Social networks are the main source of information for Spaniards compared to Europeans

The article identifies the main trends and possible cultural and socio-demographic differences that influence news consumption habits among the European countries that use social networks the most: German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese. A quantitative methodology is used based on data provided by the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 with a sample of 10,153 subjects. The results show that disinformation is a complex problem in European democracies, involving concepts such as post-truth, single editorial lines, journalistic disorder and media literacy. It also highlights how Spaniards and Portuguese use social networks as a source of information ahead of Germans, French and Dutch, who are consequently exposed to less rigorous journalistic content. In addition, significant differences were found in terms of frequency of access to news, interest and trust in news according to nationality and age. As users get older, their interest in news increases, they consult this information more frequently and they also trust the content they receive more. By gender, men are more interested and consume more frequently; however, there are no significant differences in terms of the trust they place in the information they receive. There is a need to develop national and international campaigns to encourage citizens to seek and receive quality information in order to exercise responsible citizenship, beyond their comfort zone.