The number of people who consider Armenian news media to be reliable has increased. The annual survey on freedom of speech and media consumption in Armenia supports this.

According to the results of the 2023 survey, 49% of respondents trusted Armenian media, while this year’s survey shows that number has risen to 53%.

The analysis indicates that 66% of respondents who consider Armenian media unreliable gather their social and political news from social networks, to compare, 59% of those who regard Armenian media as reliable also obtain their news from these same platforms.

As for the credibility of individual media sources, The majority of respondents consider the news from Armenian radio (71%) and television (67%) as either “completely” or “somewhat” reliable.

In contrast, blogs, vlogs, podcasts (48%), and social networks or messaging platforms (51%) are perceived as the least reliable sources of information.

Survey participants most frequently cited political bias as a reason for not trusting a media outlet, believing that political agendas or affiliations influence coverage, resulting in a one-sided perspective.

They also said that the media often prioritize sensational stories to attract attention, which can result in a distorted representation of the actual events.

Most participants indicated they avoid traditional news channels, preferring to follow analytical programs or articles by trusted experts or public figures. Additionally, some participants mentioned that they prefer receiving information through social networks like Telegram or alternative news websites.

At the same time, most participants agree that trust in the media is highly subjective. People tend to trust media when the content aligns with their personal beliefs, values, and viewpoints rather than relying on more objective criteria.

This pattern indicates that alignment with personal beliefs significantly influences media trust, often overshadowing more objective methods of evaluating credibility.

Over half of the respondents (51%) believe that Armenian mass media cover the news effectively.