SOUTHEAST ASIA: Youngsters Worried about Misinformation – from Politicians, Platforms, Celebrities and the News Media 

MANILA | 6 OCTOBER 2025

Young people across Southeast Asia are sounding the alarm on misinformation, many voicing deeper concern than their peers in other parts of the world. They see misleading content as a constant hazard, pointing not just to politicians but also influencers and platforms as key culprits.

At the same time, under-35s in the region are reshaping how news is consumed. Social media has become their main gateway, with personalities competing head-on with journalists.

The rise of AI adds another twist: While many remain wary of AI-generated reporting, they are more open to AI tools that make news easier to access.

The findings come from the Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2025, one of the world’s largest annual surveys of online news consumption conducted with YouGov. It surveyed nearly 100,000 adults early this year across 48 markets, including five Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Concern about distinguishing real from fake news online runs high in Southeast Asia. Youth levels of anxiety surpass global benchmarks in nearly every market. 

In Singapore, 71% of under-35s say they worry about misinformation, virtually the same as older Singaporeans and well above the global youth average of 59%. The Philippines (66% youth, 68% older) and Malaysia (62% youth, 61% older) follow closely, showing a generational alignment but still exceeding global norms. Thailand reveals a big gap between the two age cohorts, with 58% of youth and 65% of older adults worried. Only Indonesia stands out for lower youth concern at 51%, though even older adults are far more anxious (59%).

Asked who bears responsibility for spreading false and misleading content, politicians top the list across the region. 

In the Philippines, over half of both youth (53%) and older adults (57%) identify politicians as key vectors, a pattern mirrored in Malaysia (49% youth, 55% older). Singaporean youth also point to politicians but less emphatically (37%), falling below the global youth average of 43%. In Thailand, younger people (29%) are far less likely than their elders to accuse politicians (45%) of spreading false content.

Influencers and celebrities are also singled out. Nearly half of Filipino youth (48%) and Malaysian youth (46%) blame influencers, well above global peers (44%). Celebrities are cited by roughly a third of youth in both countries, again above the global norm. By comparison, Indonesia and Thailand are less likely to point to influencers, but ordinary people draw greater criticism in Thailand, especially among the young (43% youth versus 29% older adults).

Journalists and news media are not spared. In the Philippines (36% youth, 37% older) and Malaysia (35% youth), criticism is higher than in Thailand (32% youth), Singapore (31% youth) and Indonesia (22% youth).

Platforms themselves emerge as major points of suspicion. Eighty-four percent of youth in the Philippines and 83% in Malaysia flag social networks as sources of misinformation, followed by Singapore (78%) – all higher than the global youth benchmark of 74%.

MOST RISKY: FACEBOOK, TIKTOK

On specific platforms, Facebook and TikTok dominate perceptions of risk as spreaders of misinformation.

Filipino youth are especially wary of Facebook (72%), far higher than the global youth average of 50%. Young Malaysians (60%) and Thais (53%) also rank Facebook high. TikTok matches or exceeds those figures: 56% of Malaysians, 49% of Singaporeans and 48% of Filipinos flag it as a misinformation vector. YouTube and Instagram provoke less concern, though Filipino under-35s (42%) are notably more likely than their global peers (30%) to cite YouTube.

When fact-checking suspicious content, Southeast Asia’s youth turn first to official sources. Nearly half of Singaporean youth (47%) rely on government sites, well above the global youth figure of 37%. The Philippines (42%) and Malaysia (38%) also exceed global levels, while Indonesia sits at 32% and Thailand at 28%.

Fact-checking websites are also used by Southeast Asian youth. Thirty-five percent of young people in the Philippines use fact-checking websites for checking online material, compared with 29% in Malaysia and 28% in Singapore – all above the global average of 24%.

Traditional news outlets still matter, especially in Singapore where 42% of under-35s say they would turn to trusted news brands, more than older Singaporeans (35%) and well above global youth (36%). Indonesia shows the reverse pattern: Just 28% of youth rely on these outlets, compared with 40% of older adults.

Search engines remain important sources for verifying information in Singapore (45%) but less so in Indonesia (21%). Social media are least trusted overall, though 36% of Thai youth say they use them for verification, above the global youth benchmark of 29%.

Many young people feel platforms are falling short in moderating harmful or misleading content. Singaporean youth are most likely to see a problem, with 27% saying “too little” is removed, about the same as the global average. About a quarter of young Filipinos (25%) and Indonesians (24%) feel likewise. Malaysians (20%) and Thais (17%) are less critical of the platforms.

Despite high concern about misinformation, most young Southeast Asians say they have never received formal training on how to critically engage with news. In Malaysia, 52% of under-35s report having received no such training, in line with most youth elsewhere. The figures are lower in the four other Southeast Asian countries, ranging from 39% in Thailand to 43% in the Philippines.

These patterns play out against the backdrop of a digital-first news environment across the region. In Malaysia and Thailand, seven out of 10 youth say they used social media for news in the past week, closely followed by the Philippines (66%), all above the global youth benchmark of 59%. Singapore’s youth, though lower at 62%, still lean on platforms more than global peers. Indonesia reports the lowest usage at 54%.

Traditional media lag far behind: TV still commands 41% of Filipino youth, but only 31% in Malaysia and 29% in Singapore, compared to the global youth figure of 41%. Print is now marginal in the region, with only young Malaysians (17%) approximating their global peers (18%).

Podcasts and AI chatbots are emerging sources of news. Usage of podcasts as a news source among under-35s is highest in the Philippines and Indonesia (14%), corresponding to the global youth average of 14%. Thailand (10%), Malaysia (9%) and Singapore (8%) trail behind the two.

Around 13% of young Malaysians report using AI chatbots in the past week, compared with 12% of Filipinos, 12% of Singaporeans and 11% of Indonesians. This puts Southeast Asia roughly on par with the global youth average of 12%, with the exception of Thailand (7%).

MIXED FEELINGS ON AI

Still, the feelings of young Southeast Asians toward AI-produced news are mixed.

Comfort with AI-generated reporting is below global levels (29%) in Malaysia and Singapore (27%) and the Philippines (23%). But the reverse is true in Indonesia, where around two-fifths of youth say they are comfortable.

Comfort levels are higher when news is mostly produced by journalists with some AI assistance, with youth in Singapore (53%) the most at ease, followed by Indonesia (46%), both above the 41% global average. Comfort levels are modest in Thailand (38%), Malaysia (36%) and the Philippines (35%).

Personalization tools have strong support, especially to summarize news. The averages for youth in Singapore (44%), Malaysia (36%) and the Philippines (35%) outpace the global figure (30%).

By and large, Southeast Asia’s youth tend to pay more attention to journalists than to influencers for news when they navigate social media platforms. Indonesia, however, is the reverse, with personalities (59%) favored over journalists (44%). This is especially true for young Indonesians scouring Facebook (46%), X (63%), Instagram (61%) and TikTok (63%). Thai youth lean more toward personalities on X (49%), while young Filipinos prefer them more on YouTube (68%).

Interest in news remains strong across the region, though avoidance is equally widespread.

Around two-fifths of Filipino (44%) and Thai (40%) youth say they are very or extremely interested, similar to global peers (40%). Singapore (32%), Indonesia (30%) and Malaysia (29%) fall below.

Yet avoidance of news is growing too. A majority of Filipino youth (51%) say they sometimes avoid news, compared with 46% of older Filipinos and 42% globally. Avoidance is also notable in Thailand (48%), Malaysia (43%) and Indonesia (42%). The problem is least in Singapore (30%). The most frequently cited reasons: News dampens their mood and coverage of politics is excessive.

Trust in news divides the region. Singapore and Thailand stand out on the higher end: 47% of youth there say they trust most news most of the time, above the global youth average of 39%. Malaysia (43%) also surpasses, while the Philippines (39%) aligns closely with global benchmarks. Indonesia is furthest behind: Only 24% of youth trust most news. 

*Yvonne T Chua is a professorial lecturer of journalism at the University of the Philippines. She has been writing the Digital News Report’s country page for the Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report since 2020.

(END/ReportingASEAN/Edited by J Son)