Are you spending your ad dollars with the right media outlets?

The issue of fake news is of grave concern for those working in the media and marketing industry. In fact, marketers need to be wary about this issue more than ever as 62% of consumers say that their perception of the brand would be negatively affected if associated with an "untrusted media" outlet.This is according to a study done by BBC with 1,549 consumers from the ages of 18-54 years old from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and Australia. The study also found that traditional news publishers were the "most trusted type of digital platform" and trust levels for brands associated with these media outlets are 50% higher than other types of digital news platform.Another scary issue that many consumers and marketers face is that 64% of consumers today find it hard to differentiate between real and fake news. As a result, 79% of respondents simply turn to news from trusted media outlets. TV is still the most preferred platform for keeping abreast of international news (85%), followed by social media (76%), news apps (50%), websites (49%), newspapers (45%) and news aggregators (36%).Meanwhile on the digital front, efforts have been made to combat fake news worldwide. Earlier this year, Facebook and Google teamed up to weed out the problem of fake news through Google's "CrossCheck" initiative launched by its news arm. The trust level of news consumers can benefit brand advertising on media outlets, especially those concerned about brand safety and the impact of fake news.Jamie Angus, deputy director at BBC World Service, said, digital publishing has changed the industry for ever. The barriers to entry are now very low, and the algorithm model means people can grow into consuming news without understanding the value of human checks and curation."We have got to reach out through reputable social media channels to these audiences and draw them in to the BBC brands and values. Some new, younger news users also don’t really discriminate between one sort of news and another – there can be a sense that ‘all news is a bit biased’. We have to push back on that relativist argument really hard," he said. Angus added that combating fake news is a key objective for 2017.All the mainstream media have a massive role to play in restoring people’s trust in proven facts.According to him, the concept of "slow news" is becoming a focus.  "This means more in-depth analysis of topics - with data, investigations, analysis and expertise - to explain the world we are living in and provide context around the issues impacting people today."[gallery link="file" columns="2" ids="178397,178396"]Chris Davies, commercial director for BBC Global News, said, “In a world of fake news and increasing mistrust in the media, brand safety and trust are crucial for any quality advertiser.  Consumers are looking for news they can rely on and this research reveals clear evidence of a halo effect and credibility boost for brands associated with trustworthy, quality publishers.”According to the study, events in Asia Pacific now have a greater global impact on news consumers due to globalisation. More than ever, consumers are relying on news sources to have a clearer understanding on global stories and concerns about fake news are widespread in the region. Staying updated with news is important to 82% of respondents and 77% said they are more concerned about global issues than in the past.The study indicated social media and international news channels as the go-to sources for discovering breaking news. International news channels are the top alternate source for fact-checking for 68% of respondents, followed by news websites or apps (62%).