Half of UK adults get their news from social media, Ofcom finds

Platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are rated least favourably for accuracy and trustworthiness, research finds

The proportion of UK adults using social media for news has risen from 44 per cent last year to 49 per cent this year, according to the report (Getty iStock)

Nearly half of British adults get their news from social media, according to a new report by media regulator Ofcom.

It found that social media platforms tend to be rated least favourably than any other news source for quality, accuracy, trustworthiness and impartiality.

The report revealed that TV remains the most popular way for people to access news and is used by 75 per cent of adults. But usage has decreased from 79 per cent last year.

However, use of social media for news has risen during the same period from 44 per cent to 49 per cent.

After TV, the internet is the next most popular way for people to access news and is used by 66 per cent of adults.

It is followed by radio, used by 43 per cent of British adults, and print newspapers, used by 38 per cent.

But when combining print with newspaper websites and apps, this increases to 49 per cent.

BBC One is still the most popular branded news source but has decreased in use from 62 per cent to 58 per cent this year.

Use of the BBC News Channel and BBC Two for news has also fallen since last year.

After BBC One, ITV (40 per cent) and Facebook (35 per cent) are the next most commonly-used news sources.

The use of Facebook for news has remained stable, but more people are using Twitter (up from 14 per cent to 16 per cent), WhatsApp (from 10 per cent to 14 per cent) and Instagram (9 per cent to 13 per cent) to consume news.

Magazines are rated more favourably than any other news platform on quality, accuracy, trustworthiness and impartiality.

Only 37 per cent of people who use social media for news said they thought it was impartial, compared to 78 per cent among magazine users, 62 per cent for TV, 61 per cent for radio and 58 per cent for print newspapers.

Six in 10 children aged 12-15 said they are interested in news with three quarters saying they read, watched or listened to news at least once a week.

Last week, the education secretary Damian Hinds warned school teachers that they need to better prepare pupils of the risks posed by “fake news” and disinformation online.

Every child will learn about confirmation bias and online risks as a compulsory part of the curriculum as the government publishes new safety guidance for schools.

Additional reporting by Press Association