Articles of Faith: Nordics Most Likely to Trust Traditional Media

According to the recent Trust in Media 2017 survey conducted by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Nordic countries rank highest in Europe in terms of trusting traditional media.

The annual survey found that Denmark, Sweden and Finland are all in Europe's top five when it comes to having faith in TV, radio and print media, with Finns leading in trust in both TV and radio with 68 and 58 percent respectively. Conversely, the survey also found that the Nordic level of trust in social media is among the lowest in Europe.

"It is reassuring that the public's level of trust in broadcast media is so strong in the Nordic countries and is actually increasing across Europe," said Roberto Suarez, the head of EBU's media intelligence service. "In this post-truth world, it is encouraging to see the public can differentiate between competing sources of news and have chosen to put their trust in more traditional media."

All in all, the survey reflected an increase in trust in traditional media across Europe, whereas trust in web media and social networks continued to fall. As of 2017, radio remains the most trustworthy medium, trusted by 59 percent of EU citizens, followed by TV at 50 percent. Trust in printed media has also increased markedly in the past five years.

Meanwhile, trust in the internet and social networks continues to fall and trust in social networks is at its lowest ever level, which may, at least partially, have been influenced by the recent fake news debate and fears of propaganda. On the whole, only 36 percent of EU citizens were found to trust the internet, while a mere 21 percent said they trusted social networks and were largely outnumbered by the unbelievers in all the 33 countries surveyed. Remarkably, Denmark saw the biggest drop in trust in the internet over the past five years — from 54 to 38 percent.

In this connection, Roberto Suarez stressed that EBU's job was to "cherish and maintain that level of trust" and provide impartial and independent reporting to counter the spread of fake news.

The Nordics seem to have taken this advice to heart long ago, using Russia as a scarecrow and groundlessly accusing Moscow of peddling fake news, propaganda and disinformation.

Earlier this year, the Swedish Institute of International Affairs accused Russia of having coordinated a campaign over the past two years with the intent of influencing Swedish decision-making by spreading lies and propaganda. The same report also claimed "armies of trolls" to target journalists and opinion makers on social media. Ultimately, though, Sweden's main gripe was "highly negative" articles about NATO or the EU.

Given how implicitly Swedes trust their media, it is no wonder that bogeyman stories about Russian "aggression" and ludicrous claims of Putin's plans to invade Sweden strike home among the Swedish public.

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