New Reuters Institute research reveals how misrepresentation of the underprivileged undermines their trust in news
Trust in news by disadvantaged communities is eroded by their misrepresentation and underrepresentation in the media, according to a new report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
The report - News for the Powerful and Privileged: How Misrepresentation and Underrepresentation of Disadvantaged Communities Undermine Their Trust in News – is part of The Trust in News Project, which looks at trust in digital news in Brazil, India, the UK, and US.
The latest research draws on the perspectives of 322 individuals from disadvantaged or historically underserved communities who participated in 41 focus groups across Brazil, India, the UK, and US.
And the findings show most saw news media as not only out of touch but - at times - an especially harmful force that did real damage to their communities - either through neglect or exploitation, reinforcing harmful stereotypes, or sensationalising.
Other key findings include:
- Despite the diversity of groups assembled across a range of media environments, participants expressed similar frustrations about not being heard.
- Among individuals from marginalised communities, many saw news media as biased, sensationalistic, or depressing, with distinctly personal and consequential stakes.
- The news media as an institution, especially in the UK, the US, and India, was often viewed as an extension of systems aligned to serve those in power – systems many felt excluded from.
- Many groups saw journalists as out of touch, lacking the lived experience or knowledge to understand their realities, or even prejudiced, but many also gave positive examples of journalists they thought of as exceptions.
The report was authored by RISJ Research Fellows Dr Amy Ross Arguedas, Dr Sayan Banerjee and Dr Camila Mont’Alverne; Senior Research Fellow Dr Benjamin Toff, Director of Research Dr Richard Fletcher and Director of the Reuters Institute Professor Rasmus Kleis Nielsen.
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is dedicated to exploring the future of journalism worldwide.
