Do people trust the news?

**Neil** (0:00)
From BBC Learning English, this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

**Georgie** (0:06)
In this programme, trust in the news is the lowest it's ever been.

**Neil** (0:15)
Hello, I'm Neil.

**Georgie** (0:16)
And I'm Georgie.

**Neil** (0:17)
In this programme, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary and the headlines that will help you understand it.

**Georgie** (0:23)
You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode, as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

**Neil** (0:32)
Let's hear more about this story.

**Georgie** (0:41)
Trust in news around the world is the lowest it has been since annual reports began in 2015

**Neil** (0:47)
The 2026 Digital News Report published by the Reuters Institute studied 48 markets, made up of countries and territories, and looked at the habits and attitudes surrounding online news consumption.

**Georgie** (1:00)
The report suggests that public trust in the news is at 27%, three points down from last year. In the UK, trust is 20 points lower than it was 10 years ago.

**Neil** (1:11)
For the first time, social media and video networks are, on average, more popular than both TV and news websites and apps as sources of news. The use of AI chatbots for news is also growing quickly.

**Georgie** (1:24)
Let's have our first headline. This one is from BBC News. Trust in news hits a new low, research suggests.

**Neil** (1:32)
Again, that headline from BBC News. Trust in news hits a new low, research suggests.

**Georgie** (1:38)
OK, so we've mentioned that trust in the news is lower than it has been since reports began.
And we're looking at this phrase, a new low. Neil, is it connected?

**Neil** (1:48)
Yes, a new low means the lowest level so far. It's broken the previous record.

**Georgie** (1:54)
Here in the headline, the authors have used the verb hit. Trust in news hits a new low. But it's also common to hear reach a new low or fall to a new low.

**Neil** (2:04)
It can be used in many different contexts. For example, the value of a country's currency has reached a new low, or the football player's confidence hit a new low after he missed another penalty shot.

**Georgie** (2:17)
You're also likely to hear the opposite, a new high. For example, house prices have hit a new high this month. They're higher than they've ever been.

**Neil** (2:28)
We've had a new low, the lowest level something has ever been.

**Georgie** (2:33)
For example, temperatures overnight fell to a new low.

**Neil** (2:42)
This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines. Today we're talking about falling trust in news.

**Georgie** (2:50)
The use of traditional news sources like TV news and news websites is declining, while social media and video networks are, for the first time, the most widely used way of accessing news.

**Neil** (3:03)
Despite the increase in the use of social media and video networks for news, they are trusted less than traditional news media.

**Georgie** (3:11)
As the use of social media platforms for news increases, so do worries about misinformation or fake news. But many people like the convenience of accessing news via social media.

**Neil** (3:22)
Let's have our next headline, this one from Press Gazette, a news organisation based in the UK.
Publishing trends for 2026 Tech platforms overtake publishers as global news source.

**Georgie** (3:36)
And that headline again. Publishing trends for 2026
Tech platforms overtake publishers as global news source. And that is from Press Gazette.

**Neil** (3:46)
This headline is about the rise in the use of tech platforms as a news source. Let's look at this word overtake, Georgie. What does it mean?

**Georgie** (3:55)
Well, let's think about the literal meaning of overtake first. So imagine you are driving on a motorway and the car in front of you is going more slowly than you.
If you want to go faster, you need to overtake the car, to pass the car and go in front of it.

**Neil** (4:09)
Right. And it's the same when I'm walking on a path and I want to move past the person in front of me who's going more slowly. I can overtake that person.

**Georgie** (4:18)
Exactly. Now, in the headline, it says Tech platforms overtake publishers as global news source. This is metaphorical, but it has the same idea.
It means tech platforms have moved ahead of traditional news sources, which were previously in front.

**Neil** (4:34)
Now, in other tenses, overtake follows the same pattern as take. It's an irregular verb, so overtook is the past and overtaken is the past participle.

**Georgie** (4:46)
Let's have another example. Online sales have overtaken high street sales.