Survey: 84% of Journalists Say Social Media Sources Less Reliable Than Traditional Sources

A survey released today by Cision and George Washington University confirms some long held beliefs: journalists are using social media more than ever to source and research stories, however they trust social media sources less than “traditional” ones. From the survey:

89% of journalists said they turn to blogs for story research

65% to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn

52% to microblogging services such as Twitter

61% use Wikipedia

However:

Eighty-four percent said social media sources were “slightly less” or “much less” reliable than traditional media.

And 49% said social media suffers from “lack of fact checking, verification and reporting standards.”

The number of reporters using social networks has increased, as in a November 2008 survey released by the Society for New Communications Research and Middleberg Communications only 48% of reporters said they used LinkedIn, 46% used blogs and 45% said they used Facebook to assist in reporting.

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