We face a future of fake news unless we protect honest, accurate reporting and trust in news media

A Parliamentary report calls for urgent Government action to prevent a ‘two-tier media environment’ in the UK. The stakes have never been higher in guarding against risks of growth in ‘dubious’ online news reporting, warns Tina Stowell

The British press carries a healthy variety of viewpoints. However, many indicators about its future are not encouraging. Trust has fallen, news avoidance is rising, and efforts to silence investigative reporting continue.

Moreover, AI is beginning to reshape internet search and even the concept of authoritative information. The value of honest, accurate and informative news remains as significant as ever – perhaps increasingly so as domestic challenges multiply and the geopolitical context worsens. But importance does not guarantee survival.

The outlook for some areas is particularly poor, especially in local journalism, which faces long-term decline. Several mass-market news outlets are following suit. News deserts have been growing as some audiences turn away from mainstream news to embrace dubious online sources. Others switch off altogether.

The inquiry by the Lords Communications and Digital Committee, which I chair, has left us with no illusions about what is at stake: this period of an informed Britain whose citizens share an understanding of facts is not inevitable and may not endure.

The risk of a “two-tier” media environment is a particular problem. Current trends suggest that a few large media brands and small niche outlets have a viable financial future: news aficionados will be well catered for, particularly those prepared to pay.

‘A growing proportion of the population risks becoming increasingly poorly served as the economics of mass-market journalism worsen’ (Getty)

But a growing proportion of the population risks becoming increasingly poorly served as the economics of mass-market journalism worsen, unreliable sources proliferate and ‘anchor’ institutions like the BBC struggle to ensure their reporting takes account of and reflects the underlying causes of socio-political realignments.

If current trends continue, the gap between those consuming professional journalism and those who do not will widen at pace. There is a realistic possibility of the UK’s news environment fracturing irreparably along social, regional and economic lines within the next five to 10 years. The implications for society and our democracy would be grim. Further technological disruption is likely to have a significant influence.

Not all change is bad, and many of the impacts are overhyped: doom-laden prophecies of imminent sector-wide collapse are overblown. But some trends are worrying. The consolidation of power among the world’s pre-eminent tech firms is leading to unprecedented influence over what information we see.

AI models can already produce passable news summaries and answer politically sensitive questions. These advances are starting to upend news media business models and change the way people find information.

Some news organisations will receive prominence and money from these emerging AI-powered services; others will not. We have deep concerns about the implications for media plurality and the way these developments will compound the shift towards a two-tier media environment. The Government’s role in supporting the future of news is complex. It must avoid a policy of managed decline, but this is easier said than done.

The Government cannot compel people to engage with the news, and well-meaning financial support risks doing more harm than good by undermining media independence. Much of the work needs to be led by the industry itself to ensure audience needs and expectations are well served.

The Government’s task is to establish the conditions that enable the sector to stand on its own feet and survive a protracted period of technological turbulence. There are powerful economic, democratic and foreign policy arguments for supporting the future of honest, accurate and informative news. Although the value of news is clear, its prospects are not.

The Government’s task is to establish the conditions that enable UK media to stand on its own feet and ensure that public service broadcasters are able to thrive.