More NL residents trust the media

Although there is often debate about the reliability of the news, two thirds of Netherlands residents still say they believe the media is credible, slightly more than in 2020. Young adults aged 18 to 34 are more suspicious of the media, with 45 percent doubting the reliability of the news. A third of young adults also think that the media exaggerates the seriousness of the coronavirus, according to a Motivaction survey among over 2 thousand Dutch, RTL Nieuws reports.

According to Motivaction, the coronavirus pandemic resulted in more people following the news. 48 percent of respondents said the check the news between two and five times a day. They prefer to do so online or on the television.

People with higher levels of education or higher incomes generally have more faith in the news, the researchers fond. People who said they will be voting PvdA, VVD, D66, GroenLinks or CDA in the upcoming elections were also more likely to trust the media. Those who plan to vote for far-right parties PVV and FvD and Christian party SGP were slightly more suspicious of the media.

The most trusted news sources were public broadcasters like NOS. Still, over half of respondents said they check whether the news is correct.

The researchers also found that young people and people who have little faith in the media are more likely to believe conspiracy theories.