perception of the independence of journalists, since 59% of those surveyed consider that they are not independent “to pressure from political parties and those in power”, and 56% think they cannot resist “to the pressures of money”.

However, 67% of the people questioned in this study trust television news to “find out what’s happening in the news”, 61% to the regional press or even 60% to radio news reports. Furthermore, the most used media remains television, with 69% of respondents watching it at least once a day. Internet comes in second position, with 62%, ten points more than in January 2023.

75% of those questioned say they follow the news with a “high interest”, i.e. 15 points more compared to 2022. 23% of them follow it with a “low interest”. On the other hand, 51% feel tired or rejected by information and current affairs. Among the reasons for this fatigue, we can cite the impression that the media always talk about the same subjects (48%), the feeling of being anxious or powerless (38%), or even the lack of confidence in what the people say. media (27%). Moreover, 31% of respondents admitted to having given up following a media outlet because of information processing that seemed too negative or anxiety-provoking.

Concerning the media treatment of certain current affairs subjects, 50% of the surveyed panel consider that the media have “talked too much” about the riots which followed the death of Nahel, and 41% about the war in Ukraine. On the other hand, more than half (55%) believe that the media have not covered enough the difficulties of public services, as well as the debate on the end of life (53%). Note that the poll was carried out between October 6 and 11, just after the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 and the resulting conflict in the Gaza Strip, and just before the assassination of teacher Dominique Bernard in a high school in Arras, on October 13.

In this barometer, the French also say they are often confronted with fake news, or information that distorts reality. Almost half (49%) say they do so several times a week on social networks, 36% on television or even 24% on the radio. Furthermore, 53%, overall, ask for more regulation and control on social networks, but we can observe a large disparity depending on the age group. 26% of 18-24 year olds request it, compared to 72% of those aged 65 and over.

Methodology : This Kantar Public study for The cross was carried out on a national sample of 1,500 people representative of the entire population, aged 18 and over, according to the quota method. The interviews were carried out online, from October 6 to 11, 2023.