Study Highlights Importance for Brands of Advertising on Trusted News Websites

The rise of fake news has increased the importance for brands to advertise on trusted news websites to avoid suffering reputational damage, new study from Reuters has found.

Eighty-three per cent of people surveyed said they trusted well-known news brands and 74 per cent strongly agree they often turn to news brands they trust to verify the source of a breaking story, the Tomorrow’s News 2017 survey.

Reuters announced the findings of, which show that while fake news can be damaging for both news brands and advertisers, brands which advertise on trusted news sites can benefit.

Tomorrow’s News 2017, a global survey conducted in April and May 2017 among 1,711 Reuters.com users, found that advertising on trusted news sites can help build awareness, influence perception and ultimately create a positive response to advertising, Reuters said.

The survey findings include:

• Eighty-three per cent tend to trust well-known news brands and always check the accuracy of shared news from other sources (up six per cent on 2016);
• Trustworthy content is the number one factor that makes online news brands appealing (fifty-seven per cent agreed);
• Eighty-seven per cent agree that it is damaging for a brand to advertise on a news site associated with a fake news story;
• Fifty-four per cent believe they are more likely to notice an advertiser if it appears on a trusted news site;
• Fifty-seven per cent agree that they have a more favourable opinion of a brand if it advertises on a trusted news site (rising to sixty per cent among those in director level positions);
• Fifty-four per cent believe they are more likely to respond to an advert if it appears on a trusted news site;
• Seventy-four per cent strongly agree they often turn to news brands they trust to verify the source of a breaking story (up eight per cent on 2016).