The study was commissioned by the Civil Network OPORA and ran from May 6 to June 4, 2024. Computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) surveyed 2,011 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except AR Crimea) using random sampling of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting). The survey was conducted among adults (over the age of 18) of Ukrainian citizens who at the time of the survey lived on its territory controlled by the government of Ukraine until February 24, 2022. The sample did not include residents of temporarily non-government controlled territories before February 24, 2022 (the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions), as well as citizens who left abroad after February, 24, 2022. The field phase lasted from May 26 to June 1, 2023.

The statistical error of the sample (with a probability of 0.95 and the design effect of 1.1) does not exceed: 2.4% for indicators close to 50%, 2.1% - for indicators close to 25%, 1.5% - for indicators close to 10%.

In the third year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, news watching, monitoring air raids and shelling, changes in the situation at the front, in politics and in the economy became a routine for many Ukrainians. However, the dominance of disinformation and special psychological operations, distrust of state media platforms and the search for truthful information encourage citizens to change their habits and look for new platforms for news.

It is critical for the Ukrainian authorities and civil society to understand the peculiarities of media consumption of different audiences. Any policies to combat disinformation, attempts to disseminate true news and official appeals will be ineffective if they take place on platforms other than those where society really consumes information. In addition, the Ukrainian government needs to assess the consequences of their actions in the media space (in particular, the monopolization of television content) in order to respond promptly to the challenges posed by the information war with the Russian Federation.

Where do Ukrainians get information from?

Social networks still hold a prominent position as a source of news — they are used by 73.4% of Ukrainians. However, compared to last year, their popularity decreased by 4.5%. In second place is the Internet (without social networks) with almost 60%. The television auidences have significantly decreased — 42.7% get news updates from TV, which is 20% less than in 2023. Radio (22%) and print media (almost 12%) are also choose a little less often: the popularity of the former decreased by 11.7%, and of the latter — by almost 6% compared to 2023.

Women are slightly more likely to choose social media (74.9% vs. 71.7%) and television (45.4% vs. 39.5%) than men. Instead, the Internet, except for social networks (65.1% vs. 55.2%), and radio (25.4% vs. 19.2%) are more popular among men. Also, men are more likely to abandon social networks — among them, their popularity has decreased by 9.3%, while the decrease in the female audience borders on the value of statistical error. Among other news sources, changes in consumption are proportional to both sexes.

As before, we observe significant differences in media consumption by age distribution.

Young people traditionally most often choose social networks and the Internet without social networks. 93.3% of Ukrainians aged 18 to 29 and 85.3% aged 30 to 39 consume news on social networks (which is 5% less than in 2023). People aged 40 to 49 (81.8% versus 87% in 2023) and from 50 to 59 years (71.5% versus 71.5%) also began to choose social networks less often. Older people have hardly changed their commitment to social networks compared to 2023 — 64% of Ukrainians aged 60 to 69 and 34.1% aged 70+ choose them.

The Internet (excluding social networks) is most often chosen by people aged 30 to 39 years (70.4%), slightly less — by audiences from 18 to 29 (67%) and from 40 to 49 years (65.4%). Online sources are also quite popular among Ukrainians aged 50–59 (60.7%) and 60–69 years (51.6%). Only 33.6% of Ukrainians over the age of 70 receive news from the Internet outside social networks.

In 2024, only 18.9% of young people aged 18–29 and 21.1% of those aged 30–39 get news updates from television. It is most popular among people over 50. It is the choice of 51.2% of Ukrainians aged 50 to 59, 65.2% — from 60 to 69, and 77.1% — aged 70 and older. Television exceeds all other news sources only among Ukrainians over 60 years old.

In terms of macro-regions, there are no significant differences between different parts of Ukraine. However, the situation differs depending on the type of settlement. In particular, social networks are somewhat more popular in cities than in villages (77.6% and 65.2%, respectively). Also, the size of the news audience in social networks among urban residents almost did not change compared to 2023, and among villagers — decreased by 7.9%. The Internet, in addition to social networks, is equally popular in cities and villages (61% and 57%, respectively). Television is more often chosen in villages (48.4%) than in cities (39.8%). The popularity of radio and print media does not differ significantly depending on the locality.

Trust in information sources

In 2024, Ukrainians mostly trust social networks (47.3%), the Internet, excluding social networks, (43%), and television (34.1%). Whreas in 2023, the level of trust in most sources of information gradually increased, in 2024, the trust of Ukrainians to all sources of information was decreasing. On the other hand, the number of people who do not trust any source of information is growing (5.2% in 2022, 7.7% in 2023 and 15.2% in 2024).  Television (34.1% in 2024 vs. 61.1% in 2023) and radio (24.2% vs. 41%) lost the most (almost half) of citizens' trust. Trust in print media decreased from 30.3% in 2023 to 18% in 2024. News from social networks is consistently trusted by the most respondents (47.3%), but overall trust in them is falling (from 60% in 2023 to 47.3% in 2024). 43% of Ukrainians trust the Internet without social networks (only 4.3% less than social networks), which is 5.8% lower than in 2022 — this is the smallest percentage of decline among all sources. 

Unlike in 2023, when the difference in the level of trust in sources of information between women and men was smaller, in 2024 women score their trust in sources of information higher than men. Most of all, women trust social networks (52.8%), and men rely on the news from the Internet, excluding social networks (43.1%). Women scored Internet (43%) as the second most preferred source, and men opted for social networks (40.6%). In third place, women and men chose television (28.8% for men, 38.4% for women). Both genders have the same level of trust in the Internet without social networks (43% of men and 43.1% of women) and the difference for the radio is within the statistical error (25% of women, 23.2% of men). 

For both men and women, the level of trust in all sources of information has dropped compared to last year. This year, compared to 2023, both sexes lost the most trust in television (-29% for men and -25.4% for women), radio (-20.1% for men and -14.1% for women), and social networks (-18.4% for men, -8.1% for women). The number of men who do not trust any source of information has more than doubled, too (8.8% in 2023 and 20.3% in 2024). Instead, women do not have any such leap: 6.7% in 2023 and 11.1% in 2024. 

As for the age distribution, in 2024, confidence in sources of information falls in all age groups, although in 2024 it grew. However, among the oldest audience (70+ years old), the share of those who do not trust any source has decreased (by 2.6%). The Internet without social networks is the only source whose trust has remained almost unchanged in all age groups, compared to last year, and people aged 70+ began to trust the Internet by 7.3% more.

Compared to other sources of information, people of 18–29 (66.5%), 30–39 (53.1%), 40–49 (53.1%) and 50–59 years (46.1%) trust social networks the most, but in 2024 the level of trust in them has still been falling (the largest decline is in people aged 30–39 (-20.5%)). Older people (60-69 and 70+ years old) trust television the most. The younger the people, the more rapidly they lose confidence in television. Compared to 2023, we have the following decline: -33% in the group of 18–29 years old, -31.3% in the group of 30–39 years old, -32.7% in 40–49 years old, -27.1% in 50–59 years old, -20.7% in 60–69 years old and -13.1% in 70+. Conversely, the older people, the less often they identify social networks as a reliable source: whereas more than 50% of Ukrainians under 49 trust information from social networks, then in the group of 50–59 years old — 46.1%, 60–69 years old — 36.8%, 70+ years old — only 26.8%. All age groups trust the print media the least, but at the same time, the level of trust in them increases with age: the older the people, the more they believe the newspapers. The situation with radio is similar: in 2024, trust in it among people under 49 years old decreased by almost half, and among people over 50 years old, radio lost a third of that year's trust. 

In all regions of Ukraine, the Internet, excluding social networks, is the only source where trust has not changed significantly since last year. At the same time, trust in television, radio and print media has decreased. Television has lost the most trust in the center (-29.1%) and in the west (-28.2%), trust in radio is decreasing in the east (-19.2%) and west (-18.6%), trust in print media is decreasing in the west (-18.2%) and in the center (-11.6%). Trust in social media information is also declining across the country, with the sharpest declines in the east (-18.8%) and west (-12.6%). Also, the number of people who do not trust any of the sources is growing in all regions.

Online sources of information are getting consistently more popular in cities, while television, radio and print media are more popular in villages. However, in 2024, residents of both cities, and villages, lost much confidence in all sources of information, except for the Internet, excluding social networks. In cities, trust in the Internet fell the least — by 4.8% (48.5% in 2023 and 43.7% in 2024), and in villages it grew by 3.8% (38.4% in 2023, 41.8% in 2024). 

Both, in cities (7.8% in 2023, 14.8% in 2024) and in villages (7.5% in2023, 16.1% in 2024), the number of people who do not trust any source of information is growing. Trust in social networks in cities decreased by 13.3%, in villages — by 11.7%. Trust in radio (23.9% in cities, 24.7% in villages) and print media (17.6% in cities, 18.8% in villages) does not differ significantly in different settlements. This year, residents of villages have significantly less trust in radio (-19.5%) and newspapers (-16.1%), while in cities the decline is smaller. About 25% less citizens, in both, cities and villages, now trust the television. The difference in trust in television between cities and villages increased from 5.8% in 2023 to 8.3% in 2024. 

What social media do Ukrainians use?

The rating of the most popular social networks in Ukraine has remained virtually unchanged over the past three years. As before, this year, Telegram is on top of the rating (78.1%), followed by YouTube (59.5%) and Facebook (44.6%). Slightly more than 42% of respondents read news on Viber, 29.6% — on Instagram, 26.8% — on TikTok, 7.8% — on X (Twitter). Only 1.2% of respondents use other social networks to receive news updates. Compared to last year, the share of those who use Telegram to read news increased (by 6.8%), the audience of Instagram, TikTok and X (Twitter) remained unchanged. On the contrary, the share of those who consume news from YouTube (by 6.7%), Facebook (by 10.4%) and Viber (by 7.7%) decreased.

Over the past year, the use of YouTube (-9.5%), Facebook (-7.8%) and Viber (-5.2%) has decreased among the male audiences, but the share of users of Telegram (by 6.3%), TikTok (by 4.5%) and Instagram (by 3%) has increased. Facebook (-13.1%), Viber (-10.4%), YouTube (-3.9%) and Instagram (-2.7%) lost the most the female audiences, while the use of Telegram increased (by 6.7%). 

At the same time, Telegram confidently holds the lead among women (82.8%) and men (72%). YouTube took the second place among the male audience by a significant margin (63.7%). As to women, 56.2% receive news through this social network. Also, women more often use Facebook (47.9% versus 40.4% among men), Viber (47.2% versus 36% among men) and Instagram (32.8% versus 25.6% among men). 10% of men receive news through X (Twitter), while among women this share is only 6%. Men (26.3%) and women (27.2%) use TikTok for news updates on about the same scale. 

As in previous years, there have been noticeable differences in the use of different social networks by people of different age groups. Among young people (18–29 years old), Telegram remains the most popular (90.5%), and the popularity of TikTok is also growing significantly (by more than 9% over the past year — up to 34.3%). As to YouTube (53.4%), Instagram (40.3%) and Facebook (23%), they have lost their commitment to young people over the past year: the use of Instagram for news has decreased by 6%, YouTube and Facebook — by 11%. Among the audience aged 30 to 39, the use of Telegram has increased significantly over the past year (by almost 13% to 88.5%), but other social networks were less likely to become a source of news for people of this age. Thus, among 30-39-year-olds, 53.6% watch news on YouTube (7% less than last year), 41.8% read news on Facebook (17% less), and about 30% use Viber or Instagram for this. As to this audience type, TikTok as a news source has somewhat lost popularity — this year it is used by 20.6% of respondents this year, last year — the share was 24.7%. Respondents aged 40 to 49 also prefer Telegram — the share of people using it increased from 70.9% to 74.6%. The second and third positions are occupied by YouTube (57.7%) and Facebook (48.7%), but both social networks have somewhat lost popularity over the past year (-7.9% and -15.3%, respectively). The use of Viber (by 9.3% to 44.9%) and Instagram (by 3.5% to 24%) also decreased. TikTok (26.2%) and X (Twitter) (6.1%) are used by the 40-49-year-olds to receive news on the same level as last year. Persons aged 50 to 59 use Telegram somewhat less often (71.8%), although it still remains a key source of news for them. However, this audience is much more likely to use YouTube (65.5%), Facebook (64.5%) and Viber (53.4%) for news, while Instagram (28.6%), TikTok (27.9%) and X (Twitter) (9%) use it somewhat less often. The audience aged 60-69 mostly watches news on YouTube (71.4%), checks Telegram (63.3%) or Viber (61.7%) and reads Facebook (50.3%), while only a quarter of respondents of this age use Instagram and TikTok. Among the elderly (over 70 years old), Viber (71.7%) and YouTube (66.8%) are the most popular, followed by Telegram (56%). Only 50.3% of respondents of this age view Facebook, 30.3% use TikTok, 24.5% use Instagram.

Some differences are also observed in the media habits of residents of villages and cities. Thus, both citizens (80.7%) and residents of rural areas (71.7%) read the news in Telegram, but this number is higher among residents of cities. In addition, townspeople are more likely to watch news on YouTube (60.6% vs. 56.8% among villagers) and read X (Twitter) (9.4% vs. 4% in villages). On the other hand, Facebook, Viber and TikTok are sources of news mainly for residents of rural areas: 49.7% of respondents read Facebook there (against 42.6% in cities), 45.9% read Viber (against 40.9% in cities), 30.9% view TikTok (against 25.1% in cities). Most residents of villages also get news from Instagram: 32.1% versus 28.6% among urban residents.

In terms of regional distribution, it is immediately noticeable that Telegram has a larger audience in the southern and central parts of Ukraine (83.8% and 79.8%, respectively), but in the east (74.2%) and west (72.7%) it is used somewhat less often. Youtube is used for news updates mostly by residents of the eastern (66.5%) and central (61.2%) regions, and in the south (57.8%) and west (55.4%), this share is slightly lower. Facebook is read mainly in the southern (48.2%) and western (46.6%) regions, somewhat less often — in central Ukraine (44.9%), even less — in eastern Ukraine (33.4%). The audience of Viber is concentrated mainly in the southern (45.9%), central (43%) and western (42.5%) regions, in the east the share of use is also falling (33.5%). Instagram is used for news updates mainly in the southern (34.4%) and western (33.2%) regions, in contrast to the center (26.2%) and the east (22.7%). TikTok news is mostly viewed by residents of the south (29.8%) and west (29.5%), less often — in the east (24.2%) and in the central part of Ukraine (23.7%). X (Twitter) is used by about 9% of respondents in the western, central and eastern regions of Ukraine, but much less often (4.4%) in the south.

Contacts