South Africa’s Digital News Landscape in 2025
A Continent in Transition, a Country at a Crossroads
South Africa’s place in the 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report reveals a nation navigating a shifting digital news ecosystem. Set against a global backdrop of declining trust in traditional media, the rise of influencer-driven content, and the disruption of AI technologies, South Africa reflects many of these challenges but also offers unique insights from the African continent.
In line with global trends, South African audiences are turning away from legacy news formats like print and broadcast and leaning into social media and video platforms for news. According to the report, 33% of South Africans use TikTok for news, and 42% rely on YouTube, among the highest on the continent. These figures place South Africa closer to countries like Kenya and Nigeria, where younger, mobile-first populations have bypassed traditional media entirely, and further from the digital restraint still seen in Western Europe.
The rise of social video signals not only a change in format but a shift in trust. Across South Africa, audiences report paying more attention to content from news creators and influencers than traditional journalists, especially on platforms like TikTok. This parallels the global trend of personality-led journalism, where individuals with large followings often outperform newsrooms in audience engagement.
Trust and Misinformation Worries
South Africa reflects the global anxiety over misinformation. 73% of respondents say they are concerned about their ability to discern true from false information online, on par with Nigeria and the United States, well above the global average of 58%. Online influencers and politicians are viewed as the primary sources of misleading content, highlighting both the power and potential peril of the influencer-news dynamic.
Despite this, traditional news brands and government sources remain the top go-to platforms for verifying facts. This suggests that, while social platforms are becoming the default gateway for news, established brands still carry a credibility advantage—albeit a shrinking one.
AI: Scepticism with Cautious Engagement
One of the most significant global findings of the 2025 report is the emergence of AI chatbots and summarisation tools as legitimate news sources. Although only 7% globally report using AI for news weekly, this figure jumps to 15% among under-25s. South Africa mirrors this cautious adoption, with audiences expressing concern over AI’s potential to reduce trust and transparency in journalism. While users appreciate AI’s ability to summarise stories or translate them into indigenous languages, a potentially powerful tool in South Africa’s multilingual media landscape, they remain wary of fully automated content.
The shift away from traditional media is not just about platforms but also about generational values. South Africa’s young, urban, mobile-first population increasingly prefers video over text. This is echoed in broader Global South trends, where reading-intensive formats are being eclipsed by short-form, visual content. However, this shift coincides with growing news fatigue. As in many other countries, a significant portion of South Africans now selectively avoid news, especially content perceived as negative, political, or overwhelming.
Comparisons with the Global North
South Africa’s digital news environment shares much with first-world counterparts in the types of disruption but differs in intensity and cause. Where Western nations are grappling with news fatigue due to overexposure and political fatigue, South Africa’s issues are compounded by data costs, digital literacy gaps, and declining newsroom resources.
While countries like Norway and the UK still enjoy relatively high rates of digital news subscriptions (42% and 9% respectively), only a small fraction of South Africans pay for online news. Free, mobile-accessible platforms dominate. This economic reality curtails the viability of subscription-driven models that have helped sustain journalism in the West.
Opportunities in Crisis
Yet, within these challenges lie opportunities. The South African data shows strong interest in local news, especially when delivered in accessible formats. There is also a tangible appetite for AI to enhance news relevance, accessibility, and language inclusion. These are potential areas for innovation and localisation that could serve not just South Africa but also offer a blueprint for the rest of the continent.
As the Digital News Report 2025 makes clear, South Africa is part of a new “social-first” global news ecosystem. It is a country where the old guard of journalism is being disrupted not just by technology, but by a generation that demands news on its own terms: fast, visual, interactive, and personalised. The question is not whether South Africa will follow global trends, but how creatively and inclusively it can chart its own path, the report concludes.
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