Distrust of the work of journalists is spreading to a good part of Quebecers: nearly half of the population has the impression that they often or sometimes deliberately disseminate fake news. Our relationship with the traditional media varies enormously according to our political preferences, however this same study qualifies.
The Léger firm surveyed nearly 1,600 Quebecers at the end of April as part of a study whose results were unveiled last week at the Carleton-sur-Mer International Journalism Festival. It emerges that 37% of respondents believe that journalists sometimes disseminate deliberately misleading news. Added to this is an 8% who believe that journalists often relay false news.
“It’s quite disturbing as a result. There was the pandemic, but the problem is broader. There is a lot of education to be done among the population to demystify the work of journalists. And it must be a critical education that is done. Not a complacent education with regard to the work of journalists. When people have doubts, and we just say that their doubts are unfounded, it doesn’t work,” says Marc-François Bernier, full professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Ottawa.
This recent study, which he co-authored with Professor Marie-Ève Carignan of the University of Sherbrooke, also reveals that 40% of Quebecers think that government aid granted to the media makes journalists less inclined to criticize the government. Almost as many, 38%, believe that, on the contrary, public funding of the media has no impact on the work of journalists.
“For 100 years, the media said they were independent from decision makers because they were able to be financially self-sufficient. It is only in the last ten years that the discourse has changed. The media now say they need public aid to get through the current crisis, but assure that this does not affect their impartiality. But in the population, we notice that the old paradigm is still well rooted and it will be a long time before that changes, ”analyzes Marc-François Bernier.
There is a lot of education to be done among the population to demystify the work of journalists. And it must be a critical education that is done.
Political perceptions
Unsurprisingly, supporters of Éric Duhaime’s Conservative Party are by far the most hostile towards the media, particularly with regard to the public aid granted to them. More than 80% of Conservatives note that these subsidies deter journalists from attacking the government.
What’s more, according to 63% of them, the media are “too left-wing”. At the other end of the political spectrum, just under a quarter of Québec solidaire voters consider the media to be “too right-wing”.
But regardless of the party with which they identify, Quebecers prefer Radio-Canada for the quality of information. This is particularly true among supporters of Québec solidaire. They are 45% to say that the public broadcaster is the most credible source of information in Quebec, while less than 11% of them lean for the media empire of Pierre Karl Péladeau. Conversely38% of caquistes opt for Radio-Canada, barely more than the 31% who consider that the media of Quebecor are the best source of information.
“Among the five parties, the Conservatives are the most critical of the media, but we observe that supporters of Québec solidaire also have reservations, particularly about the private media and the place of advertising. The liberals, the péquistes and the caquistes are more likely to have confidence in the media, ”summarizes Marc-François Bernier.