YouTube serves as a news source for 46% of Taiwanese consumers, up from 38% in 2021, according to the Reuters Institute’s “Digital News Report,” cited in the Taipei Times. The findings highlight the growing influence of social media on news consumption patterns across Taiwan.

Line ranks second among social platforms for news at 42%, followed by Facebook at 37% (down 2 percentage points). Instagram (14%), TikTok (10%), and Threads (8%) show growth of 1 to 6 percentage points from the previous year.

Television news consumption has dropped to 56% this year, down from 77% in 2017. Print media has experienced a steeper decline, dropping from 41% in 2017 to 14% currently.

Traditional outlets respond by uploading video news to YouTube and adapting long-form stories into short-form social media content, according to National Taiwan University professor Lin Lihyun, who authored the Taiwan section of the report.

Trust in news among Taiwanese users decreases by 3 percentage points to 30%, ranking Taiwan 39th among 48 surveyed markets.

Global Media Trends

Taiwan follows global patterns identified by lead author Nic Newman, who notes two key developments: the rise of alternative media ecosystems (including YouTubers and TikTokers) and the emergence of AI chatbots as news sources—currently representing 6% of Taiwan’s news market.

These shifts accelerate the transition toward social media and video platforms for news consumption, diminishing the influence of “institutional journalism” as video grows in importance.