Filipinos' trust in news has fallen to its lowest point, with only 28% relying on news most of the time, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report. Analysts cite sustained attacks on the media and the rise of social media influence operations as key factors.
The declining trust in news among Filipinos poses a significant challenge to informed public discourse and democratic processes, potentially exacerbating political polarization and making populations more susceptible to misinformation.
Filipinos are showing a marked decline in trust towards news sources, with confidence levels dropping faster than in other countries surveyed. The latest Reuters Institute Digital News Report indicates that only 28% of Filipinos trust news most of the time, a significant decrease from 38% in 2025 and the lowest point since the survey's inception in 2015. This figure falls below the global average of 37% for the current year.
Social media platforms, particularly Facebook, continue to be the dominant source of news for Filipinos, with 72% relying on it. The report also noted that 51% of Filipinos sometimes or often avoid the news.
Analysts attribute this erosion of trust to a combination of factors, including sustained attacks on journalists and news organizations, and the increasing prevalence of influence operations on social media. The report highlights that countries experiencing the most significant drops in news trust, such as Thailand, Peru, Poland, the Philippines, and Ireland, often share characteristics like political instability, divisive elections, and a more fragmented information environment.
The cumulative effect of these attacks has significantly undermined overall confidence in journalism, with the report emphasizing that the decline in trust for countries with the steepest drops is far greater than any change in trust for individual news brands.